Highlights from Shopify 2023 Winter Edition

Click here for the Twitter thread version of this list.

Last week, Shopify released 100+ product updates in their 2023 Winter Edition. Some of these are already available, while others are coming soon. There are a ton of exciting updates, but here are the 10 that caught my eye:

Drag-and-drop checkout editor for more brand consistency, plus app integration for extended functionality: Clients often ask how we can make checkout feel more like an extension of their brand and website. These updates will be a game-changer for more turnkey customization and merchants looking for a more advanced robust cart/checkout experience.
Shop Promise badge (on product pages) will display smart delivery dates backed by a limited guarantee: Maybe it's just me, but this feels like a response to Amazon's Buy with Prime value prop. Either way, I'm excited to see this in action and think it can be effective in building customer trust and confidence. Shopify claims up to 25% life in conversion.
Deeper Shop Pay integration (one-click checkout & using passkeys for accounts): As a customer, I've loved the ease of Shop Pay. It's great to see Shopify embed it further into the customer journey. One-click checkout will make repeat purchases seamless. On the accounts side, we see more clients opting to go live without account pages, but leaving customers to rely on email alone can be tough. Making account creation and management easy with Shop Pay will be a value-add to merchants and customers alike. Great thread from Shopify Senior Product Lead, Patrick, here.
AI-generated storefront content (Shopify Magic), e.g. use keywords to generate product descriptions: Copy is often a pain point for clients, so I'll be curious to see how effective/easy this is to use. I'm sure we'll see AI continue to show up more in all aspects of e-commerce.
Improved search & recommendations: Smart, suggestive search has become the expected functionality for e-commerce stores with more than a handful of SKUs. It's nice to see Shopify's focus on Search and leveraging data across Shopify to improve it.
Introducing Metaobjects, allowing merchants to create reusable, custom content: Like the drag-and-drop checkout editor, this feels like another step in the "no-code" direction. As an avid-Webflow user, I'm loving this update. I'm also looking forward to seeing how our designers can weigh in on what should be a metaobject, based on how they structure their design files.
Product Bundles: Finally, the new Shopify Bundles app will make product bundling easy for merchants — a long-time request we've heard from clients.
More Shop app customization (branding, shop experiences, etc): I don't hear many people talking about the Shop app; however, I think it can be a powerful tool for customers and merchants alike. It's interesting to see Shopify investing in new features. It makes me wonder if an Amazon-like experience is a long-term vision. I'll be eager to see if this drives adoption.
Translate & adapt app, making it easy to localize store content across markets: We see this request a lot, especially for skincare and beauty clients with different laws/guidelines by region. This will be a powerful upgrade across the board.
Integrated marketing automation for re-engagement with Shopify Email: I didn't expect to see Shopify prioritizing email, but so far, it looks like a solid offering for merchants who don't need or want to invest in a more robust email offering with Klaviyo.