We love a good Shopify release at DMi – the better to help our clients on the platform build a better site experience for their customers.

After gifting us with a bunch of useful features in last summer’s release, Shopify has raised the bar for eCommerce even further with its Winter 2024 updates. We’ve been digging into the details and would like to share some insights on the five releases we see as most impactful – what they are, why we’re excited, and who should put them into play right away.

Let’s start with…

1) Shopify Combined Listings App

What it is: Store managers can finally merchandize individual product variants without custom code, third-party apps, or repetitive product creation. Products that come in multiple colors or styles can be featured separately on the collection page, with their own description, media gallery, and URL.

Why it’s exciting: Every e-commerce client, no matter the platform, has asked for this feature, and until now, it required a custom-built or third-party app. Not only were those “solutions” more time-consuming and less feature-rich, but because they weren’t built or maintained by Shopify, they frequently caused potential bugs or temporary loss of functionality. This update negates those liabilities.

Who it’s for: Shopify Plus stores looking to streamline their tech or add new functionality without the use of third-party apps.

Who it’s not for: Standard Shopify stores (which might consider this feature alone a reason to upgrade).

2) Semantic Search

What it is: AI-powered smart search that goes beyond keyword matching and better understands customer intent.

Why it’s exciting: This essentially turns Shopify search into an in-store associate. Forget “athletic shorts” or “activewear”; terms that broad are great if you know exactly what you’re looking for. But this is 2024, and customers can search for "something light to wear during summer workouts,” or “something warm to wear hiking in Iceland” to get more insightful results.

Who it’s for: Shopify Plus stores with a large catalog or a niche market.

Who it’s not for: Standard Shopify stores (ready to upgrade yet?).

3) Shopify Subscriptions App Full Release

What it is: A Shopify app that allows store managers to increase recurring purchases, customer lifetime value, predictable revenue, and even average order value with powerful, customizable, and feature-rich subscription functionality. Along with standard subscription/recurring order functionality for individual products, the full release of the app also provides customizable (and yes, subscribable) product bundles of up to 30 products to help promote new products, encourage higher order value, or provide a discount on items frequently purchased together. The merchandizing options are pretty limitless.

Why it’s exciting: Developers no longer need to install and customize third-party apps to provide their stakeholders with most of the subscription functionality they desire. Native Shopify apps, particularly Shopify apps that are very customizable, are always preferable to third-party apps; they offer seamless integration and compatibility within the Shopify ecosystem, along with typically stronger reliability, performance, support, security, and ease of use.

Who it’s for: Now available for all Shopify stores that have a compatible payment gateway (Shopify payments, PayPal, Authorize.net, or Stripe) and a Shopify 2.0 theme, or Debut on version 15.0 or later.

Who it’s not for: Stores that sell items that are generally one-time purchases.

4) Shopify Magic Enhancement: AI-Powered Image Editing

What it is: Shopify’s marketing AI (and 2023’s biggest release), Magic has some new features – namely, AI-powered image editing. From Shopify: “Create professional product photos with new AI-enabled image editing features. Instantly generate, match, or remove the background of your existing images using just a few clicks or keywords. No design skills needed. Available in early 2024.”

Why it’s exciting: You no longer need to be a professional graphic artist or photographer to help make your images sing on screen.

Who it’s for: Store managers with limited resources or time.

Who it’s not for: Graphic designers and photographers. You’re still going to do a better job… for now. ;)

5) New Theme Blocks in Developer Preview

What it is: New block features, customizable block presets, and reusable theme blocks for the customizer.

Why it’s exciting: While theme blocks aren’t ready for rollout into current themes, this availability in developer preview will allow Shopify developers to play with, push the boundaries of, and get used to the new functionality. These initial blocks will lay the foundation for new capabilities to be added throughout the year.

Who it’s for: Shopify developers looking to be comfortable and confident with the new features when they are ready to incorporate into live themes.

Who it’s not for: Current store managers can’t use this…yet.

In case you can’t tell, we’re excited about the potential for retail brands using Shopify to elevate their site experience and save some developer resources in the process. If you’re interested in chatting with us about how we’re using these tools for our clients, drop us a line at info@dmipartners.com.