Shopify Summer Editions 2024 Is Here
Originally published on my WeChat account Nolan聊; also on my blog, haiwaibiji.com
Shopify Summer Edition 2024 is here.
Frankly, Shopify's 2024 earnings missed expectations recently — the stock dumped 30% at one point and has only slowly crawled back.
That red arrow of mine reflects my expectation: Shopify will struggle to revisit its 2022 peak. The pandemic dividend behind that stock run was substantial.
Back to the point — time to roast Shopify Editions 2024.
I actually resisted Shopify at first. Much of the UX felt hostile — though maybe that's because I was used to the even-more-hostile WordPress. Every time I spot something that looks customizable, Shopify tells me it can't be changed.
What?? Fine…
So I came in with a list of grievances, checking whether this edition fixed any of them. It didn't. Never mind — small needs like packing slips in order exports apparently queue behind everything else.
Full historical notes: Shopify Summer Edition 2024
Right — roast time:
Table of contents
- Feature 1: merging B2B + B2C + Retail
- Feature 2: per-item delivery options
- Feature 3: AI in Help, images, support
- Feature 4: new analytics dashboard
- Feature 5: Theme Editor update
- Feature 6: visual developer pages
- Feature 7: multi-market
- Features 8 & 9: offline business tracking
- Summing up
Feature 1: merging B2B + B2C + Retail
Useless. The interaction is so poor that real B2B won't happen here — B2B runs on WhatsApp, PayPal or bank transfer anyway. Why pay extra processing fees? Does Shopify establish trust between businesses? Doesn't seem to. (Prove me wrong.)
Retail I can't judge. Do people actually check out offline via Shopify? If I visit the US I'll look for these adorable creatures in the wild.
Feature 2: per-item delivery options
Epic update. /s
Feature 3: AI in Shopify Help, AI images, AI support
I've tried Shopify AI's product descriptions — honestly mediocre, punchably mediocre. So bringing AI to Help, images and support is genuinely useful territory.
At least the direction is right. The actual experience will surely still be rubbish.
Because good e-commerce imagery currently needs Stable Diffusion for consistency plus Midjourney for range — efficient AI at this price point doesn't exist.
On support: I don't see an automation entry point yet. If they'd expose support templates that can pull Shopify products — letting me push targeted products to customers — that would actually help.
Feature 4: new analytics dashboard
TL;DR: they changed the UI.
Product analytics? I want per-product views, add-to-carts, favorites, checkouts. Available? No. How many editions has it been… still no. Plus members get it — for a curated few products… Good!
Feature 5: Theme Editor update
UI refresh, second-level menus for blocks, finer adjustments — isn't this just Elementor?
Feature 6: visual developer pages
Actually nice — but most sellers won't touch it. A small win for app developers.
Feature 7: multi-market
Tax, currency, shipping, bundled. Meh. Everything needs Plus and it's extremely fiddly — though for genuinely multi-country businesses, it's fine.
Features 8 & 9: offline business tracking
What's it to me.
Summing up
This edition is about consolidating existing features — the visible change is a UI refresh. B2B + offline got enormous airtime, with AI demoted to fourth billing. They really do want the offline business.
But offline business has basically nothing to do with us cross-border sellers, so this edition barely touches us. The Q1 earnings say the growth push is genuinely in B2B.
Still — for most Chinese sellers, Shopify the SaaS is a transitional stage. Once your independent store truly takes off, Shopline, WordPress, or building your own site all become more suitable, better-value channels.