Shopify Community AMA: Winter ’23 Edition

[SarahF_Shopify]

Welcome to our Shopify Community AMA on the 100+ product updates announced at Shopify Editions Winter ‘23. Post your questions as a reply on this thread before February 24 to get an answer from one of our product leaders.

What’s in scope of this AMA:

• Only those product updates announced at Shopify Editions Winter ‘23. Reference this link for a list of all 100+ product updates.
• We can’t advise on very specific use cases because technology and integrations can get complex. Please rely on the Community and other discussion boards to help guide your use case.  

Rules of engagement:

We’ll do our best to follow up on every question during the event.

• You must be logged into your account on Community to participate.
• Assume positive intent with one another and be kind. Some users may be new and learning how to engage with the Community. 
• Be authentic and honest with your questions and answers.
• Do not ask for or share store admin login details or passwords.
• Like posts and threads that are of interest or helpful to you.
• Be constructive with criticism, not offensive.
• Share your experiences and insights whenever you can to support others. 
• Abuse, harassment, and spam content won’t be tolerated.

[koala_TM]

Did Shopify make a change to the admin login process? When the Winter '23 update went live, I immediately noticed that any new tab I open requires me to sign in to Shopify again. This makes the quick link to edit a collection or product quite useless as the extra login step each time is very disruptive to the workflow.

I've tested a few accounts and websites and they all exhibit this same behaviour.

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @koala_TM, this sounds like a store-specific issue and one best solved by the support team. Are you still experiencing it today? 

[koala_TM]

Yep, still experiencing this today. I have tested this across:

7 Shopify websites

9 Shopify accounts

They all do the exact same thing.

[koala_TM]

I've figured out where and how this login issue is happening.

• Any "old" admin URL triggers the login prompt (ie: mystore.shopify.com). If navigating to admin.shopify.com/store/mystore persistent login works as it should.
• When using the grey overlay box on a live website (the box that sticks to the bottom of the screen) that contains shortcuts to edit the homepage, collections, products, etc. is still pushing to the old admin URL's, which then 301 redirect to the new admin URL structure,  which forces a new login prompt every time.

Shopify can probably solve 90% of this by updating the URL's that are linked in the admin bar.

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hey @koala_TM, I'll be sure to provide this feedback to our teams. Thanks for taking the time to share!

[joshers]

I've not noticed this behavior myself. Have you tried testing on a different device?

[RoedaStudio]

Is the B2B catalog feature live now? I'm looking forward to using it!

Does the B2B catalog feature also include a minimum order total for checkout? Or where else can I find that feature?

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @RoedaStudio - Catalogs is currently in a limited release and will progressively get rolled out to 100% of Plus merchants over the next few weeks. To request priortized access to this feature, contact your Merchant Success Manager or Plus Support and ask to be added to the waitlist. This feature includes the ability to set minimum, maximum, and increment quantity rules for variants, not order totals. We plan to release order total minimums as a core feature of our platform in a future release. To learn more about Catalogs, visit https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/catalogs. 

[NR1]

I want my website to suggest complementary products when the customer adds a certain item to the shopping cart or is browsing an item’s page. Is there an app that can do this? I need more upselling options. 

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @NR1, Today, you can use the Shopify Search & Discovery app to customize complementary products on the product details page. Surfacing complementary product recommendations on other surfaces like the search results page etc. is not something we currently support; however, the team is actively exploring this. You can explore more information on the Shopify Search & Discover app here: https://apps.shopify.com/search-and-discovery

[ErinK]

I see that this is a pretty large list of new features/addon apps. Does your team have any plans to make any changes/hotfixes to the features that have been degraded ever since this bundle of Winter updates went live? The refund notification emails that Shopify automatically sends to our non-PayPal customers now take 24-48 days to send post-refund, which has been a customer service nightmare when paired with our returns app.

I'd rather see issues like this be stabilized before being offered new features (and I know I'm not alone).

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @ErinK, thank you for your feedback. I'll be sure to share with our product team. 

