Bringing the Shopify business community together is more important now than ever before. We're all pulling in the same direction, working toward a shared goal - improving e-commerce for everyone, no matter how the world around us changes.
In line with this vision, on May 20, 2020, Shopify broadcast Reunite - the first livestream for Shopify store owners. A great opportunity to bring communities from different circles together and to present news, improvements, and insight into the future of e-commerce.
You can watch the full Reunite recording in this video:
But if you'd rather read, we've prepared a summary of the key points for you. There's really a lot of it, so don't get overwhelmed, just pick the area that interests you. Some launches are entirely new, others are improvements to existing versions of already-established services. To make it easier to navigate, we've added flags to each point. This way you can easily see which points are relevant to the Czech and Slovak market.
#1 Financial products
Shopify Balance: 🇺🇸
Banking and financial products make up a large part of running an online business. Today's banking products aren't exactly built for independent entrepreneurs. Shopify is responding to this by putting a tool built specifically for merchants directly into their hands.
Shopify Capital 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇦
A program that helps small business owners access financing more easily. Although this service was already available before, Shopify has been expanding it during the coronavirus pandemic. Shopify Capital is now available in the UK and Canada, in addition to the USA. Expansion into further countries is coming soon.
This is a difficult time not just for merchants. Their customers are having a hard time too. Shopify has launched a new Shop Pay Installments service (for now, US only).
Customers can pay for goods in four interest-free, fee-free installments. The merchant, however, receives the full amount immediately, and the customer pays the remaining installments directly to Shopify. This means no risk for the merchant. The customer gets flexible payment options, and merchants get a way to increase sales volume.
#2 Online store
Express theme 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Thanks to the dramatic surge in new online stores, Shopify is offering help in the form of tools that speed up their launch. One such tool is a new theme called Express.
The theme's design is tailored especially for one-page shopping and is ideal for quickly launching an online store. It was originally designed mainly for cafés and restaurants, and is therefore built to support small and mid-sized product catalogs. But it can be used by anyone who prefers simplicity and needs to launch their store quickly. The theme is optimized for mobile.
Gift cards 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Shopify now temporarily lets you use gift cards for free on all plans. Even in these difficult times, customers can support their favorite merchants this way.
Contributions and tips 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Some types of business also need a different kind of reward from their customers - contributions and tips. Because more and more businesses of this type are moving online, Shopify has integrated this option into checkout. You can set it up in your Shopify admin easily by following this guide.
The feature is suitable for businesses offering virtually any type of service. It can also be used to collect contributions for charitable organizations.
Services for international selling 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Shopify is adding new features to store settings that will mainly benefit merchants selling their goods internationally.
- Local domains - a feature will soon be available letting you assign a local domain to the relevant country, currency, or language of your store.
- Custom exchange rates - a new feature is set to launch toward the end of this year. It will let merchants selling in multiple currencies keep a stable price even as exchange rates fluctuate.
Store redesign 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Last year, store design was updated so that all store pages could be built from sections. This year, you'll be able to edit stores simply by dragging and dropping elements. That means you can adjust the look of every page without writing a single line of code.
The redesign will roll out in the second half of this year, but it's already available to Shopify Partners now in developer preview.
#3 Omnichannel and marketing
New Shopify POS 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Commerce is evolving. Between March 13 and April 24, sales through Shopify POS dropped by 71%. However, the same merchants recovered 94% of those losses through online sales.
This shows the need for a robust solution connecting physical and online sales. That's why Shopify overhauled its POS in May. The result is an entirely new, rebuilt, extensible system with a new design and omnichannel functionality.
The new POS is now available worldwide. To help you better adapt to current conditions, Shopify is providing all POS Pro features for free until the end of October 2020.
Shopify Email 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
A new feature for creating marketing campaigns directly in your admin, with no need for design or marketing knowledge.
Google Shopping 🇺🇸
Merchants can now more easily expand their audience. Shopify has partnered with Google, letting clients add their products to Google Shopping for free. The Google Shopping app is a great fit for this.
This option is currently available only in the US, but will soon expand globally.
Facebook Shops 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Shopify has also joined forces with Facebook to create Facebook Shops - a new way for merchants to build a simple, own-branded store through Facebook or Instagram. The store syncs directly from Shopify. This option will become available over the coming months.
Shopify Ping 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
A new chat app that lets merchants respond directly to customer questions. It integrates with popular platforms like Apple Business Chat, Facebook Messenger, and Shopify Chat. Ping is currently available on iOS and iPad, with an Android and web version coming this summer.
Shop 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Shop is a new shopping assistant created by combining the features of Arrive and Shop Pay.
With the Shop app, customers can find stores near them and support local businesses. Customers also see product recommendations from merchants they've bought from before. And thanks to Shop Pay, they can buy instantly, pay, and track their shipment.
The Shop app will be free for all merchants. You can activate Shop Pay in your Shopify admin right now.
#4 Back office
Product states 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
You'll soon have more flexibility working with products in the Shopify admin. You'll be able to save products as drafts and publish them later. Archiving products will also be available.
Faster product creation 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
77% of merchants who moved from physical to online sales say that adding products to their store is the most time-consuming task. And that's not exactly ideal.
A feature is coming that will let you add products directly from your phone and create products in bulk. You'll be able to add images, prices, variants, inventory, and more, all from a single screen.
Purchase Orders 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
This service lets you order, track, and receive inventory from suppliers. A scanning device will soon be usable with the Shopify mobile app. Purchase Orders will be available to all merchants through their Shopify admin.
Order list redesign 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
The number of merchants selling online keeps growing. As order volumes rise, Shopify has carried out a redesign of the order list to make it simpler to use. This speeds up order fulfillment.
#5 Shipping
Shopify Local Pickup 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Shopify Local Pickup is a new way to set up in-store pickup.
Shopify Local Delivery 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Merchants around the world will soon be able to use a simplified local delivery option. You'll be able to set up your local delivery area using postal codes or a distance radius. Shipping prices and minimum order value for this type of delivery will also be configurable.
Shopify Fulfillment Network 🇺🇸
A geographically distributed network of fulfillment centers ensuring fast, low-cost shipping to customers. Currently available in North America only.
#6 Performance
Storefront renderer 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Speeds up page load times by 40 to 200%, helping merchants achieve a better conversion rate.
Performance dashboard 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
Starting this summer, a performance dashboard will be available in the Shopify admin, helping you better troubleshoot performance and speed issues. You'll understand what's affecting your store's performance. This summer, Shopify will roll out this feature for merchants, letting them better understand how various actions, such as code customizations or app installs, affect their store's speed. This will let them resolve performance issues faster and keep their stores running fast.
And if you don't have Shopify yet, give it a try. You can still get it free for 14 days.
We're here for you. Leave a comment below the article, or get in touch with us.
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