Shopify just dropped its biggest release of the year—150+ updates packed into the Summer ’25 Edition, all under one bold theme: Horizons. This isn’t just a seasonal refresh. It’s a clear message to merchants everywhere: You should be building your brand, not wrestling with backend code.

Shopify’s goal? Strip away the tech clutter. Automate the boring stuff. Give you the space to create, connect, and grow. Whether you’re running a one-person store or scaling across continents, this update is built to keep up and push you forward with fewer roadblocks in the way of wherever you sell, whatever you sell. 

Let’s dive into our recap of what’s new in Shopify Summer ’25 Edition

🎧 Prefer to listen on the go? Tune in to our latest Joy podcast episode where we unpack what Shopify Summer Editions ’25 means for loyalty programs and how you can turn updates into retention wins.

1. Enhanced Design Flexibility: Build Stunning Stores with Ease

Shopify’s Summer ’25 Edition tackles one of the most significant pain points for merchants: 

“how to create a visually striking, conversion-focused store without needing a developer or wasting time on complicated design tools”.

At the core is the Horizon Theme Foundation, featuring 10 ready-to-use presets that cover a wide range of industries and styles. 

Merchants can pick one of these conversion-focused templates and tailor it quickly to their brand, saving hours or even days of design work. This accelerates launching new stores or running seasonal campaigns with confidence.

But what if you need something even more customized?

Shopify introduces powerful AI tools: 

• AI Block Generation 
• AI Store Builder. 

Type in something simple like "summer clothing collection" or "women’s sportswear," and Shopify instantly creates content blocks or even entire themes. No waiting, no designer fees—just unique, professional designs.

Theme Editor also gets a new revamp. It’s now more user-friendly and efficient. You can now drag-and-drop over 30 content blocks easily, preview changes in real-time, and find features quickly with predictive search.

You focus on the fun part—bringing your brand to life—while Shopify handles the heavy lifting.

2. Upgraded POS System: Sell Faster and Smarter In-Store

The Summer 2025 Edition brings a significant upgrade to Shopify’s Point-of-Sale (POS) system, addressing the real-world challenges merchants face in physical retail. The redesigned Shopify POS app (v10) is now faster, simpler, and built around your brand. 

Here’s what's new:

The new interface is more intuitive and responsive, with smoother navigation and smarter search tools that help staff connect with customers quickly. Faster checkout means less waiting, boosting satisfaction and reducing lost sales during busy times.

The Ship and Carry Out feature simplifies mixed fulfillment. Customers can walk away immediately with in-stock items, while the rest of their order ships later, eliminating awkward delays or juggling at checkout. 

There are now custom branding options for your POS. Through a Display Editor, merchants can customize colors, logos, and receipts, reinforcing brand identity at every touchpoint. 

3. Greater Product Discovery & Customer Engagement via the Shop App

Shopify’s Shop app just got a significant upgrade. It's no longer just a place to browse—it’s now a powerful discovery and loyalty tool that connects the right products with the right people, faster.

The app’s home feed now uses AI to instantly tailor product recommendations based on each shopper’s browsing and search behavior.

Your product pages on Shop also mirror your online store, complete with visual swatches and subscription options. This gives shoppers a clearer, more engaging browsing experience with fewer clicks.

On the loyalty front, you can now see your store credits and loyalty points directly in the Shop app. 

Another standout feature is the ability to create and share your curated collections, turning shopping into a more interactive, social experience that benefits merchants by boosting engagement and brand affinity.

4. Simplified Global Selling & Payments: Facilitating Cross-Border Growth

The Summer ’25 Edition turns global selling from a headache into a manageable, streamlined process.

The new Multiple Business Entities in One Store feature lets merchants consolidate their online and offline businesses, regardless of differing legal or operational structures, into a single Shopify admin, reducing administrative burden and offering unified reporting—something finance teams will welcome, making international expansion feel more like business as usual.

On the payments front, Shopify continues to widen its reach. With Shopify Payments now available in Mexico and 15 new European markets, merchants can offer localized payment methods that customers trust. Plus, multi-currency payouts reduce costly foreign exchange fees by allowing merchants to accept over 130 currencies and settle in up to eight.

Shopify also addresses a common pain point with duties collection and inclusion in product prices. By making duties visible upfront and integrating them into pricing, merchants lower cart abandonment caused by unexpected fees at checkout. 

Finally, regional market customization lets merchants create tailored experiences for different regions, while the expansion of flexible payment options like Klarna across Europe gives customers payment choices that resonate locally.

Shopify’s focus here removes traditional roadblocks—legal complexity, currency hassles, surprise fees—and makes global DTC selling practical, profitable, and less stressful.

5. Enhanced Control Over AI Shopping Chats with Knowledge Base App

As AI-powered shopping assistants become increasingly common, merchants face a new challenge: ensuring the AI accurately represents their brand and products. Shopify’s new Knowledge Base app gives merchants that control back.

With this tool, merchants can customize the AI’s responses to buyer questions, tailoring answers to highlight unique selling points and brand values. 

Beyond controlling responses, the app offers valuable insights into the actual questions buyers ask. This data helps merchants refine customer support, tailor marketing, and identify areas where product information can be clearer or more compelling.

This feature closes a critical gap in AI shopping experiences: ensuring automation doesn’t dilute brand identity or leave customers with generic answers, removing the hesitation of users when using AI.

6. Sidekick AI: A Smarter, More Powerful Assistant for Deeper Insights and Creativity

Shopify’s Sidekick AI just got a major upgrade—transforming from a basic assistant into a powerful tool that helps merchants dig deeper, act faster, and create smarter.

What sets the new Sidekick apart is its ability to handle multi-step reasoning. Instead of surface-level answers, it connects the dots across your store’s data to pinpoint why sales spike or dip, offering clear, actionable recommendations. This kind of insight turns guesswork into strategy, helping merchants optimize inventory, marketing, and operations with confidence.

Sidekick also becomes more accessible and versatile with voice chat, screen sharing, and instant image generation. Whether you want to troubleshoot a problem verbally, collaborate live with your team, or quickly produce eye-catching visuals for campaigns, Sidekick supports you every step of the way—right inside your Shopify admin.

Crucially, Sidekick now supports 20 languages, breaking down language barriers and making AI assistance genuinely global. This inclusivity empowers merchants everywhere to tap into AI without struggling with language limitations.

7. Checkout Enhancements: Smoother, Safer, and More Flexible Payment Experience

The checkout experience is where sales close—or slip away. Shopify’s Summer ’25 update sharpens this critical moment with a series of improvements that help merchants convert more visitors into buyers while keeping security tight.

A key upgrade is the introduction of flat rates for split shipping. When orders ship from multiple locations, customers see a simple, predictable shipping cost instead of confusing fees. This clarity smooths the buying process, especially for merchants with complex fulfillment setups.

Flexible payments get a boost with Shop Pay Installments now available in Canada, letting customers buy now and pay later. This option increases conversions by making purchases more affordable without merchants needing to manage complicated financing.

Security and speed also get priority. Shopify Checkout now meets PCI DSS V4 compliance, the latest standard ensuring transaction safety. Combined with AI-driven fraud prevention models, merchants can reduce costly chargebacks and fraud risks. Plus, checkout load times have improved by nearly 2 seconds, making the experience faster and less frustrating for shoppers worldwide.

Additional perks include carbon-neutral shipping options at checkout for environmentally conscious buyers and support for purchasing physical products within virtual worlds like Roblox—opening fresh sales channels.

8. Streamlined Marketing Tools: Targeted, Flexible, and Error-Resilient Campaigns

Marketing can not be left out when there is an upgrade.

