Shopify Summer 25'

Product Introduction

1. Shopify Summer 25' is a major platform update introducing over 150+ enhancements to Shopify’s ecosystem, focusing on AI-driven tools, global commerce flexibility, and advanced customization capabilities for online and retail businesses.
2. The core value lies in its ability to unify fragmented commerce operations, automate complex workflows with AI, and provide merchants with scalable solutions for managing global sales, multi-currency payouts, and cross-border logistics.

Main Features

1. Horizon Theme Framework: A new design foundation enabling AI-generated theme blocks and full-store customization through natural language prompts, with 10 optimized themes and a developer platform supporting real-time local testing.
2. Smarter Sidekick AI Assistant: Enhanced with multi-step reasoning, 20-language support, and mobile integration, it provides data-driven business insights, generates visuals from keywords, and assists with screen-sharing workflows in POS and admin.
3. Global Catalog and Multi-Entity Management: Merchants can manage multiple business entities (e.g., international subsidiaries) within a single admin, access Shopify’s Global Catalog for AI shopping agents, and offer duties-inclusive pricing for cross-border sales.

Problems Solved

1. Fragmented Global Operations: Simplifies managing international entities, multi-currency payouts, and localized tax compliance (e.g., VAT validation for EU/UK) through unified admin tools and automated filing via Shopify Tax.
2. Inefficient Customization Workflows: Eliminates manual coding for store design by allowing AI-generated themes and blocks, while developers gain access to declarative data definitions and React Router 7 for Hydrogen stores.
3. Limited Retail and B2B Integration: Addresses hybrid retail needs with POS Pro features like mixed-fulfillment checkouts, store credit integration, and B2B-specific tools such as catalog-based gift cards and NetSuite ERP synchronization.

Unique Advantages

1. AI-First Development Ecosystem: Unlike competitors, Shopify offers end-to-end AI integration, from theme generation and analytics to AI shopping agents leveraging the Global Catalog, all accessible via local development environments and MCP Server AI coding assistance.
2. Unified Multi-Entity Architecture: Exclusive to Plus merchants, this allows simultaneous management of separate retail entities, markets, and currencies without requiring multiple stores, reducing operational overhead for global brands.
3. PCI DSS V4-Compliant Infrastructure: Provides future-proof security with checkout and app extensions meeting the latest PCI standards, including sandboxed UI components and Content Security Policies (CSP) for fraud prevention.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How does the Horizon theme differ from existing themes? The Horizon theme uses AI-generated blocks and a modular design system, allowing merchants to describe brand aesthetics in natural language for instant customization, while developers benefit from LiquidDoc and skeleton themes for faster coding.
2. Which languages does Sidekick support? Sidekick operates in 20 languages, including Polish, Norwegian, Greek, and Japanese, with localized insights for analytics, image generation, and POS workflows via the Shopify mobile app.
3. Can third-party apps access the Global Catalog? Yes, developers can build apps and AI agents using the Catalogs API to search millions of Shopify products, create carts, and integrate checkout via Checkout Kit, though item additions require approval.
4. What POS Pro features are exclusive to Summer 25’? POS Pro now supports device-level payment settings, cash rounding for countries without small coins, and one-discount rules for combined product/order/shipping savings, available only in version 10.
5. How do AI shopping agents work? Agents use the Global Catalog to answer customer queries, recommend products, and initiate checkouts, with merchants customizing FAQ data via the Knowledge Base app for brand-specific responses.