SHOPIFY EDITIONS: SUMMER ‘25 (Horizons)

AI Is No Longer the Future of Ecommerce. It’s Here.

Andy, Susanna, and Alessio were on the ground in Toronto, Canada, recently for Shopify Editions 2025, connecting with the global Shopify community and getting a firsthand look at what’s next for commerce.

Shopify's Summer '25 Edition, aptly named Horizons, dropped this month. Let us tell you, the message was loud and clear: AI isn't coming. It's already running the show when it comes to ecommerce.

We’ve always leaned into innovation (and we’ve already been talking about the power of AI for some time). But this update? It goes next level. Whether you're a seasoned Shopify Plus merchant or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, Horizons is a line in the sand moment for how brands will scale, sell, and stand out moving forward.

Shopify Sidekick Just Got a Big Upgrade

The friendly little assistant in your admin just got a serious IQ boost. Shopify’s AI Sidekick now handles multi-step reasoning, meaning it can do more than just spit out stats; it can think. Ask it why your sales dipped last month, and it’ll parse through your data to give you actual business context. No more guesswork. Just answers. Fast.

And the rollout doesn’t stop at data. Sidekick now taps into your store’s goals, product catalogue, and workflows to give advice that actually means something. This isn’t a chatbot bolted onto the side. It’s baked into the bones of the platform.

Horizon Themes: Visual Customisation, Powered by AI

Design just got a serious glow-up too. Shopify's Horizon theme foundation is built with AI-driven visual editing tools that remove the grunt work. Want a new section on your homepage? Just describe what you want. Shopify Magic will create it.

Even the new theme editor feels like it belongs in 2025: faster, smarter, and slicker than anything before it. Think hover previews, copy/paste blocks, predictive search, and a layout that finally feels intuitive.

AI-Powered Commerce That Sells Smarter

The AI updates don’t stop at design and admin. Shopify has introduced AI shopping agents, intelligent customer support, and even image generation tools that bring your products to life in a whole new way.

We're talking storefront AI that can act like a concierge. It will engage with customers, suggest products, and even trigger a checkout process. All in real-time. All with less overhead.

This is the kind of thing that used to require five apps and a heap of configuration. Now, it’s built in. That’s the power of a platform that’s not just keeping up, but shaping where commerce is headed.

Marketing Just Got Smarter

Shopify’s new AI-powered marketing tools are taking the guesswork out of growth. With smarter segmentation, automated campaign suggestions, and real-time performance feedback, merchants can make every dollar work harder.

Note: These advanced marketing tools, including Shopify Audiences 3.0, are currently only available to Shopify Plus merchants in the United States and Canada.

Shopify Audiences 3.0 makes it easier than ever to reach high-intent shoppers across paid channels, while marketing automations are now baked into the platform natively. Launching smarter, faster campaigns, without relying on multiple third-party tools.

Built for Brands Who Want More Than Out-of-the-Box

Shopify isn’t just levelling up for developers, it’s making advanced customisation and workflow management accessible to agencies and ambitious brands. From performance gains to flexible checkout and cart logic, these tools put control back in your hands.

Hydrogen 3 and Oxygen enhancements mean better performance and more control across custom storefronts. The new CLI and debugging tools make building, testing, and deploying faster than ever.

Plus, Shopify Functions just got more flexible, allowing deeper discount logic, customised checkout workflows, and even entirely custom cart experiences, without ever touching the core code.

For those building serious commerce infrastructure, this is the kind of power that keeps platforms sticky and developers happy.

Checkout, POS, and Global Commerce

We won't go deep here, but worth noting: Shopify's checkout just got faster (again), POS 10.0 brings serious muscle to in-store experiences, and global merchants now have more flexibility than ever with Markets, multi-currency payouts, and multi-entity support.

Want flat-rate shipping across multiple locations? Done. Want unified discounts across products, shipping, and orders? Yep. Shopify’s removing friction from every touchpoint.

What It Means for Merchants

If you’re considering shifting your online store to Shopify Plus right now, the opportunity is massive. This isn’t about gimmicks or hype. It’s about using smarter tools to operate at a higher level and generate more revenue through intuitive AI functionality.

We’re already embedding these new features into our client roadmaps. Not just because it’s shiny, but because it’s strategic. The brands that win in the next 12 months won’t be the ones who move the fastest. They’ll be the ones who move the smartest.

And smart in 2025 means AI-native.

We’re here to push limits, test bold ideas, and build ecommerce that earns attention. If that sounds like your kind of partnership, you know where to find us.