We joined Shopify in Toronto for the Summer 2025 Editions, themed Horizons, where the company unveiled over 150 updates designed to streamline commerce across every channel. These updates focus on AI-powered store creation, flexible theme design, upgraded POS tools, faster checkout, and expanded global payments. Whether you're a merchant, developer, or partner, the new features aim to reduce friction, improve automation, and support scalable growth.

Here’s an overview of what’s new:

  • Horizon Themes: A new visual framework with nested block structures and drag-and-drop components for faster, code-free storefront design.

  • AI Store Tools: Generate full themes or individual content blocks using natural language prompts.

  • Sidekick Assistant: A multilingual AI assistant that handles analysis, tasks, and store operations.

  • POS Enhancements: Offline and online features now work together more smoothly, with upgrades like store credit, mixed fulfillment, and tap-to-pay.

  • Checkout Upgrades: Faster load times, smarter delivery options, and virtual-world checkout with Roblox.

  • Global Payments: Expanded Shopify Payments support and new B2B capabilities in Shopify Markets.

  • Developer Tools: Local development without tunnels, AI coding assistance, and deeper API control.

Horizon Themes: Faster Custom Design for Merchants

Horizon is a new theme system focused on layout flexibility and speed. It introduces a nested block model with over 30 reusable components such as video, product recommendations, scrolling banners, and rich text. Merchants can build pages visually and reuse elements across the storefront without code. Ten free, industry-specific themes are included.

The visual editor inside Shopify Admin has also been upgraded. It now allows nesting blocks within sections, editing font systems, and rearranging product tiles with full drag-and-drop control.

AI Tools: Generate Pages and Blocks with a Prompt

Shopify’s new AI tools help merchants move faster. Two core features stand out:

  • Theme Generator: Describe your business, for example "Stylish Laptop Bags for Women," and Shopify generates up to three personalized themes with suggested layout, copy, and imagery.

  • Block Generator: Use natural language to request specific page elements. For example, "Add a cross-sell banner under product pages" creates a component ready to use.

These tools lower the barrier to high-quality design and reduce reliance on manual development.

Sidekick: A Smart Assistant That Handles Tasks

Sidekick now supports 20 languages and can help merchants across all Shopify Admin areas. You can ask questions like, "Why did sales drop last month?" and Sidekick will analyze data from inventory, marketing, and seasonal patterns to give you answers.

It also executes tasks. Merchants can create discount codes, generate product images, build customer segments, or run reports—all through Sidekick with final approval. It’s now integrated into the Shopify mobile app, supporting voice chat and screen sharing for real-time support.

POS Pro: In-Store Tools That Match Online Flexibility

Shopify POS version 10 adds in-store features that bring it closer to the online experience. New capabilities include:

  • Store Credit: Issue and accept store credit directly at checkout.

  • Custom Branding: Add logos, colors, and media to idle screens, carts, and printed receipts.

  • Mixed Fulfillment: Combine ship and carry-out orders in one transaction (POS Pro).

  • Tap to Pay: Turn mobile devices into POS hardware with tap-to-pay (US only).

  • Draft Order Discounts: Apply admin-set rules like "Buy X Get Y" at checkout.

  • SMS Opt-In: Capture marketing consent through the POS screen.

  • Cash Rounding: Handle rounding in markets without low-denomination coins.

These upgrades make the POS more versatile for physical retail environments.

Checkout and Payments: Faster, Simpler, More Global

Checkout now loads up to two seconds faster. Other updates include:

  • Roblox Checkout: Sell physical products directly within Roblox game experiences.

  • Flat Split Shipping: Apply a single shipping rate across multi-location orders.

  • Apple Pay for Subscriptions: Now works for recurring payments in all Shopify Payments-supported countries.

  • Delivery Options: Let customers select alternative fulfillment methods when items are unavailable.

Shopify Payments is also expanding to 16 new countries including Poland, Norway, Mexico, Greece, and Lithuania. Merchants can now receive payouts in up to eight currencies, reducing FX costs.

Shopify Markets now supports B2B setups with localized catalogs, currencies, and themes per region. A "View as" mode allows merchants to preview the buyer’s experience. EU and UK VAT validation is also available to automatically apply exemptions where relevant.

Refunds and Store Credit

Refunds can now be issued as store credit regardless of how the customer originally paid. This applies both online and in-store and encourages return visits while retaining revenue.

Seamless Platform Migration

Improved migration tools make it easier to switch to Shopify. Merchants can import products, customers, and inventory using CSV from platforms like Square, WooCommerce, Etsy, Wix, Amazon, eBay, Clover, and Lightspeed.

For Developers: Local Builds, Smarter APIs, and AI Agents

Developers now have more power to build with speed:

  • Local Development Without Tunnels: Build locally with faster reloads and a simpler setup.

  • AI-Powered MCP Server: Use AI for GraphQL queries, Shopify Functions, and Polaris components.

  • Storefront MCP Agents: Build AI agents that access live store data for product recommendations and guided checkout.

  • Hydrogen Framework: Now supports React Router 7 for cleaner, typesafe routing.

  • New APIs: Updated Catalog and Markets APIs support expanded B2B features.

Final Thoughts

The Summer 2025 Editions show how Shopify is aligning design, AI, and commerce infrastructure to support both independent merchants and large-scale operators. Whether you’re building a store, customizing workflows, or scaling globally, these updates offer the tools to do it faster and more efficiently.

Explore Shopify’s Editions hub to try the new features, see demos, or access documentation.