Shopify Updates 2024: Everything You Need to Know

As we move into 2024, Shopify continues to evolve with new features and updates designed to enhance the platform for merchants and developers alike. Staying informed about these changes can help you make the most of Shopify’s capabilities for your e-commerce business. Here’s a detailed look at what’s new and noteworthy in Shopify for 2024.

Expanded AppBridge Capabilities

Shopify has significantly expanded the capabilities of its AppBridge SDK. This toolkit, used for developing embedded apps within the Shopify admin, now includes a new dialog box feature. This addition allows for more dynamic interactions within the Shopify dashboard. Here’s an example of how you can implement a dialog box using the AppBridge component:

<AppProvider isEmbeddedApp apiKey={apiKey}>
  ...
  <ui-modal id="my-modal">
    <p>Message</p>
    <ui-title-bar title="Title">
      <button variant="primary" onClick={() => shopify.modal.hide('my-modal')}>Label</button>
    </ui-title-bar>
  </ui-modal>
  <button onClick={() => shopify.modal.show('my-modal')}>Open Modal</button>
</AppProvider>

This functionality underscores Shopify's commitment to integrating more web components, which are standardized and help avoid the instability issues seen in previous versions of AppBridge.

Shopify API Enhancements for Subscriptions

Starting February 1, 2024, Shopify’s Subscriptions app is available on all plans. This update includes several improvements:

• Error Handling: The subscriptionBillingAttemptCreate mutation now returns a CONTRACT_UNDER_REVIEW error for contracts under review instead of INVALID.

• Discount Application: Automatic discounts can now be applied to subscription orders.

• Uninstall Handling: Subscriptions created by uninstalled apps can now be canceled automatically.

• UI Extensions: New UI extensions for checkout are available to better handle subscription and one-time purchase deliveries.

• Contract Status Updates: New mutations in the GraphQL Admin API allow for updating subscription contract statuses, such as pausing or canceling subscriptions.

These changes aim to streamline subscription management and provide more flexibility for merchants offering subscription-based products.

Admin UI Extensions

Shopify now allows more customization of the admin panel through Admin UI Extensions. This feature integrates Remote UI, Admin GraphQL API, and Polaris UI for a seamless and secure development experience. With Admin UI Extensions, developers can:

• Connect directly to APIs without hosting proxies.

• Create custom sections in the admin panel for orders, products, and customers.

• Utilize pre-built functionality to build user-friendly forms and interfaces.

Here’s a simple example of how you can create a custom admin panel section:

import { extend, TextField } from '@shopify/admin-ui-extensions';
extend('Admin::Product::Subscription', (root, api) => {
  const textField = root.createComponent(TextField, {
    label: 'Custom Field',
    value: '',
    onChange: (value) => api.updateField('customField', value),
  });
  root.appendChild(textField);
});

B2B Enhancements

Shopify’s latest updates include specific features for B2B merchants. Notably, you can now create discounts exclusively for B2B customers or exclude them from certain discounts. This functionality is accessible through the BuyerIdentity.purchasingCompany field in the cart.

Shopify Flow Improvements

A major enhancement to Shopify Flows is the ability to execute custom code. This update allows for more advanced automation capabilities, such as:

• Data transformation and filtering.

• Performing calculations and complex logic.

• Sending API requests and logging data.

These new options make Shopify Flow a powerful tool for automating backend processes without the need for external hosting.

New Discount Strategies

Shopify has introduced a new discount strategy that applies discounts to all products in the cart, rather than just the first eligible item. This allows for more flexible and varied discount campaigns. For example, you can apply different discount percentages to different products in a single function:

{
  "discounts": [
    {
      "targets": [
        { "productVariant": { "id": "gid://shopify/ProductVariant/44715850367250" } }
      ],
      "value": { "percentage": { "value": "10.0" } }
    },
    {
      "targets": [
        { "productVariant": { "id": "gid://shopify/ProductVariant/44715850498322" } }
      ],
      "value": { "percentage": { "value": "15.0" } }
    }
  ],
  "discountApplicationStrategy": "ALL"
}

Nordic Shipping Integration

For merchants in Sweden and Finland, Shopify now offers integration with local shipping methods through the Nordic Shipping App. This app allows for:

• Displaying carrier-specific and custom pickup points during checkout.

• Printing shipping labels directly from Shopify orders.

• Connecting to warehouse management systems for seamless operations.

This integration ensures a smoother shipping process for merchants in these regions.