Shopify Updates July 2020: The Complete List
Another month has passed with new updates on Shopify that are going to improve your business.
Last June was big for Shopify as they collaborated with Walmart to expand its marketplace. They also added new features such as SMS marketing to make it easier for stores to target customers across different channels.
Below is a quick rundown of some of the latest changes coming to the eCommerce platform:
ShipScout Is Now Available on Shopify
It’s no secret that free shipping is great for boosting sales. 93% of customers are more likely to buy if free shipping is involved.
The issue with free shipping, however, is that it isn’t exactly “free”. Your business will have to cover all of the shipping costs, which may hurt your revenue and profit margins.
That’s where Shopify’s new app ShipScout comes in. Shipping doesn’t have to be a guessing game — with ShipScout, you’ll accurately predict how your shipping rates affect your orders through A/B testing.
ShipScout accomplishes this by comparing different shipping variants and how they impact your sales. Here’s an example of the platform analyzing the impact of offering free shipping on all orders vs. offering free shipping on orders beyond a $50 threshold:
As you can see from the above, free shipping on all orders takes the win with a 5.24% conversion rate.
ShipScout starts at $49/month and comes with a three-day free trial.
Offer a Virtual Shopping Experience to Customers With Hero
The future remains uncertain for retail brands. With COVID-19 still circulating and countries reimposing restrictions to curb the virus, it will take a while for retail foot traffic to get back to normal.
Hero is an app that offers a virtual shopping experience to customers. You can reach out to customers with text, chat, or video from your smartphone and tablet. Customers can ask questions to learn more about your product before purchasing online or in-store.
As a result, you’ll be able to recreate an in-store experience without the brick and mortar.
Hero is now available for Shopify stores by downloading the app on IOS and Android. Contact their team to learn more.
Measure Your Store’s Speed With Online Store Speed Report
A slow and glitchy website can be detrimental to sales. According to Google, 53% of visitors will ditch your site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. It’s why Shopify released their new online store speed report to help measure your store’s speed.
Shopify assesses your store’s speed by running speed tests for your pages and combining it with Google’s Lighthouse into an overall score out of 100. You’ll also get valuable information on how your store compares to other businesses.
Shopify Payments Is Now Available in Google Buy on Google
For the first time, Shopify Payments is now available to buyers outside of Shopify. It’s going to help merchants reach buyers on multiple channels and meet them wherever they are.
“Now more than ever, merchants are looking for new ways to sell to their customers,” says Kaz Nejatian, VP at Shopify Financial Solutions. “By opening access to Shopify Payments outside of Shopify for the first time, we’re giving merchants the tools they need to drive sales and effectively run their business – all from within Shopify.”
Check out Google’s blog post to learn more about the new update.
Conclusion
These updates should convince many merchants to migrate to Shopify. The new features will provide stores new ways to optimize the customer experience and reach customers on the various channels they use.
At Parkfield, we’re always looking forward to what Shopify has in the works to help our clients better. To learn more about Shopify’s new releases in 2020, please check out our last roundup posts:
