Sam Shares #4: Shopify's Winter Editions in the spotlight

Hello everyone,

Happy Monday and welcome to the 4th edition of the Sam Shares newsletter.

Over the last 5 days, a lot has been said and written about the release of Shopify's Editions: Winter '24. And rightfully so. It's such a valuable asset, and in this newsletter I'll tell you why I think we are very blessed Shopify is doing what they are doing.

On the 28th of February I'm hosting a webinar on the most impactful features of the Winter Editions. Keep an eye on your LinkedIn feed tomorrow for more info!

The keyword of the release is 'foundations'. Why?

It's a credo that we at dear digital associate with tremendously. It's a big part of our value proposition: building the technologic foundations of ambitious brands. So, great to be on the same page! ??

Today's topics:

1. Side-note: A moment of Shopify appreciation
2. A first glimpse at biggest updates
3. Initiating the WooCommerce vs Shopify debate
4. Is AI the endgame of retail? Featuring Shein & Temu

1. Side note: A moment of Shopify appreciation

I recently read this article from Farhan Thawar from Shopify, about what they achieved in terms of performance gains over 2023, how they applied AI to accelerated their ability to ship software even faster and so on.

Releasing the Editions twice a year and articles like this... it's what makes me love Shopify so much. They demystify technology. The Editions might be a marketing tool, but who cares? We get a clear overview of the progress we're making.

I saw it summarised beautifully in a LinkedIn post from Jordan Philip as well:

"Shopify makes it so everyone speaks the same language. A language that focusses on solving problems and creating business/customer outcomes."

There is just something so innately satisfying about reading about what these people are building at such a massive scale. It’s simply jaw dropping. And I know they are not the only ones, I’m not trying to make the point here that Shopify is the only company succeeding at this, but they certainly are one of the companies succeeding at it.

From time to time I feel that we are so blessed that we don’t see it anymore. We don’t see how incredibly things are done at the back-end large systems (very aware things also go very wrong from time to time). And I love the moments when this hits me and I see a glimpse of how complex it is what happens in some places at such scale. It gives me energy to strive for this in my own life and company.

2. A first glimpse at the updates

Now let's get to the meat of the release. On Thursday, I took a full day to dive deep and look for updates that will move the needle.

I already made a 15 min video on Nested Theme Blocks. In 2024, we are making substantial investments to enhance storefront customisation for merchants and developers. Watch it if you're interested!

In the upcoming weeks, I'll dissect more impactful updates, so stay tuned. I'm looking into product variants, multiple image per variant, Core Web Vitals, Customer Account extensibility, native subscriptions...

Soooo much going on, but no place and time to put it all here. ??

For now, here are 5 top-level updates I want to share with you already:

1. B2B: Shopify is making B2B commerce smoother and more intuitive, much like B2C. They're focusing on creating seamless experiences for wholesale buyers, with features that cater specifically to the B2B market.
2. POS: For brick-and-mortar stores, Shopify is boosting its POS system. This means better integration between online and offline sales, making life easier for retailers who operate in both spaces.
3. Checkout Extensibility Expansions: Checkout is becoming even more customisable. I might have to do another webinar on the updates. Shopify is providing tools for merchants to tailor the checkout experience to their customers' needs, making it faster, more secure, and more personal.
4. Increased Product Variant Limit: Merchants can now offer more variations of their products. This update is great for stores with a wide range of product options, improving inventory management and customer choice.
5. Shop Pay: Shopify's payment system, Shop Pay, is expanding its reach. This means faster, more secure payments for more customers, enhancing the shopping experience and potentially boosting conversion rates.

3. Initiating a WooCommerce vs Shopify debate

We've done multiple migrations from WooCommerce to Shopify over the last 2 years. The Oot Granola project was a beautiful one, for example.

We're obviously on the side of Shopify, but I feel like I could use a little more knowledge. I have a hard time claiming Shopify is better without understanding WooCommerce through and through.

When talking to merchants on WooCommerce, we hear the same problems over and over again. Downtime and crashes, conflicted plugins, spaghetti-code, a high cost of ownership... But I'd like context.

So, here's an invitation to my network: Is there anyone in the WooCommerce space open for an interview, a debate, a podcast, an article or whatever. If you know someone, let me know! I'm all about transparency!

4. Is AI the endgame of retail? Featuring Shein, Temu and an AI-powered algorithm

Disclaimer: For worldwide e-commerce news, there's a newsletter I would like to recommend Artur Stańczuk 's MarketMaze newsletter keeps professionals ahead of the curve with weekly e-commerce insights.

However, the following topic is from Brad Slingerlend 's "Things I Thought About Last Week" newsletter. He caught my attention with his thoughts on algorithmic fashion. It's actually crazy how the algorithms of the new giants work and it does explain how they managed to penetrate the market in a way.

Here's the context: The US textile industry is currently facing a significant challenge from Chinese apps such as Shein and Temu, which have leveraged the small-package shipping loophole to gain a strong foothold in the US fashion market.

These platforms, celebrated for their quick turnaround of trendy, disposable clothing, have profoundly disrupted the traditional retail landscape. They bring billions in advertising revenue to giants like Meta and use sophisticated algorithms to replicate popular trends from social media, such as TikTok, with minimal human intervention.

This shift towards online discount apparel is putting pressure on both fast-fashion giants and discount retailers in the US, many of which are struggling to develop effective online strategies and compete with the instantaneous production capabilities of these apps.

Even established brands like Gap have reported losses attributed to the competition posed by these Chinese fashion apps, which, interestingly, are more popular among Gen X and Boomers rather than the younger demographic.

"What if Shein is an algorithm that scours the internet for trends and succeeding products, figures out if Shein should sell them, and then sources them from suppliers to manufacture on-demand? All, in theory or soon, without human intervention. Is AI the endgame of retail?" Juozas Kaziuk?nas on X.

Thank you for sticking with me until the end!

In the upcoming weeks, much more on the Winter Editions. And stay tuned for the webinar I'll host on the 28th of February.

Till the next one!

Sam