With the Summer 2025 Editions, Shopify is once again introducing numerous improvements that offer merchants more design freedom, better AI integration, and new possibilities in checkout and B2B. The edition was themed "Horizons," named after the newly introduced theme design system.
In this article, we summarize the most important new features in Shopify Editions Summer 2025. Our experts assess which features are most relevant and could make your everyday life as a retailer easier.
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1. What are Shopify Editions?
Shopify Editions is a digital event where Shopify presents all of its new features in one place. They take place twice a year: in winter and summer. Shopify provides a comprehensive overview of all key tools, updates, and developments. The goal is to tailor the platform even more closely to the needs of retailers and increase the efficiency of online shops.
The Shopify Editions announcements cover all important areas, including conversion optimization, sales channel enhancements, storefront optimizations, marketing features, user interface improvements, and updates to developer tools and APIs.
2. Shopify Editions Summer 2025: The 6 most important features (with assessments)
1. Horizon: The new theme design system
The eponymous feature of this year's Summer Editions: Shopify is introducing Horizon, a new theme system that maximizes the capabilities of nested theme blocks. Included are 10 new free themes , including Fabric, Ritual, Vessel, and more. All are structurally based on the same architecture and offer a consistent user experience throughout the build.
A highlight is the new flexibility in the layout: With over 28 individually combinable sections, user-defined layout elements and detailed typography settings (including free PX definition for headings), pages can be designed highly individually, without any custom code.
The mega menu system of the Horizon themes also allows for multiple variants for desktop and mobile – with or without images – and thus also offers a high level of flexibility.
Our assessment: This should give retailers even more freedom to customize their store precisely to their needs—particularly valuable for brands with high standards for visual storytelling and brand consistency. According to our theme expert Vincent, the Horizon themes are more closely aligned with premium themes. The number of brands that can get started with a free Shopify theme without requiring any coding skills should increase significantly with this update.
How do you find the right Shopify theme for your store?
Vincent presents his criteria and theme recommendations.
2. AI Block & Layout Generation
Shopify is integrating even more AI into the Theme Editor. This allows custom content blocks to be generated using AI—purely using text and without any coding. In the editions, this feature is demonstrated, for example, in image galleries and slider sections.
This way, you can also create entire theme templates. This allows you to describe your brand in text and then receive a customized setup that you can then further optimize.
Our assessment: These AI features should be particularly interesting for smaller teams who want to create suitable layouts and custom content blocks that reflect their brand, even without the necessary resources. During our testing, we were surprised by the number of options the AI-generated blocks included. Currently only available for English-language accounts and Horizons-based themes.
3. New knowledge base app for AI shopping
In addition to new features in the Theme Editor, Shopify is also making general improvements to help merchants compete in AI-driven e-commerce. The new Knowledge Base app is a particularly notable example.
With this app, retailers can specifically optimize the database for AI shopping agents. They can see which content the relevant systems access and how often information about the store is requested. Retailers can then adapt the FAQs and thus control the database for AI for their store.
Our assessment: More and more people, especially young people, are turning to AI solutions instead of Google search. This makes it all the more important for retailers to gain control over precisely presenting their brand in AI solutions and answering questions about their store in the best possible way. However, the app is currently only available in English.
4. One Discount – multiple discounts in one code
A frequently expressed wish has been fulfilled: A single discount code can now cover product, shipping and total discounts at the same time – but with the help of third-party apps.
Our assessment: Even though Shopify is relying on partner apps here, it's a significant step forward. It allows merchants to tailor their store to marketing campaigns more consistently and intuitively.
5. Even more focus on B2B
Shopify continues to expand its B2B features. New features include:
- Minimum & maximum order values via Checkout Blocks
- B2B Markets now available
- VAT ID verification (EU & UK)
Our assessment: Shopify has long been our preferred solution for B2C retailers. However, these updates clearly demonstrate that Shopify offers increasingly relevant features in the B2B space as well—and, depending on your requirements, is becoming a suitable option that allows for greater control, automation, and security, all without the need for additional plugins.
6. Model Context Protocol (MCP): The interface for AI commerce
Our final highlight also revolves entirely around AI optimization. MCP enables you to connect AI models directly with your store's commerce data – for example, for personalized product searches, automated shopping cart creation, or other interactions via chat. The protocol standardizes data provision for AI systems, including front-end integration via chat UI.
Our assessment: Could be an exciting solution for tech teams that want to develop intelligent shopping assistants and focus on conversational commerce.
3. Shopify Winter Editions 2025
Review of the biggest announcements
1. Metaobjects can be used everywhere
Meta objects can now be used globally in the theme editor. Thanks to dynamic source selection, meta object fields can be used flexibly in any relevant section or block – without any additional code effort. This allows merchants to integrate custom content directly in the theme editor and further customize their entire store.
2. Optimized display of product bundles
Shopify now presents product bundles even more consistently and clearly – for both merchants and their customers. Bundles and their components are now presented uniformly and grouped in emails, on the order status page, and in the administration interface.
This update addresses a request we have heard frequently from our customers and we believe will significantly increase clarity regarding bundles.
