Shopify Winter Editions 2025 – No Big Surprises, Just Crucial Updates

Shopify has announced over 150+ updates in Shopify Winter Edition 2025, which they call boring. Why is it boring? There are no new outstanding features, but rather improvements of the existing functionalities and connections between different features for a better user experience.

Even though the Shopify team finds the edition boring, it will undoubtedly streamline workflows and provide practical benefits for merchants and developers. Here, we describe the most impactful updates of the Shopify Winter 2025 Edition and explain how they will influence merchants' routines.

Online

Shopify Winter Editions 2025 includes seventeen updates for online store management. We describe four of them that we find the most crucial.

Combined listings for search

A combined listing is a special product type that consists of separate products from your store connected by a shared option, such as color or model.

If you use this feature in your store, you can now choose whether to display parent or child products or both in the search results, product recommendations, and predictive search.

This is available using the Shopify Combined Listing app and the Shopify Search and Discovery app.

Category filter ordering

Another update for the Shopify Search and Discovery app is sorting filter values. There are two sorting options: automatic and manual. Automatic feature sorts filter values in ascending order, both alphabetically and numerically. Manual sorting allows you to choose the order of filter values. To find this option go to the app settings → Filters → Sort → Manually, then drag values for rearrangement and click Reorder for me. Alternatively, you can use Sort with Shopify Magic to logically sort values based on the filter name and its values.

Streamlined theme editor settings

In Shopify's theme editor, you will find a more compact settings sidebar. It is easier to find what you're looking for and have more control over your storefront design.

Buy X Get Y with subscriptions

You can apply the Buy X Get Y feature for subscription purchases, such as offering a free mug with a coffee subscription. You can also set up an automatic discount or create a discount code when certain conditions are met. See more details about subscription discounts here.

What else can you do with the Shopify new features for online store management?

• Create smart collections based on taxonomy attributes, such as materials and colors.
• Add custom metafields for product categories for more attributes in Shopify’s taxonomy.
• Access to metaobjects like featured reviews with the dynamic source picker in the theme editor.
• Edit subscriptions from the product details page in the admin.
• Respect inventory settings after subscription renewals with the Shopify Subscriptions app.
• Use more app-based automatic discounts with the limit increased from 5 to 25.
• Start leveraging the Markets over the coming months.
• Track bundles with metrics in the new analytics.
• Use custom search filters in the Shop app.
• Manage returns and exchanges through the Shop app.

Retail

The Shopify team continues improving in-store operations features, offering the following updates.

Bundles support in Shopify POS

Shopify Bundles are now supported in Shopify POS. This means that you can offer bundled products through your POS interface. To activate this feature you need to install the Shopify Bundles app, set up bundles, and publish them to POS via the product details page.

Retail customer segments

This Shopify update allows you to reach nearby customers through personalized marketing campaigns by using location-based filters for customer segments.

Editing customer metafields on POS

Customer metafields are fields with information about customers that go beyond just name and email address. Previously, you could collect this data through an online store. Today, customer metafields allow in-store staff to contribute to customer data collection with fields for birthdays, customer preferences, and much more.

What else is new for retailers in Shopify Winter Editions 2025?

• Let your customers use Tap-to-Pay on Android and iPhone in more countries.
• See search results and the cart on the Shopify POS home screen.
• Transfer returns to a gift card without a receipt or order number.
• Enjoy a more compact and convenient customer-focused POS interface.
• Accept in-person card payments even if your network is down.
• Meet Shopify POS in France.

Checkout

One of the most mind-blowing Shopify 2025 Winter updates for the Checkout section is a 50% faster cart and checkout experience. However, there are more features you should be aware of.

Checkout Blocks on more pages

The Checkout Blocks app is a no-code tool for customizing your Checkout, Thank you, and Order status pages. This update allows merchants to quickly add simple customizations, such as editing or removing reviews and promotional offers and reordering delivery and payment methods.

Functions work with draft orders

The draft order feature lets you create orders on behalf of your customers in the Shopify admin. You can add products and customer details and send an invoice to your client to get payment.

The Shopify update enables you to leverage Shopify Functions to customize draft orders. Now, draft orders support the Delivery and Payment customization API as well as the Cart and Checkout Validation API, so you can use the same robust features available for checkout customization.

Split shipping is now available

Split shipping allows you to separate items that can’t be included in a single shipment to let customers select available options for multiple shipments. For example, if a customer purchases products and adds a preorder item within a single order, your checkout displays that the preordered product is shipped separately. Now, this feature is compatible with third-party fulfillment apps like ShipBob.

What else can you do with Shopify Editions 2025 for checkout?

• Add chat apps like Gorgias to the thank you pages with extensions or to any page on Plus.
• Get smoother checkout loading with new animations and asynchronous loading of customizations.
• Leverage accelerated checkout buttons that load 58,88% faster and support functions and bundles.
• Preview accelerated checkout buttons like PayPal in the checkout and accounts editor.
• Apply customizations made with UI extensions and Functions to draft orders if you use Shopify Plus.
• Guarantee prices for draft orders by locking the price until the order is incomplete.
• Disable gift cards in checkout using apps with updates to the Payment Customization Function API.
• Boost conversions with the extended cart expiration.
• Provide an option to pay over time with Shop Pay Installments (available for US-based enterprise businesses).

