Dubbed "Horizons", this year's summer release contains a lot of goodies. The top picks we're most excited about are:
AI-generated theme blocks - You can now "vibe code" new theme components by typing in natural language descriptions to Shopify's AI and it will create and save a new design/layout/component function for you (in supported themes, yours may need an update first)
No-code copy/paste theme blocks + sections - Now you can right-click to clone sections and blocks without code (in supported themes, yours may need an update first)
Redesigned POS v10 - New interface and features for those using Shopify's omni-channel experience
Custom branding for POS display screens, SMS opt-in at terminal checkout - Make your Shopify POS feel a bit more modern and branded, and capture phone marketing consent as part of the in-person checkout experience
Refund to store credit from any transaction - Supports POS, refunds for online orders, etc all to a new "store credit" category -- no more gift cards needed!
Flat rates for split shipping - Now you'll have single, flat rate when fulfilling from multiple locations
One discount for multiple savings types - Create a single discount that can be applied across products, orders, and shipping rates via select discount apps
Discount codes in cart - Enable customers to apply discount codes directly in the cart when using the Horizon theme and the Ajax Cart API—no third-party apps needed
Min/max order limits for customer groups via Checkout Blocks app - While this is something that is pretty easy to do with custom code, it's nice to have another option
Better pick list designer via the Shopify Order Printer app - A pain point for many years is hopefully resolved
Dig into the changes here.
A few features were only announced at the developer's conference, and can't be found anywhere else online yet. These include:
The "admin intents" update - To come later this year, Shopify will start moving related admin functions into modal windows (popups) rather than making you open a whole bunch of different tabs to manage a task, or keep leaving the page and going back. In other words, if you're making a discount code, you'll be able to create a new collection and add products to it, tied to the condition of that discount, all while staying on the discount code creation page. This ultimately will be a huge time saver.
One-click store exports - While we've used tools like Matrixify for years to expedite moving dev store content and code to live stores, Shopify has created a single-file system that can export everything from a store and import it into another. The initial release will be limited to products + collections, with expansions in the months to come throughout the year. This will also be a great way to "run a backup" of sorts.