Last week, Shopify ran their first ever virtual broadcast event for Shopify business owners called '(re)unite'. It was an opportunity to bring together merchant, partner, and entrepreneurial communities to unveil their new features and share major announcements.
Below is a brief overview for you of what was presented:
Money
Shopify Capital is available in US, Canada, and UK. In the UK, Shopify Capital provides merchant's cash advances ranging from $200 to $1,000,000, and doesn’t focus on personal credit history. Available now
Shopify Balance will give merchants access to critical financial products to start, run, and grow their businesses including bank account, card, and rewards. US-only for launch later this year.
Shop Pay Installments allow buyers to pay for purchases in four equal payments over time, with no interest or fees. US-only for launch later this year.
Online Store
Express theme is designed for a one-page shopping experience, and optimized for mobile. It can be used to get stores online quickly, and supports small to medium catalogs of products. Available now
Tipping - Learn how to set-up tips for your client's online store. Available now
Local domains enables merchants to assign individual domains to a country or currency, as well as a language or set of languages. Timing TBC
Custom FX - merchants using multi-currency will be able to maintain a stable price for products, even as currencies fluctuate. Coming later this year
Channels
Facebook Shops is a new Facebook shopping experience that allows merchants to build a simple, branded version of their online store within Facebook and Instagram, syncing right from Shopify. Coming later this year
Shopify Ping Staff Accounts + Android & Web version - We'll be adding staff accounts meaning different staff members can help customers individually, with the help of a ticketing system. Ping will also allow a merchant’s team to collaborate and message each other. Coming later this year
Back Office
Product states - merchants will be able to create a product and save it as a draft, add more details later, hand it over to a team member, and publish it when they’re ready. They will also be able to archive products. Coming later this year
Faster product creation - Merchants will have the ability to set up products directly from a phone. Capturing product photos, adding the required details like title, price, and variants, and scanning the barcode can all be done from a phone’s camera, including photos for each variant then, reviewed and published directly from the phone.
Create products in bulk; add product images, prices, titles, variants, inventory, and more via a single screen. Coming later this year
Purchase Orders - lets merchants order, track, and receive inventory from their suppliers. Inventory can be received using the scanning feature on Shopify’s mobile app, which makes updating inventory counts easier and more accurate. Currently in the process of rolling out to all merchants
Orders list page redesign - allowing easier viewing. Available now
Shipping
Local and curbside pickup - allows customers to pick up orders in-store, curbside, or from any location they choose. Merchants will soon be able to fulfil orders directly from the Shopify POS, their admin, or the Shopify mobile app, and have customers come to their location for pickup. Available now (fulfilling orders from POS coming soon)
Local delivery & Local Delivery App - define a local delivery area using zip and postal codes, or by radius, set local delivery fees and minimum order prices. Then, optimize delivery routes & send notifications to customers through the app. Coming soon
Performance
Storefront renderer - will account for a 40-200% improvement in load times on live stores, helping merchants get better conversion rates globally. Currently in the process of rolling out to all merchants
Online store performance dashboard - will allow merchants to understand how various actions, such as theme code customizations and app installations, impact their store’s speed. Coming later this year
As your marketing partner & Shopify expert we are here to support you and your business. If you do have any queries about your project with us, please get in touch.