[wand44]

Decimal quantities!
You're adding every possible feature in the world except one simple feature....To allow me to sell my products in decimal quantities out of the box on Shopify. And to enter their stock in decimal quantities. 

Am I missing something here or is Shopify pushing everyone who want to sell in decimal quantities easily to woocommerce?

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @wand44, I'll log your product request. Thanks for sharing!

[bloomerie]

Let me echo your sentiment for native decimal/fractional quantities. I've been with Shopify since 2012 and I have requested this feature countless times over the years and...crickets.

And now that we have the Shop app, any customizations I've done to my store in terms of making it look like I can sell in fractional/decimal quantities is gone once someone accesses my store products through the Shop app. So I've got customers who experience completely different quantities and pricing and I just cross my fingers they'll figure it out without misunderstanding what they are actually buying.

This feature is totally do-able. Shopify has multiple competitors that offer this. I just can't figure out why they won't institute this change. I know there are loads of stores that need this.

[senkels]

"One Page Checkout"

Will this be available for Shopify and Shopify Advanced plans or only Shopify Plus stores?

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @senkels  & @damaz, one-page checkout will be available on all Shopify plans. You can sign up to be considered for early access on this page: https://www.shopify.com/checkout

[jam_chan]

The built for Shopify program requires all apps to remove asset API. But my app uploads a custom product template with different section files. I cannot remove asset API. Also, I am uploading images to the theme

Any exemptions here? Otherwise I am afraid I cannot make my app eligible.

Regarding non-embedded apps, are they going to be deprecated soon? My app is working as a standalone web app. Look like built for Shopify is going to phase out standalone apps as embedded app is a hard requirement.

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @jam_chan , Embeddedness is a requirement for Built for Shopify status. Embedding your app in the Shopify admin creates a seamless and familiar experience for merchants. We’ve expanded on our best practices to clarify that merchants must be able to use your app’s most important functionality without moving between Shopify and external app surfaces. Learn more about those best practices here: https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/best-practices/embedding 

Regarding the Asset API, you're correct that in general Built for Shopify apps shouldn’t add, remove, or edit a merchant's theme files using the Asset API. There are two exceptions to this rule: 1. Your app is a page builder app that adds or replaces all layouts or templates files with the purpose of providing an alternative theme customization experience.

2. Your app backs up all theme files, and restores files from a backup.

Your app will be audited for Asset API usage and exceptions when you apply for Built for Shopify status.

[senkels]

"Self-Serve Returns"

At the moment, the corresponding e-mail notifications (return request received, accepted etc.) cannot be translated to other languages. I see that the standard notification template has translations but we would like to stay true to our brand design and language. 
Will those 3 new notifications be editable and translatable like all other notifications?

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @senkels , the three new notifications are automatically translated by Shopify based on the buyer's locale. FYI this is the case for all notifications too. 

[DanWallace]

Why was the search hidden to add to the number of clicks needed to reach it? I'm not seeing where that layout might be helpful but perhaps I'm missing something.

Along that same line, I don't mean to be negative but I'm really not seeing any real benefit in any of these changes but several other feature requests have been made by store owners hundreds of times over the past 5-10 years without being implemented. Is there any system to try and see what stores want or need and focus on those over changes made independently from users?

[koala_TM]

Yeah, the search being hidden and requiring an extra click is so frustrating. Many of these admin changes they've made have caused Shopify to be considerably less productive. It's too bad they don't have some sort of "advanced" mode where you can have more granular control over the admin interface.

Another huge step backwards is that you can no longer upload files from the pop-up admin menu. This was a great function for uploading swatches while still on the product page. Now, you have to navigate away from the product page to Content > Files to perform the same task.

It's like Shopify hates productivity.

[ErinK]

100% agree on this. This is the most inconvenient change in a while (other than the "pending payments" issue), and I don't understand why this was implemented in this update. I don't want our user interface to look "sleeker/more compact," I want things to be quicker and more convenient. This is a huge step backwards.