Marketing

The Marketing section of Shopify Winter Edition 2025 presents many updates to help merchants attract more customers and generate leads more effectively.

Customer account extensions

Customer account extensions let you add more features to customer account pages. For example, you can add booked appointments, downloadable files, and courses to customer accounts, conduct surveys, and redeem rewards. Check apps to extend customer accounts without coding.

You can also create custom solutions tailored to your business logic through extension development, adding custom functionality to the Order index, Order status, and Profile pages of customer accounts. Just like checkout UI extensions, customer account UI extensions are enabled with UI components and APIs. This makes them flexible and highly customizable, ensuring a seamless customer account experience.

Metafield controls for Shopify Forms

Shopify Forms lets you grow your contact list by capturing leads with pop-ups and in-line forms. Previously, all information submitted in these forms was stored in the customer metafields. However, if a customer submitted multiple responses, only the latest submissions were recorded, and each form field required a separate metafield in customer profiles.

The winter update enables you to create fields that allow you to edit and save data for submissions stored in metaobjects. In other words, you can choose whether each custom field in a form maps to the customer profile or to a metaobject that stores the complete information from the form submission.

Check what metaobjects and metafields mean in Shopify.

What else can you do for marketing with Shopify Winter ’25 updates?

• Tailor the customer accounts header menu to direct customers where you need.
• Brand your login pages, applying typography and brand colors you use for checkout and customer accounts.
• Set custom UTM parameters for links in your Shopify email campaigns.
• Use new email templates for holidays and add urgency with the countdown timers for sales and shipping windows.
• Send email campaigns to promote specific products right from your product details page or product index.
• Leverage improved user experience for customers signing in through the Shop app.
• Trigger automation when customers join or leave a specific segment and choose the right automation template with Shopify Flow.
• Quickly answer customer questions through AI-driven suggested replies available in English.
• Add a profile photo for personal chats with customers and use filters to manage spam in the Shopify Inbox.
• Use Shopify customer segments for Google Ads campaigns.

Wholesale

B2B businesses that use Shopify for wholesale operations will find new tools for improving customer experience and store management.

Better draft orders for B2B

Updates for draft orders are available for every part of the Shopify interface, including those for wholesaling. With draft orders, all merchants can lock product prices and offer bundles, while Plus users can also collect deposits and charge vaulted credit cards.

New analytics works with B2B

New Shopify Analytics is in early access, and Shopify Plus users can test custom data exploration for B2B sales. The new analytics lets you focus on B2B orders, exclude DTC, and even compare B2B with DTC sales. You can also create custom reports, such as a descending order list of sales from your B2B customers.

What else can you do for wholesale thanks to Shopify Editions Winter ’25?

• Customize draft order checkouts with checkout UI extensions.
• Apply Shopify Functions to B2B draft orders.
• Customize B2B customer accounts, adding features like downloadable PDF invoices.
• Let customers automate assignments of catalogs, permission, and sales staff with Shopify Flow (available for Shopify Plus).
• Connect your identity provider to let your B2B customers sign in to their accounts faster (available for Shopify Plus).
• Automate the return process and create product automation and return policies for groups of suppliers with Shopify Collective.

Global

Shopify is focused on making international selling easier by improving its features for global expansion.

Natural search in more languages

You can activate Semantic Search for global audiences in your Shopify store to let customers search using their everyday language. This AI-powered feature, included in the Shopify Search and Discovery app, understands customer intent behind their request and provides more relevant results.

Klarna in more countries

Klarna, the financial service that enables the Buy Now Pay Later feature on Shopify Payments, is now available in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. It helps merchants add flexible payment opportunities and attract more customers who want to use crediting.

What else can be done with Shopify updates for global selling?

• Improve localization for European countries and Japan with better translations.
• Generate and store VAT invoices for B2B and DTC customers in the EU and UK with Shopify Tax.
• Leverage Managed Markets shipping labels that cover up to $200 with purchases for up to $5K.
• Include duties and taxes to the product price at checkout with Managed Markets.
• Buy and print Managed Markets shipping labels from ShipBob.
• Edit and update existing orders with Managed Markets.
• Use more local payment methods with Managed Markets, including Bancontact, GrabPay, KCP, and MobilePay.
• Automatically update privacy settings when you sell in new markets or make changes to your store.

Shipping

More features and updates are now available to manage delivery and store locations.

Ship to store now available

You can set up store transfers so that customers can pick up a purchased item in their preferred store location. This way, you can transfer inventory from one store to the pickup location when an item is out of stock. You can also set up different processing times for items that require a store transfer. This feature is now available for all plans.