A standout feature is the ability to create one discount code that applies across products, orders, and shipping, removing confusion for customers and making promotions easier to manage, helping merchants boost sales without juggling multiple codes.

Marketing teams also gain updated segmentation and automation tools. Smarter customer segments, enhanced editing shortcuts, and ready-to-use templates let merchants target audiences more precisely and run campaigns more efficiently. Plus, the ability to cancel email campaigns mid-send reduces costly mistakes like typos or broken links, saving both time and brand reputation.

The update adds store credit visibility in marketing emails and on storefronts, encouraging repeat purchases by reminding customers of their available credit—turning loyalty into immediate action.

For merchants leveraging creators, the new Collabs mobile app puts sales data, payments, and product discovery at their fingertips, empowering faster collaboration and performance tracking.

Finally, Campaigns centralizes multichannel marketing management within Shopify’s admin. Merchants can track results, generate QR codes, manage UTMs, and share links—all from one place—streamlining marketing efforts and improving ROI.

9. Improved B2B Capabilities: Expanding to Wholesale Markets with Confidence

Shopify’s Summer ’25 update brings powerful tools designed to help merchants confidently expand into wholesale markets without juggling separate systems or facing compliance headaches.

The ability to create multiple B2B markets, each with custom catalogs, currencies, and storefront themes, means merchants can tailor the buying experience precisely to different wholesale segments. The handy “View as” preview lets sellers see exactly what their buyers will experience, which is especially valuable for global merchants managing diverse markets.

With VAT number validation for EU and UK businesses, merchants reduce the risk of costly tax errors. The system automatically applies tax exemptions when valid VAT numbers are entered, simplifying compliance in complex regions.

To control buying behavior, merchants can now set minimum and maximum order limits for B2B customers, avoiding issues like undersized orders or stock shortages. Meanwhile, the introduction of gift cards in B2B catalogs opens up new gifting and incentive options, expanding how business clients can engage with your brand.

Integration with NetSuite has been improved to sync orders, company details, purchase orders, and payment terms seamlessly, boosting data accuracy and operational efficiency for merchants and their suppliers. Plus, Shopify has expanded the list of B2B-compatible apps, making it easier to add features like collaborative buying and lookbooks.

10. More Efficient Shipping and Operations: Faster Fulfillment and Better Insights

Shipping and fulfillment can make or break your customer experience. This version injects speed and precision into your operations.

With pick lists, barcode scanning, and transfer tracking, merchants can streamline warehouse tasks significantly. Printing pick lists complete with SKUs, quantities, and images speeds up order picking, while barcode scanning simplifies stock transfers between locations. Plus, tracking inventory shipments in multiple parcels reduces confusion and keeps fulfillment on track.

Handling large order volumes becomes easier with bulk printing of up to 250 shipping labels at once and new carrier options like Purolator in Canada and SEUR in Spain. These features save time and broaden logistics flexibility in key markets, enabling faster deliveries.

The update also introduces more nuanced shipping controls, such as flat rate shipping for split-location orders, meaning customers pay a single predictable shipping fee even if their items ship from multiple warehouses, reducing friction at checkout.

Customer service gets a boost with the ability to refund to store credit and manage editable subscriptions, giving merchants greater flexibility to retain customers and adapt subscription offerings without hassle.

Behind the scenes, Shopify improves admin speed and analytics, letting merchants manage stores faster and gain deeper insights into operational performance. 

Conclusion: Merchants Stress Less and Shine More with Shopify Summer ’25

Shopify’s Summer ’25 Edition delivers a powerful suite of updates that cut through complexity and unlock new possibilities for merchants everywhere. From design tools that spark creativity without coding to smarter retail operations, smoother checkout experiences, and streamlined global selling, this release removes friction at every step of the commerce journey.

For merchants aiming to stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market, adopting these tools isn’t just an option—it’s essential. Summer ’25 equips you to scale efficiently, innovate boldly, and deliver seamless, memorable shopping experiences.