The Latest Shopify Updates as of November 2023

Enhanced Shopify Collabs creator profile pages

Previously, when navigating through Shopify Collabs and clicking on a creator profile, the displayed information could vary significantly from one creator to another.

Now Shopify has implemented improvements to enhance the experience of viewing creator profiles on Shopify Collabs. The updated creator profiles now feature:

• A clear badge indicating whether a creator is part of the Collabs Network or not on the platform yet.
• An easily accessible button to send invitations to creators who have shared their contact information.
• An informative "About" section that provides details inputted by each creator, including their email, gender, age, location, social media accounts, and more.

Comprehensive information and insights about your current relationship with each creator. Creator profiles now showcase collaboration history, application details, current affiliate offers, gifting history, and sales performance. These enhancements provide a more consistent and informative experience when exploring creator profiles on Shopify Collabs.

Enhancements to POS PIN security update

Shopify has implemented several improvements for POS PINs.

Users are now required to wait for 30 seconds after five consecutive failed attempts when attempting to enter their PIN at the POS. A warning will be displayed if a PIN is deemed too easy to guess when creating or editing the PIN for a user with POS access.

Enhance and automate gift card email delivery with on/off toggle, now accessible in admin settings

You now have the option to preview gift card emails and choose whether to send gift cards manually upon creation by adjusting the default setting in your Gift Card settings within your Shopify admin. This enhancement streamlines the gift card creation process, providing you with better control and visibility over the content you send to customers.

For further details about Gift Cards, please refer to our Shopify Help Center.

Enhanced staff permissions for Orders

Previously, the singular Orders permission granted staff members broad access to various actions, including editing order attributes, managing payments, fulfilling and shipping orders, as well as canceling and deleting orders. Now, there are 12 new, more detailed staff permissions available: View orders, Manage order information, Apply discounts, Set payment terms, Capture payments, Mark as paid, Fulfill and ship orders, Buy shipping labels, Return, Cancel orders, Delete orders, and Manage abandoned checkouts. This heightened granularity provides merchants with increased control over staff access to specific order-related actions.

All existing staff members with the previous singular Orders permission will automatically have all the new permissions selected by default to ensure backward compatibility. Merchants can choose to select or unselect a subset of these permissions when more detailed access control is required.

For additional information about these new permissions, please refer to the Shopify Help Center.

Integrate your preferred tax service with Shopify using the Shopify Tax Platform

Shopify introduced the Shopify Tax Platform, a robust infrastructure designed to seamlessly connect your preferred tax service with Shopify. Now, marketers can maximize the benefits of Shopify's comprehensive commerce tools while ensuring a consistent and accurate tax source.

Shopify cares about a thorough vetting process for every tax partner before their inclusion. Once a partner is approved, Shopify collaborates closely with their team to perform extensive testing of the integration, ensuring it meets various speed, accuracy, and compliance standards.

Vertex, Inc., an inaugural tax platform partner for Shopify, helped to unveil the platform. Vertex, a leading global provider of indirect tax software and solutions, is trusted by over 60% of Fortune 500 companies.

For more information about the Shopify Tax Platform, visit the Enterprise Blog, the Shopify Help Center, or connect with your success team.

Extensibility is now accessible for Plus merchants on thank you and order status pages.

Utilize the checkout editor to tailor the appearance and functionality of your checkout, thank you, and order status pages without the need for coding. Plus, seamlessly integrate apps to make code-free customizations, such as adding custom content, fulfilling digital orders, showcasing loyalty incentives, creating opportunities for social engagement, and more. The extensible thank you and order status pages are fully compatible with checkout branding, ensuring consistent experiences pre- and post-purchase.

Please be aware that script tags, additional scripts, and checkout.liquid on the thank you and order status pages are now deprecated. Take note of the following turn-off dates:

August 13, 2024: Removal of checkout.liquid for in-checkout pages August 28, 2025: Removal of checkout.liquid, apps with script tags, and additional scripts on the thank you and order status page.

Void transactions and cancel orders directly within the Point of Sale (POS) system

Cancel POS orders and void transactions effortlessly in case of customer changes or checkout errors. Enable order cancellation within 15 minutes of completion, allowing specific staff members permission and requiring manager override for others. Explore further details on canceling POS orders in the Shopify Help Center.

Introducing a new feature – Visual filters

Now accessible in the Search & Discovery app, you can incorporate color and images into the filter choices displayed on the collection and search result pages. This enhancement lets customers swiftly comprehend filter options by providing a preview of colors, patterns, or materials through a swatch.

Discover more about visual filters in the Shopify Help Center.

Refine your analytics with Market filters

Shopify merchants now can filter their reports on the Analytics page by Markets. This feature allows you to apply filters specific to Markets for Sales, Behavior, and Customer reports. Additionally, you can access Sales over time for all Markets by selecting "View report" on the Markets page (Settings -> Markets). For individual markets, Reports within the "Markets Performance" section also provide links to Market filters within Analytics.

Find more details on customizing your dashboard experience in the help center.