New shipping carriers in Europe

The number of shipping careers has increased, giving you more delivery opportunities in more countries. For example, you can now buy labels from DHL Paket in Germany and Yodel in the UK.

What else can you leverage for shipping?

• Use unified fulfillment logic across subscriptions, draft order invoices, and imported orders to prevent overselling.
• Get larger discounts for small-sized packages with UPS® Ground and UPS® Ground Saver.
• See all delivery methods per location in one view to easily manage them.
• Purchase labels in bulk easier with order tags and notes and filters by date on the shipping labels page.
• File shipping claims directly from the admin.
• Refund shipping with one click and view the accurate post-refund shipping amount on the order details page.
• Add custom metafields for order routing to define where orders are fulfilled from.
• Use multiple fulfillment holds for a single order and clarify reasons for a hold to reduce errors in automation workflows.
• Get more options on how to handle inventory stored at a 3PL when uninstalling a fulfillment app.
• Validate addresses across the admin, including customer profiles and shipping labels.
• Get fast access to your POS location settings with improved filters and searches in the admin.

Operations

The Shopify team aims to optimize workflows and save time by simplifying operations.

Faster-loading admin

You can enjoy 25% faster admin and 12.5% page-to-page navigation. This is a huge step towards a smoother and more efficient experience.

Organizations for all plans

Shopify announced simplified user and multi-store management with Organizations. This feature allows you to group stores into a single organization instead of switching between several store accounts and repeating similar tasks. Organizations also enable you to view billing information, user permissions, and store settings from one dashboard.

Staff access by role

A role-based access control (RBAC) is rolling out as part of the Organizations feature. It allows you to grant staff access and permissions by assigning employees one or multiple roles based on specific job functions, such as “Marketing specialist.”

What else can you do with Shopify Operations updates?

• Use an AI-powered assistant, SideKick, to get advice and streamline processes.
• Meet the new Shopify Analytics with more customized reports and new metrics.
• Leverage improved Shopify Flow to automate more tasks and troubleshoot issues.

Finance

Shopify Editions Winter ’25 also includes improvements for finance management.

Unified finance everywhere

The Shopify team created a comprehensive finance home to easier view and manage finances from the admin or the Shopify app. You can already check the updates in the Finance section of your dashboard.

What else can you do with the new finance features?

• Transfer up to $1M in one business day with Shopify Balance (available for Plus merchants in the US).
• Use Shopify Bill Pay for recurring, combined, and batched payments (available in the US).
• Enjoy more ways to pay with Shopify Credit, such as to pay in full with no fee in the first month (available in the US).
• Streamline compliance with automated filing of your sales tax returns in the US.
• Easily submit documents for Shopify Capital directly from the admin.

Top Shopify Winter updates for developers

What’s new for Shopify developers?

New developer community forum

Shopify introduced a new forum for developers to support each other and connect with Shopify’s product team. The forum features a user-friendly interface and allows developers to explore valuable information to solve emerging problems.

Custom pricing plans

Managed app pricing now lets you define your app’s pricing plans directly in the Shopify Partner Dashboard without using the Billing API. Today, this feature allows you to set private plans for individual shops. It’s useful if you need to support a bespoke feature set and pricing. You can create up to 10 private plans with up to 20 authorized stores per plan.

GraphQL replaces REST

Shopify fully migrates to GraphQL in terms of API and deprecates REST. See the detailed information about the terms and steps of migration in our guide.

Theme blocks are now live

Theme blocks are reusable Liquid pieces that create flexible layouts across your theme sections. Now, developers can use them on different levels and nest them within other theme blocks to create a hierarchy.

Enhanced accelerated checkout buttons

Accelerated checkout buttons now support Shopify Functions and Bundles. See more details on the update and migration to new functionality of accelerated checkout buttons.

Conclusions

Let’s sum up the most essential updates presented in the Shopify Editions Winter ’25.

• Combined listings for search, Category filter ordering, Streamlined theme editor, Buy X Get Y with subscriptions for Online.

• Bundles support in Shopify POS, Retail customer segments, and Customer metafields on POS for Retail.

• 50% faster cart and checkout experience, Checkout Blocks on more pages, Functions for draft orders, and Split shipping for Checkout.

• Customer account extensions, Metafield controls for Shopify Forms, Better draft orders for B2B, and New Shopify analytics for Wholesale.

• Natural search in more languages and Klarna in more countries for Global.

• Ship to store and new shipping carriers in Europe for Shipping.

• Faster-loading admin, Organizations for all plans, and Staff access by role for Operations.

• Unified finance everywhere for Finances.

• New developer community forum, Custom pricing plans, GraphQL instead of REST, Theme blocks, and Enhanced accelerated checkout buttons for Developers.

Shopify Winter ’25 Edition offers a lot of updates to streamline processes and improve user experience. If you are about to expand internationally, improve your checkout, and enhance your theme, and POS interface, these updates will bring you value. If you have any questions or need Shopify or Shopify Plus developers to get your store updated, contact the DigitalSuits team.