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @DanWallace , I'll share your feedback with our product teams. We track product and feature requests from our merchants that help inform what's released.

[DanWallace]

That's much appreciated.

It might help though if Shopify could be a bit more transparent about the
process for addressing the needs of store owners.

Every request is always met with some form of, "that's a great idea and
we'll pass it on to our development team" yet the same requests keep being
made over and over for years with no action taken. I've actually never seen
a request made by Shopify users that has ended up being implemented or any
sort of roadmap for Shopify;s future to give users hope of improvement some
day.

Can you share with us any plans for where Shopify is heading or how Shopify
determines what features users need without ever communicating with us
about our needs as store owners?

[tagman83]

You managed to make 100 updates but the basic requirement to remove 'page' from the URL still hasn't been done, despite a long thread dating back years and years. You don't even allow your own website to suffer from this but you expect us to, why is that?

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @tagman83 , thanks for your feedback. l'll be sure to share with our product teams.

[TexasSalt]

AI Descriptions,

 Does the AI writer take descriptions from other websites? We make our own products and do not want to stumble upon the exact same description on someone else's website. Thanks!

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @TexasSalt , the OpenAI Flow connector creates descriptions from content sourced all over the web. Although it's possible that similar products would have similar descriptions, the chances of stumbling upon the same exact same description are incredibly low. This chance also decreases significantly as the number of words in the description increase.

[CGSC]

Do the new inventory changes allow us to have a single inventory accessible from multiple locations? We have several locations that all pull from a central warehouse. Orders are delivered to each location on a weekly basis for customers to pick up. Currently, each location must have its own inventory in Shopify which does not reflect reality (since everything is stocked at the central warehouse). Many orders are also shipped directly too. So it is currently very difficult to manage inventory and easy to over-sell products or have products marked as out-of-stock when they aren't.

Thank you

[koala_TM]

Why not create an inventory location for your warehouse?

[CGSC]

Yes we have an inventory location for the warehouse. The problem is that the customer needs to choose the location to pickup during the checkout process, and not be required to input a shipping address. And so we have three local pickup locations. But they each must have their own inventory or they don't appear as an option for pickup when the customer checks out. We really don't want to manage inventory at different pickup locations. We want the products to all be sold out of a single inventory location, no matter what the pickup location is.

This is also described here:

https://community.shopify.com/c/payments-shipping-and/local-pickup-on-locations-without-inventory/td...

https://community.shopify.com/c/payments-shipping-and/need-to-sync-inventory-between-all-pickup-loca...

https://community.shopify.com/c/payments-shipping-and/how-to-share-inventory-between-locations-for-m...

https://community.shopify.com/c/retail-and-point-of-sale/one-inventory-for-multiple-locations/m-p/51...

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @CGSC, it sounds like your customers are buying products online, and looking to pick them up in retail locations, and the only relevant inventory is that of your warehouse. At this stage we don't have the single inventory across multiple locations you're referring to, therefore your retail stores have to have their own inventory quantities for the pickup location to appear at checkout. Learn more about pickup in store here.

If your customers are buying in-store and they want their products shipped to home later, we have ship to customer functionality if you're using our POS. Learn more here.

[CGSC]

Hi Sarah, thank you for clarifying that. It is helpful to know the functionality is not available right now so that we can pursue another solution. I appreciate your response!

[jam_chan]

In add a custom bundle, what are the results and outputs after Step 2: Build a cart_transform function? How is the cart transformed after running the code? Any screenshots?

Also, there are 2 pages of .rs code. But I have no idea why Rust is involved? I think most developers don't know Rust

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @jam_chan , we have a screenshot on the Overview page https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/bundles that shows how Bundles would appear in checkout. You can use any language that compiles to WebAssembly for Shopify Functions. Our official language is currently Rust, although we have just launched a local developer preview of using JavaScript to write a Function.

[garyrgilbert]

Hi I have a quick question about markets and multi location fulfillment.