Improve order editing with discount flexibility

Now, when editing orders, you can add, remove, or update discounts on existing line items. Unlike before, where discounts could only be added to new items and couldn't be modified or removed, this update offers increased flexibility. This enhancement allows for better meeting customer expectations and enhances customer retention. For instance, you can retroactively apply missing discounts if customers forget to do so during checkout.

It's important to note that only manually added discounts, such as those applied through editing or draft orders, can be updated or removed. For additional details, refer to the Shopify Help Center.

Shopify tax expands support for tax-inclusive pricing in the United States

For merchants engaged in sales or shipping to the United States and adopting tax-inclusive pricing, Shopify Tax now offers precise rooftop rates and product-specific taxes in states with activated tax collection. During checkout, Shopify Tax automatically verifies the correct rate application and adjusts based on the customer's address and local regulations about the specific product being purchased.

Explore more details about Shopify Tax and Tax Inclusive Pricing in the Shopify Help Center. Please be aware that regulations concerning tax-inclusive pricing can differ across states. Always consult with the state's tax agency or your tax expert to confirm local requirements.

Shopify tax simplifies compliance and filing for U.S. transactions

International merchants selling and shipping to U.S. buyers can now leverage Shopify Tax for accurate sales tax calculation. Shopify Tax aids in ensuring correct sales tax collection, staying compliant with nexus obligations and streamlining filing preparations. Equipped with rooftop accuracy, insights into tax liability, product categorization, and advanced sales tax reporting features, all the essential tools are readily available within the Shopify admin.

Find more details about Shopify Tax in the Shopify Help Center.

Effortless POS sales tax management

Shopify strives to enhance business efficiency and compliance, and the latest improvement focuses on sales tax management, specifically for point-of-sale (POS) orders.

Bid farewell to outdated calculations and the complexities of handling overrides, tax toggles, and tracking sales tax holidays. With the upgraded Shopify Tax, merchants can now ensure compliance effortlessly, adapting seamlessly to changes in tax regulations. Elevate your point of sale experience with precise tax collection, thanks to rooftop accurate calculations and automatic application of product-specific tax rates. Additionally, discover improved tax reporting and liability insights in the Shopify Help Center. Also, detailed information on Shopify Tax and Point of Sale, it's possible to find the Shopify Community.

Shopify introduced 'Add a Recipient' and 'Scheduled Send' Gift card features

Good news for gift card users! Now customers get a more personalized and convenient gifting experience. Now, when purchasing a gift card, customers can add a recipient's name and include a personalized message. Additionally, they get the flexibility to schedule the gift card sending at a specific time for a thoughtful and timely surprise.

Find more details in the Shopify Help Center.

Tailor your experience with a one-page or three-page checkout

Merchants subscribed to the Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans now have the flexibility to utilize the theme editor for selecting between the default one-page checkout or the three-page checkout. This choice empowers you to tailor your shop's checkout experience to align with your preferences and cater to your buyers. Rest assured, your customizations and checkout settings seamlessly transition between layouts. Merchants remain unaffected by this change and can continue to set their preferred checkout layout using the checkout editor.

Explore more about changing your checkout layout by visiting the help center.

Markets Pro introduces enhanced duties calculations and customs documentation support

Results: Markets Pro now facilitates preferential trade agreements in duties calculations and customs documentation. Merchants are advised to review their products' country of origin to enable international buyers to benefit from preferential duties treatment.

Details: Markets Pro has incorporated support for preferential treaties, leading to reduced duty rates. For instance, the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement allows US merchants to ship products to Canada and Mexico with lower import fees when the items are manufactured in North America.

Merchant action: Markets Pro utilizes the specified country of origin for each product variant to calculate duties. In cases where no Country of Origin is provided for a product, Markets Pro defaults to Taiwan. Merchants can modify the default country of origin by reaching out to Shopify support.

Stay informed with Shopify Flow: Receive alerts for workflow errors

Introducing the new trigger, 'Workflow Error Threshold Reached,' in Shopify Flow. This trigger activates the first time an error is detected for a workflow version, allowing you to promptly notify yourself or your team to identify and address the issue.

To explore this feature, you can either create a new workflow from scratch in Flow or use a pre-existing template.

To avoid an influx of notifications, the trigger is set to run only once per workflow version. For instance, if a workflow encounters 10 errors, you'll receive a single notification. After resolving the error, if another issue arises, you'll be notified once again.

New custom date range picker for metrics on home

Now, merchants have the flexibility to select custom date ranges for viewing store performance metrics directly on the Home page. The default view for these metrics will be 'Month to date’.

Refinements to Cohort Analysis report

In Shopify's latest release, the Customer Cohort Analysis report includes a new metric: 'Amount Spent per Customer'. This metric calculates the average amount customers have spent over their entire history with your store, encompassing taxes, discounts, shipping, and any refunds. Understanding the amount spent per customer gives more informed decisions regarding your marketing investments.

Furthermore, in addition to the new 'Amount Spent per Customer' metric, you now can toggle sales metrics and view cumulative values for net, gross, and total sales across cohorts.

Access the Customer Cohort Analysis report in the Analytics section of the Shopify admin. For more details on these updates, refer to the Shopify Help Center.