All the Shopify updates and changes for August 2024

As summer draws to a close, the Shopify updates and enhancements have continued to roll out.

August saw several key improvements, including an expanded YouTube partnership and an array of new Shopify Flow features.

We’ve detailed all the latest changes and upgrades that will help you amplify your store here.

Suggested replies in Shopify Inbox

Error messages in Shopify Pixel Helper

Shipping enhancements

YouTube Shopping affiliate program

Unified file editor

Migration to hCaptcha

New Shopify Flow features for managing returns

Document tracking requirements flagged

Bulk remove products from price lists

Suggested replies in Shopify Inbox

AI-powered suggested replies are now live in the Shopify Inbox.

Replies will be generated when a shopper sends a message in the Inbox, utilising your store’s existing information to create an informed response.

There is the option to edit the generated message, or it can be sent immediately.

The suggested replies feature will be turned on by default for eligible merchants, but they can be turned off via Inbox > Settings > Message preferences.

Error messages in Shopify Pixel Helper

Shopify Pixel Helper will now display error messages to help with the debugging of custom pixels.

Uncaught top-level errors will appear when the Pixel Helper loads, while callback error messages will be viewable when expanding an event with a red dot.

Shipping enhancements

There were a swathe of updates centering on shipping in August, with the onus on improving flexibility and control.

Improved display when bulk buying shipping

Product variant details will now appear when buying shipping labels in bulk.

Previously, a product list for each individual order had to be opened in the bulk purchase table to view order item details.

The updated view, with all order items visible in the table, is intended to streamline the picking, packing, and selecting of the appropriate package when buying labels in bulk.

Unified Shopify Collective shipping profile

A fresh, unified Shopify Collective shipping profile will bring together Collective products previously housed within individual supplier shipping profiles.

It means retailers can now instantly access suppliers’ shipping rates and add them to customers’ orders directly at checkout.

In the past, a unique shipping profile was created for every individual supplier when a retailer imported products along with their shipping rates.

Any updates made by suppliers wouldn’t automatically sync with shipping profiles on the retailer’s store, meaning manual updates were required.

Set shipping rates per price list

A new feature allows suppliers to set flat or calculated shipping rates when creating price lists.

This offers suppliers the flexibility to charge retailers varying shipping rates across their products instead of a single flat rate.

There is a new ‘Shipping’ section when creating a price list or editing an existing one.

To charge retailers the rates that you’ve configured in your shipping profiles, select ‘Calculated at checkout’. Alternatively, you can set flat rates for each zone you ship to.

If you change your shipping flat rates or how shipping is calculated for Collective products, retailers assigned to active price lists will be notified.

Live supplier shipping rates at checkout

In conjunction with the new shipping rates feature, there is an upgraded and simplified carrier shipping profile for Collective retailers.

This allows for suppliers’ shipping rates to be live-fetched and added to customers’ orders directly at checkout.

For example, suppliers could now offer a ‘free shipping for orders over...’ rate, which can be passed on to customers to incentivise higher average order values, and lower cart abandonment.

Control over which shipping rates are shown to customers remains with retailers. These can be customised with custom shipping profiles or free shipping discounts.

YouTube Shopping affiliate program

There is now a YouTube Shopping affiliate program for eligible US Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants.

Available through the Google & YouTube app on Shopify, the program seamlessly syncs products from Shopify to YouTube. This means thousands of eligible creators can tag your products in their videos.

The program can be managed from the Google Merchant Center, which includes details on analytics, content, and products.

Unified file editor

There is a new unified file editor available to most merchants that can be used to edit images, 3D models, and videos across the admin.

The unified file editor can be accessed via:

• Product detail page
• Content > Files
• Online store editor
• Email app

Migration to hCaptcha

In July, Shopify began migrating its CAPTCHA implementation on Storefronts from Google reCAPTCHA to hCaptcha.

Now, the fallback CAPTCHA challenge on the /challenge page (reCAPTCHA v2) is being migrated to an interactive hCaptcha.

New Shopify Flow features for managing returns

There are several new tools for workflows that manage orders involving returns.

Templates

To make automating return workflows easier, there are new templates for common use cases:

• Release exchange items once the return is closed: Check if there is an outstanding balance on the order when a return is closed. Exchange items will be released if there is no order balance
• Cancel inactive returns: Automatically cancel a return that has not been refunded or restocked within a certain period
• Get notified on Slack when a customer requests a return: Receive a custom slack notification if a customer submits a return request

Triggers

There are a host of new triggers that start workflows for different return status:

• Refund created: When a user in your organisation or a third-party app partially or completely refunds an order
• Return approved: When a previously open return is approved
• Return cancelled: When a previously open return is cancelled
• Return closed: When a previously open return is closed
• Return declined: When a requested return is declined
• Return reopened: When a previously closed return is reopened
• Return requested: When a return is requested by a customer using self-serve returns

Actions

There’s also a new 'Cancel return' action to help manage returns, such as when a product hasn’t been sent back by the buyer.

A cancelled return can't be restarted without creating a new return request.

Document tracking requirements flagged

An update to the Shopify admin will see labels added to denote required document tracking during a label purchase.

For non-paperless trade countries, international shipping labels require customs forms to be printed and secured to the outside of parcels.

The new flagging will help merchants easily understand if customs forms are required. The forms are provided in the bar code scan for carrier and customs agents.

If there is no ‘required’ flag, then no customs form will need to be printed and attached to the parcel.

Bulk remove products from price lists

Products can now be removed from price lists in bulk using three filters – product type, product vendor, and tag.

It was previously more time consuming to remove products, as Collective suppliers needed to use keywords inputted in a search bar to find specific products.

Are you looking to migrate to Shopify, learn more about the platform, or need advice from a trusted Shopify Plus partner? Get in touch with our expert performance development team today.