I have a shop which sells the same product line up in two countries, but because of customs they want to fulfill from two different locations.  If they sell in their primary market (Switzerland) then they should fulfill from the swiss fulfillment location. If they sell in the "rest of world" market they should only fullfill form the "Austria" location.

Furthermore when I set up a shipping profile (Add custom rates or destination restrictions for groups of products) You can only have the products assigned to a single rate.

So I am unclear how to set this up. Could someone please point me in the right direction Im a bit lost with the shipping profiles and such... Or is this even possible.

Cheers,

Gary

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @garyrgilbert, feel free to sign up for the smart order routing early access program here. Soon you'll be able to automatically route orders to the most optimal location with this functionality. Regarding your shipping profiles, you should be able to set up a custom shipping profile for those specific products, and within that profile click on "Create zone" to add multiple shipping zones for your locations with their own shipping rates. You can also click on "Manage" under Shipping origins to add multiple origin locations. Learn more about shipping profiles here.

[damaz]

Hi,

I am wondering how I activate the one page checkout? Is it only for Shopify Plus?

Thank you.

[Hussain10]

I can’t believe Shopify didn’t added this yet!

why don’t we have ONLINE prices and IN STORE prices?? We have to duplicate all products and make in store dups with different prices and visibility POS.

BUT! It won’t update or sync product quantities when a product is bought.

it’s a mess!! Please make this feature ASAP

[koala_TM]

You probably won't see Shopify build in two different price options because offering a different price in store and online isn't a retail best practice.

There are apps that do what you need, though. 

You can also take inspiration from Costco- "this product may be in stock at your local Costco warehouse for a lower non-delivered price"

[Hussain10]

Is it possible if I hire a developer to create an app for it? Or would it be impossible due to Shopify restrictions?

The other methods and apps I found for is not what I’m looking for.

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @Hussain10 , can you please help us better understand your scenario using different online and in-store prices? I can provide this feedback to our product team for consideration.

[Hussain10]

Thank you for trying to fix this issue. I might have to switch to Wordpress and clover inventory as my expansions continue.

my issue:

• I have multiple retail locations with different prices.
• I have online store with a different price

I want to use Shopify as my inventory management system for both ONLINE & RETAIL. I connected my retail locations with POS, but the prices are online pricing.

I Want:

my RETAIL location/channel have cheaper pricing. 

my ONLINE/channel is higher pricing.

in product creation, when entering product data:

title:

image:

description:

Price :

POS price: (optional)

cost: 

I hired a developer to create a solution for me. I was told  by my developer, that, Shopify cannot allow different pricing for different channels.

if you create a solution for this, it would be huge for my businesses. I have 3 locations not in Shopify because of this.

[Lhingley]

I have two questions--are these Shopify Editions Winter '23 updates automatically installed on our site, or do we need to do something to manually update?
Also, if we have any customizations, will they remain after the updates install? 
Thank you!

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @Lhingley , @Scott_Sillcox & @greenblueberry1, you can visit the Editions site at https://www.shopify.com/editions/winter2023 and click through on the feature you're interested in. This will lead you to product-specific documentation that will guide you on how to add to your store if you're currently eligible.

Alternatively, if you're signed into your Shopify store, click on any of the "Try it in your store" links under most products which will direct you to where in your Store Admin you can install or find the feature.

[viettemoni23]

Hello, My shop theme is Sense

We would like to remove the express payment methods from the shopping cart and from the first step of the checkout. We still want customers to be able to pay with paypal. But not via the express option.

The express checkout is a real conversion killer in the European Union. Because visitors think that the express payment methods (paypal, apple pay and google pay) are the only payment methods we offer. While this is not the case.

There should be an option to turn this off. Seems like a very simple adjustment to me.

All custom options I find on this forum to remove the express checkout no longer work.

Please shopify help us!

Regards,
Viet

[SarahF_Shopify]

Hi @viettemoni23 , I'll pass along your feedback to our product team.