3. New insights through bundle reporting
Analyzing the performance of product bundles is now easier. A new reporting feature in Shopify Analytics provides detailed metrics, including total sales by bundle or individual bundle components.
In our view, Shopify is taking further important steps to simplify data-driven optimization for retailers and to optimize the sale of bundles.
4. New features for Search & Discovery
Shopify's own Search & Discovery app is our top recommendation for implementing complex filter functions and customizing your store's search results. The Winter 2025 Shopify Editions now offer some new features.
For example, customize the search for combined offers by deciding whether parent or child products are taken into account.
You can also specify the order of your category filter values and thus individually sort the filters on category and search results pages. To do this, select manual sorting in a filter in the Search & Discovery app. You also have the option of using the integrated AI tool Shopify Magic.
Furthermore, you now have the option to add filters for category meta fields in Search & Discovery. This allows you to provide even more relevant filters and further improve your customers' shopping experience.
5. Checkout Blocks now available to everyone
One of the most exciting updates in our opinion: Starting now, merchants on all Shopify plans (not just Shopify Plus!) can use Checkout Blocks to customize their thank you and order status pages. With dynamic content (e.g., banners or personalized messages) or static elements like images or text, you can perfectly showcase your brand even after the purchase.
This feature gives you the opportunity to personalize and brand-compliant the purchase process in your shop right up to the completion – to strengthen the bond with your customers.
6. Extensions of customer accounts through apps
Similar to checkout apps, customer accounts can also be enhanced with apps. These include 40 partner apps that allow customers to manage orders independently, leverage loyalty programs more intensively, or update personal data. You can also integrate elements such as customized offers, subscription management, or returns directly into customer accounts – without any programming effort.
7. Shortened loading times in the shopping cart, checkout and admin dashboard
A smooth and fast checkout process is crucial for a positive shopping experience. To address this, Shopify has further refined its infrastructure, now loading carts and checkouts up to 50% faster. The admin area has also been updated: Shopify reports a 25% shorter page load time and 12.5% faster navigation. Managing your store is now even more efficient and seamless.
4. Shopify Editions Summer 2024
Review of the biggest announcements
1. Markets: Command center for various markets
The first announcement of Shopify Editions, released in Summer 2024, already reflected the "Unified" theme. Shopify announced that you'll be able to manage all your business configurations centrally via Markets. Specifically, this means it'll be easier for you to combine your online store, retail, and B2B business through a single point of contact in Shopify Admin.
In a clear dashboard, you can create personalized shopping experiences from a central marketplace without having to create new stores for individual markets. This makes it possible, for example, to define a specific theme for your B2B market or select a selected product range for country-specific markets from a central store. In our view, it's the ideal tool for making internationalization via Shopify even easier.
Since no complex data synchronization between different individual shops is necessary and you can manage your Inventor centrally, we believe this feature should make expanding into new areas and target groups much easier and help you maintain a holistic overview.
However, the exact date for this feature to be rolled out is not yet known. You can join a waitlist at the time of the presentation. We assume this is a Shopify Plus feature.
2. New B2B features
The specific yet intuitive customizations for different markets via the central dashboard should be of particular interest to B2B retailers, especially the ability to deploy different theme customizations and product ranges for each B2B market. However, other features are also making Shopify increasingly attractive for selling to business customers.
For Shopify Plus, the ability to take deposits directly in the checkout is highlighted. All plans also now have early access to manual payment methods such as bank transfers or checks.
Also available to all merchants, but designed for Shopify Plus-exclusive B2B features and wholesale is the new free Trade theme.
3. Additional checkout customizations
There are also new features here for both Shopify Plus customers and all other plans. Every merchant can configure the thank you and order status pages using apps. Particularly interesting for regional requirements: In Early Access, Checkout Extensibility also supports the creation of additional address fields in the checkout.
In the future, you can also give customers more freedom when dealing with orders that are sent in multiple shipments, such as fastest delivery, lowest price, or their own specifications.
4. Advanced style settings
The new Theme Blocks were already introduced in Shopify Editions Winter 2024, enabling even more flexible storefronts by freely arranging elements within a block. Our developers are now also excited about the expanded style settings for section and block layouts.
In the Developer Preview, you can now make in-depth adjustments to the layout area to better tailor your store to your needs. For example, image galleries are no longer just image galleries; you can now flexibly define the direction, spacing, and alignment of items and wrap. Specific adjustments for mobile devices are also possible here.
Together with conditional logic, e.g. that a "Show all" button on a category page only appears if the total number of all products in the collection is not yet displayed, as well as powerful options for nesting objects, Shopify is taking important steps to allow even more complex store designs.
5. Collaborative Headless Commerce through Hydrogen Visual Editor
Shopify also introduced the Hydrogen Visual Editor (powered by Utopia) for improved implementation of headless storefronts. Currently, this is a complex topic that often requires a lot of resources and lengthy processes. This is about to change: The new visual editing mode is designed to enable optimized and resource-efficient team collaboration.
For example, developers can create templates so that even non-programmers can create new pages with just one click or make changes using components.
