Shopify’s summer 2025 update - “Horizons” release brings practical updates for Shopify store owners and eCommerce managers, giving brands more control than ever. There's some great additions to support growth - and for some reason, in and amongst the updates, a rather distracting racing / time trials game, which has brought out the competitive spirit in the Bozboz team. Here’s a clear look at what’s new, so you don't have to trawl through the official publication yourself.
Sidekick: AI with a Practical Edge
Shopify’s Sidekick has evolved from a standard chatbot. It's now a smart assistant that understands what's going on under the hood of your online store. It can help store owners and managers answer critical questions like:
What’s behind a sudden dip in sales?
How do inventory levels, marketing campaigns, and seasonal trends affect performance?
Pretty clever stuff - you can, in effect, ask it to intemperate your data and trends in order to make informed decisions.
Sidekick now includes:
Voice commands and screen sharing for better interaction.
Image generation tools for custom content creation within Shopify - handy if you're used to using stock images and would prefer something more tailored - not sure it quite replaces your own bespoke photography just yet.
Multilingual support for 20 languages, making it accessible to global teams.
Why it’s useful for your business:
Saves time troubleshooting sales or performance issues, which is the most positive addition.
Reduces reliance on external design resources for quick image needs.
Makes collaboration across teams and regions more efficient, particularly if you're a global seller.
Sidekick's Capabilities and Limitations
It's crucial to understand Sidekick is a helpful assistant that lives within Shopify, but it has boundaries:
Sidekick cannot handle customer support conversations or engage with customers on your behalf - I'm sure that's coming down the pipe, however.
It won't make changes to your store without your explicit approval, ensuring you maintain control - this is particularly important. Human interaction is imperative in keeping these tools, well.... tools.
Sidekick can't edit images within your store themes or product listings.
Shopify's summer 2025 update - Horizons themes
The new Horizon theme system (is this the end of Dawn already?) introduces 10 professionally designed, conversion-ready themes, built to perform and adapt. But the real shift is in how apparently easy it is to customise and build from these templates.
Key improvements include:
AI-generated customisation, so you can describe what you want and AI makes it so (sounds fantastic, but proof is in the pudding).
A simplified theme editor with clearer categories, hover-to-preview, and streamlined controls - we're looking forward to trying this out.
A focus on conversion, with themes optimised for engagement and sales - Shopify know their stuff when it comes to eCommerce, so the optimisations are sure to be valuable.
Why it’s useful for your business:
Cuts down time spent on theme customisation - unless it goes rogue and you end up spending most of your day arguing / negotiating with the AI.
Reduces technical barriers for non-developers to update the site - a powerful plus for those wanting to crack on with the day to day.
Helps maintain brand consistency with new design tools.
Shopify's AI can generate entire themes based on simple prompts, which is excellent for rapid prototyping or seasonal updates. However:
The AI may not fully capture your brand's unique identity or nuanced design elements - so whilst it might do for now, relying solely on AI might result in themes that lack differentiation.
To achieve a polished, brand-aligned store, human oversight and customisation are essential.
Shopify advises that if an AI-generated block causes problems with your theme, you might need to delete it. Assistance with customising or troubleshooting the code for these blocks isn't supported by Shopify Support or third-party theme developers - so, you would likely need additional support from a Shopify agency like Bozboz.
Developer Tools: Make it easier to scale
For technical teams, Shopify’s updates smooth the development process and make custom work more efficient - this is music to our ears.
Key upgrades:
A unified developer dashboard for managing apps and workflows.
Local development tools to test and refine apps before going live - ideal for experiments and pre-launch QA and user acceptance testing.
Declarative data definitions for clearer, more maintainable custom data configurations - this should keep the developers happy.
Why it’s useful for your business:
Faster delivery of new features and fixes.
Easier collaboration between developers and content teams.
More predictable, scalable technical setups for complex projects.
POS System Overhaul: In-Person Sales are smoother than ever
Shopify’s POS system has been redesigned to give merchants more control and flexibility over their in-person sales experience.
Key features:
Custom branding options for receipts, carts, and screens.
Smarter search and payment flexibility, including combined shipping and carry-out options.
Streamlined processes for faster checkouts and fewer bottlenecks.
Why it’s useful for your business:
A more polished and consistent customer experience in-store.
Flexibility to adapt payment and delivery options to customer preferences.
Reduced queue times and friction at checkout.
Global Commerce: Expanded and Simplified
Shopify has expanded its global reach, opening doors for brands looking to grow internationally.
Key updates:
Shopify Payments available in 16 new countries with 8 currencies.
B2B marketplace tools allowing unique catalogues, pricing, and currencies.
Unified dashboards for shipping, delivery, and inventory management.
Why it’s useful for your business:
Easier to reach and serve international customers.
Tailored experiences for B2B clients across regions.
Streamlined backend processes for managing operations.
Summary thoughts
Shopify’s summer 2025 update - “Horizons”, brings thoughtful, practical upgrades for store owners, developers, and in-store teams. It’s designed to help businesses scale efficiently, offer a smoother experience for customers, and reduce the operational headaches that often come with growth. This is all really positive and worthy of investigation, time and experimentation.
However, recent studies have highlighted concerns regarding AI-generated designs:
AI may inadvertently create designs that manipulate user behaviour, such as hiding crucial information or creating a false sense of urgency.
It's essential to review AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with ethical standards and provides a positive user experience.
While Shopify's AI tools offer exciting possibilities for streamlining store setup and management, they are best used as aids rather than complete solutions. For businesses aiming to maintain a strong, unique brand presence, human expertise remains invaluable in guiding design and content decisions.
Our advice, try these things out, see how you get on, and talk to a specialist if you get stuck, after all, that's what we're here for!
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