Shopify Announces New Features and Programs For Merchants At Shopify Reunite

On Wednesday, Shopify hosted Reunite, the company’s first virtual event for members of its global community.

The company gave attendees an exclusive look at the latest updates and new products it is building to help entrepreneurs future proof their businesses.

The products and updates announced at Reunite will continue to help merchants navigate the new normal in ecommerce, but will also empower sellers to look forward, to plan for the future.

From finance to retail to shipping, here’s a look at what was covered by Shopify during this event.

Shopify Balance

Most of today’s banking products are built from a traditional financial institution’s point of view and designed for large, established businesses. They aren’t designed for the needs of independent business owners and aren’t as flexible as they need to be.

In research, Shopify found that two in five merchants are using personal bank accounts and cards for their business, meaning they’re combining their personal and business finances, making it difficult to measure the financial health of the business.

Shopify Balance will help close this gap by giving merchants access to critical financial products to start, run, and grow their businesses.

Shopify Balance will include:

• Shopify Balance Account: A one-stop-shop within the Shopify admin where merchants can get a clear view of cash flow, pay bills, track expenses, and make decisions about the future of their business.
• Shopify Balance Card: Physical and virtual cards that merchants can use to access their money faster when spending in-store, with mobile or online, as well as withdrawing from ATMs.
• Rewards: Shopify plans to offer merchants cashback and discounts on everyday business spending like shipping and marketing.

Shopify Balance will have no monthly fees or minimum balances, and the company plans to launch early access later this year in the U.S.

Buy Now, Pay Later

Shop Pay Installments will be Shopify’s new “Buy Now, Pay Later” option which enables merchants to offer more payment choice and flexibility at checkout.

This gives consumers the option to split purchases into four equal payments over time, interest-free and with no additional fees to consumers.

Flexible payments can help increase a merchant’s average order size by making purchases more palatable to consumers—particularly in the current economic climate.

Working with a partner, Shopify will launch Shop Pay Installments later this year. It’ll be available to U.S. merchants eligible for Shopify Payments.

Deliver Locally

COVID-19 has underscored the importance of shopping locally. More than ever, merchants need efficient ways to connect with their local customers today and in the future.

Average daily local orders on Shopify for the six weeks ending April 24 grew 176%, compared to the prior six weeks, coinciding with the introduction of physical distancing measures.

As of April 24, 26% of brick-and-mortar merchants in Shopify’s English-speaking geographies were using some form of local pickup and delivery solution, compared to just 2% at the end of February.

Shopify has begun rolling out a new Local Delivery product for merchants globally to offer an improved and simplified local delivery experience. Merchants can:

• Define a local delivery area using distance radius or zip/postal codes.
• Set local delivery fees and minimum order price.
• Fulfill local orders through Shopify, Shopify POS, and Shopify Mobile.
• Use the new Shopify Local Delivery app to create optimized delivery routes, and send customer notifications when deliveries are on the way.

Expanding Shopify Fulfillment Network

Shopify Fulfillment Network, which launched in 2019, has graduated from its early access stage and is actively accepting merchant applications.

Shopify Fulfillment Network continues to take away the complexities of fulfillment by investing in technology and a collaborative robotics workforce, allowing merchants to join, scale and evolve their fulfillment strategies through its growing partner network.

Shopify opened its first research and development hub in Ottawa to trial new robotics and fulfillment technologies, iterate and improve on warehouse operations, and fulfill Canadian-based orders.

Improving The Online Store For All Entrepreneurs

As COVID-19 has forced many businesses to move online, Shopify is releasing more online store features that will help entrepreneurs from a range of verticals adapt.

Merchants now have the option to collect tips at checkout. The company has also released a new one-page theme called Express that enables merchants to get online quickly.

These features were built with local restaurants and coffee shops in mind, but can also be used by merchants in any vertical looking to connect with their customers online.

As of March 20, selling gift cards has been available to all merchants, and Shopify has seen more merchants utilizing this feature than ever before.

For businesses that can’t deliver products during COVID-19, this feature has provided a much-needed supplement to cash flow.

Giving Merchants More Choice With More Channels

Recently, Shopify announced Shop, a direct-to-consumer app and personal shopping assistant to make purchasing and order tracking frictionless.

Coming soon, Shopify’s new Shop Channel will let merchants control how their brand appears on Shop.

• Merchants will be able to customize their profile and how and where they appear on the app.
• Shop Channel will first be available to merchants in Canada and the U.S.

On May 19, Facebook introduced Facebook Shops, which allows merchants to build branded versions of their online store within Instagram and Facebook.

Shopify is partnering with Facebook to help businesses create branded storefronts to help merchants deliver unique shopping experiences, and enable consumers to browse and purchase without ever leaving the apps.

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