Shopify Summer Editions: 5 Things We’re Most Excited About

Shopify has just dropped its latest Editions release, and it’s all about making life easier for store owners, ecommerce operators and marketers. There’s a host of improvements across store design, marketing, POS and global selling, with plenty of nods to AI (would you expect anything less at this point?).

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Let’s take a look at some of the most relevant trends for mobile commerce. A good place to start is with the upgrades to Shopify’s own mobile marketplace: the Shop App.

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Doubling Down on Mobile Commerce: Upgrades to the Shop App

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Shopify has introduced major updates to the Shop App, including an enhanced discovery flow and upgraded PDPs (hello, colour swatches 👋).

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This continued investment in the mobile experience shows Shopify’s belief that mobile commerce is the future of retail. With mobile-native shopping driving higher conversions, stronger retention and better customer experience, it’s no surprise to see them improving the purchasing journey on Shop.

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For brands, the enhanced personalisation and discovery features should lead to an increase in Shop sales. Improved parity between Shop’s product pages and branded PDPs will also help build trust and conversion.

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But is the Shop App enough for brands that want to unlock the full potential of mobile?

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Not quite.

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Without your own branded mobile app, you’ll be missing out on a few key things:

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• 🚫 No direct push notifications
• 🚫 Limited control over the brand experience
• 🚫 No exclusivity or differentiation
• 🚫 Zero ownership of the customer journey

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There’s a lot that Shop doesn’t offer, and brands need to think beyond the mobile web to truly stand out. If turning your Shopify store into a mobile app is of interest to your brand, we’d recommend reaching out here to explore what’s possible.

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Greater Customisation with AI

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AI is everywhere right now, and for good reason. With the rise of ‘vibe coding’ tools like Lovable and Cursor, anyone with a laptop and a wifi connection can spin up an entire webpage in seconds. It was only a matter of time before Shopify brought some of this convenience to its non-technical audience.

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With the latest improvements to Shopify’s AI store builder, you can now generate a personalised theme for your brand in seconds. The new preset theme foundation, called Horizon, along with AI block generation and the AI store builder, mean the barrier to entry for a fully custom storefront has never been lower.

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We’re especially excited to see greater design flexibility within Shopify’s product. It allows brands to more easily convey their unique identity, without the cost of custom development agencies. As more design-led Shopify stores emerge, Venn Apps is perfectly positioned to help brands turn their distinct websites into equally compelling mobile apps.

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POS Improvements

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Shopify continues to invest in in-store retail as part of its mission to deliver true unified commerce for enterprise merchants.

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This time, POS has had a major refresh. The highlights include:

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• A redesigned interface for faster navigation, better search and a more flexible cart

• UI customisation options that allow merchants to brand customer-facing screens with their own logos, colours and media

• The ability to manage and issue store credit directly from the POS, streamlining operations

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Once again, Shopify is focused on making daily operations simpler for its customers. With an improved POS experience, we expect more enterprise and mid-market brands to adopt the system as they expand into bricks-and-mortar retail.

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We’re especially excited to see these upgrades align with our recent product launch: scannable mobile loyalty passes directly integrated with Shopify POS. This new feature makes it easy for shoppers to earn rewards when they buy in-store, with their loyalty status tracked through a fully branded mobile app.

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These updates open up exciting possibilities for brands. For example, merchants can now differentiate between in-store and online purchases, allowing them to reward loyal customers with in-store discounts. With a mobile app, these could be communicated through push notifications and redeemed with a simple QR code scan.

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We expect many creative applications as Shopify continues to evolve in this space.

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Metafield and Object Enhancements

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Shopify’s latest updates also bring a sharper focus on data management for ecommerce teams. The enhancements to Metafields and Custom Objects make it easier than ever to create, store, and retrieve unique data across your store — whether it’s powering product quizzes, customer highlights, or dynamic product features.

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Improved integration with Shopify Flow allows merchants to build smarter automations that respond to custom data in real-time. This unlocks powerful use cases like personalised product recommendations or dynamic loyalty offers based on a customer’s purchase history.

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For brands using Venn Apps, this is a big win. Since our platform mirrors Shopify’s metadata structures, any improvements in the core system flow through seamlessly into your mobile app. This means faster iteration, easier maintenance, and richer mobile experiences — all without additional development overhead.

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Internationalisation: Global Selling Made Simple

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Shopify continues to make global selling simpler for enterprise merchants. With the latest Markets improvements, brands can now:

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🌍 Sell into multiple countries from a single store
💳 Get paid in multiple business entities and local currencies
📦 Offer a more localised shopping experience without relying on expansion stores

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For brands managing multiple regions and currencies, this means less operational complexity and more streamlined global commerce.

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With full support for Shopify Markets, we're excited to see our clients continue to deliver best-in-class localised shopping experiences in their mobile app.

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Summing Up

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Shopify’s latest Editions release brings a lot to the table. From mobile upgrades and AI-generated themes to smarter POS and easier global selling, it’s clear they’re focused on helping brands move faster and do more with less effort. The tools are getting better, the experience more connected, and the possibilities broader for teams of all sizes.

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But while these updates lay the groundwork, it’s still up to brands to shape the experience. The ones that will stand out are those who take full advantage of what’s on offer, adapt quickly, and keep their focus on building something that feels true to them and their customers.