All the Shopify updates and changes for March
- Olly Green
- Read time: 8 minutes
Several Shopify updates, changes, and enhancements rolled out over the course of March. We’ve summarised all the new features added to the platform in March so you can take advantage of expanded capabilities. Our Senior Web Developer Joe Yardley has also given his verdict on the changes he sees as most significant.
Customers and orders migration capability
Tailored recommendations in Collective Discovery
Retry workflows and new fulfillment tasks
App navigation update on tablet
Collect and record partial payments
Set retailer margins to two decimal points
New Order Status Page login requirements
Status and actions visible to retailers
Assign specific retail location access
Customers and orders migration capability
March’s changes and updates kicked off with a new capability for merchants looking to migrate existing D2C customers to an existing B2B company.
Such customers and their order history can now be migrated via the Customer profile page or the Company profile page for a consistent experience – though it should be noted that this can only be used for D2C orders and can’t be used to move B2B orders.
Buyers’ permissions are set by the merchant, and customers can be notified at the merchant’s discretion.
JY: “The enhanced migration capability is great news. It would’ve previously been a much more manual process, or would’ve required the use of an external app. It makes migrations far more efficient.”
Tailored recommendations in Collective Discovery
When searching Shopify Collective Discovery for new brands to collaborate with and sell, eligible retailers will be able to utilise tailored product recommendations.
These recommendations, such as ‘Picked for you’ and ‘Your customers searched for’, will be based on customer behaviour, retailers’ own stores, and search history.
New theme editor shortcuts
New keyboard shortcuts are now available in the theme editor – unlock quick left sidebar navigation and toggling tools to update the preview window width and access the preview inspector.
A full list of keyboard shortcuts can be accessed via ‘ctrl + /’ on a PC or ‘command + /’ on a Mac.
Retry workflows and new fulfillment tasks
In Shopify Flow, there is now the option to retry workflows with the same data and trigger. This can also be done in bulk by selecting multiple runs on the workflow run list.
There are also three new fulfillment related tasks in Flow:
- Move fulfillment order – to move a fulfillment to a new location where all line items are stocked
- Mark fulfillment order as fulfilled – to create a fulfillment for a fulfillment order
- Fulfillment order Merged – to start workflows when multiple fulfillment orders have been merged
JY: “The ability to retry workflows is super useful. Previously, if workflows failed for any reason, we had no way to re-run them without a lot of manual intervention. We would typically need to recreate the scenario in which it fired - and in certain cases even this wasn’t possible. Having the option to retry workflows in a few clicks will save stacks of time.”
App navigation update on tablet
There has been a minor improvement to the Shopify app’s navigation on tablet, with the tab bar replaced with a sidebar. This will allow for quick access to key pages, sales channels, and apps.
View blocked payouts
Shopify has provided new guidance on unblocking stuck payouts on Markets Pro, which previously required contacting support if an order required an action.
Now, merchants will be notified by a link in the Shopify admin which will navigate to the Orders page. Here, there will be a filtered list any blocked Markets Pro orders. Each individual order will have instructions to follow to release the payout.
There is also the capability to proactively identify via Finances > Payouts > Transactions. Stuck payouts will have a status of ‘Action Required’, which will become ‘Pending’ after release.
Released payouts will be processed and delivered on the 1, 8, 15, or 22 of the month.
Collect and record partial payments
There is now the option to collect and record multiple partial payments for orders with payment terms in Shopify admin. Partial payments allow customers to be offered flexible payment options.
Set retailer margins to two decimal points
Suppliers creating pricelists can now set retailer margins with up to two decimal points – rather than being limited to whole numbers. ‘Typical margin’ values in the Retailer Discover experience will be rounded to the nearest percentage.
JY: “The update to retailer margins is massively useful. It allows store owners to be a lot more precise with their pricelists. The lack of specificity was a dealbreaker for a lot of people using this feature in the past.”
New Order Status Page login requirements
There are new login requirements on the Order Status Page amid efforts to further protect merchant and customer information.
The advanced security measures mean customers can access the Order Status Page without logging in for a limited timeframe and/or number of browser visits. Following the timeout of these parameters, customers will be required to provide information such as their phone number, email address, order number, or use passwordless login.
Status and actions visible to retailers
Retailers can now easily identify the status of each product across various sections amid a focus on highlighting unsellable products.
There is a new ‘Errors’ tab within each connection that houses products that are active on sales channels but have errors making them unsellable. An alert icon will flag these products along with a recommended action.
The product state messages are:
- Daily variant limit reached
- Variant limit exceeded
- Supplier unpublished product
- Supplier removed product access
- Supplier deleted product
Retailers will also receive weekly emails flagging unsellable products that require immediate attention.
Combine multiple discounts
The Shopify POS system now supports the combination of product, order, shipping and custom discounts within a single order, allowing merchants to offer their customers more flexibility and savings.
Assign specific retail location access
The retail location each staff member can access using their unique PINs can now be specified. This allows for tighter control over multi-location operations – previous POS access controls only allowed for the management of what staff members could do, but not where.
Customer receipt selection
Shopify POS can now instantly match payments from POS transactions to buyers in the Shop Pay network. This customer receipt selection capability allows for the seamless capture of customer emails at checkout and the streamlined collection of marketing opt-ins from new customers.
This connection of in-store transactions to existing online shoppers offers merchants an enhanced view of buyer behaviour across all sales channels.
Cash tracking workflows added
Two new cash tracking workflows have been added in the POS channel in the Shopify admin.
Remotely close cash tracking sessions – close cash tracking sessions from the POS channel when it can’t be done from the device running the POS app.
Download register shift summary – download the POS register shift summary from the POS channel for each location.
Checkout validation
Customer detail collection – such as first name, last name, email, and phone number - and staff attribution can now be enforced at checkout.
Enabling checkout validations will mean a prompt to add a customer or assign staff will be surfaced in the POS checkout flow. ‘Recommended’ will prompt the staff member to enter the information – but this can skipped to complete a sale without the details – while ‘required’ will make the information mandatory.
Staff attributions can be automatic or manual, and are required for each checkout when turned on in the Shopify admin.
Other minor changes in March
- You can now filter abandoned checkouts by region
- Auto-translation support for Arabic and Hebrew can now be used in Translate & Adapt
If you're thinking about making the switch to Shopify, get in touch with our experts to further your understanding of the platform and find out how you can make the most of all these latest updates and changes.