The shared, visual interface also enables intuitive data integrations from meta objects, Shopify stores, or APIs, which you can not only access but also update in real time. In our opinion, Shopify is taking the first effective steps to overcome major hurdles in headless commerce and make it more accessible.
Currently, you can sign up on the Shopify website to be notified when the feature is available.
6. More flexible analytics
In the future, you can tailor analytics in Shopify more precisely to your individual use case – with real-time data. In a highly configurable dashboard, you can add, resize, and customize metric cards using drag and drop. These are based on pre-built reports based on the most relevant commerce questions.
You can also flexibly edit Shopify reports, for example, adding additional metrics and variables that are relevant to you. This way, you get exactly the data you need to help you optimize your store.
Shopify is also working on centralized code editing to seamlessly switch between point-and-click reporting and Shopify QL coding in the same view.
5. Shopify Editions Winter 2024
Review of the biggest announcements
a. Upgrade to 2,000 product variants
A real game-changer: The limitation of 100 different variants per product is a thing of the past. New APIs support up to 2,000 variants per product. This makes Shopify more relevant for stores with complex product portfolios and particularly extensive catalogs, without the need for additional workarounds or apps.
However, the maximum number of variant dimensions remains at 3.
The functionality will be available in the developer preview in 2024.
b. Efficient variant management through combined listings
Shopify also significantly simplifies the modeling of different variants. Using the Combined Listings app, you can now centrally manage the content for individual variants. This allows you to easily display variant-specific descriptions or photos in the frontend. This way, you can ensure that only the relevant photos of the respective variant are displayed on the product pages, without any workarounds or coding.
The new bulk editing features also seem practical.
We're particularly pleased that this mechanism will eliminate the need for the time-consuming use of metafields to implement complex product variants. We expect this feature to be initially released to prospective customers after registration and subsequently rolled out to Shopify Plus.
c. Flexible storefronts thanks to theme blocks
The next announcement of Shopify Editions Winter 2024 is a real highlight, especially for our developers: The new Theme Blocks now enable even more flexible storefronts with Shopify. Arrange elements such as headings, text, or images as you wish within a block. You then have the option to define the created design as a global default.
The key advantage: You can use these theme blocks consistently for different sections, intuitively creating a consistent look for your online shop. Nesting blocks up to 8 levels deep also massively expands the customization options.
d. AI-based semantic search
In our opinion, the overhaul of Shopify's search functions was long overdue. Finally, progress is being made here: AI-based features optimize the contextual understanding of search queries and deliver relevant results even when users don't enter the exact keyword. This will remove a major limitation for Shopify.
This eliminates the effort for retailers to manually enter relevant keywords to search for specific products. We believe semantic search is a necessary step in connection with the increase to 2,000 variants, ensuring customers can easily navigate even extensive catalogs.
Due to the extensive localization work, we expect this feature to initially be available to US retailers upon prior registration, with other languages being added later.
e. Advanced role management for B2B
Shopify is taking further important steps in expanding its B2B functionality. This includes individualized options for employee permissions.
In the future, you'll be able to grant people access to specific accounts, allowing them to manage only the customers assigned to them, for example. Shopify plans to roll out similar features for B2C stores in the future, seemingly slowly opening up to a marketplace system.
f. Native subscriptions via Shopify Subscriptions
With Shopify Subscriptions, Shopify allows you to create product subscriptions directly in the Shopify admin, without additional third-party apps. We're excited to see how sophisticated this feature will be in practice.
G. Regional inventory information
This announcement of Shopify Editions promises, above all, a resource-efficient optimization of the customer experience. In the future, you'll be able to display inventory information regionally. This allows for the local distribution of your inventory and the synchronization of different inventory locations in real time.
Customers benefit from more reliable information by only displaying inventory information relevant to their location in your online store's storefront and checkout.
h. Intelligent AI features for product photos
Shopify Magic, Shopify's proprietary AI tool, is being expanded with additional useful features to optimize product photos directly in the admin area. For example, you can easily replace backgrounds with prompts or your own images in just a few clicks.
With this expansion of AI features, Shopify is taking two significant steps: First, the platform is bringing another function, often handled by external providers or image editing programs, natively into its own backend. Second, Shopify is continuing its path of relieving merchants of tedious work and repetitive tasks through automation.
i. Powerful Web Performance Dashboard
Another exciting announcement in Shopify Editions Winter 2024 is the expanded storefront performance metrics. Shopify previously established the ability to better assess an online store's optimization potential using Page Score. The platform is now further developing this tool.
The advanced Web Performance Dashboard provides retailers with comprehensive insights into three key metrics: loading speed, interactivity, and cumulative layout shift, directly in their admin area and without the need for third-party applications. Using this data, you can further optimize your online store and more quickly identify weak points in the customer experience.
j. Expansion of checkout extensibility
In recent years, Shopify has increasingly opened up to more customized checkout options. Because the platform prioritizes stability and security, complete freedom won't be available in the foreseeable future. However, with Shopify Plus, merchants will have access to additional APIs and tools to make appropriate adjustments.
These include 14 new extensions for the thank you and order status page as well as additional options for color designing headers, footers and containers.
