4 Minutes
26. May 2025
The Summer 2025 Shopify Editions are here — and they bring a wave of updates that aren’t just technically exciting, but could make a real impact on your day-to-day e-commerce life. From a completely new theme system and AI-powered design tools to serious B2B features: we’ll walk you through what truly matters, who it’s for — and where there’s still room for improvement.
Horizon: The New Theme Foundation
With Horizon themes, Shopify introduces its most flexible design framework yet. Everything is now based on nested blocks, giving you more control over how your store looks — all without writing a single line of code.
Shopify ships ten new free themes right out of the box, each designed to match different industries and styles. Many are already powered by new AI features, making them especially future-proof.
What makes Horizon special? More design flexibility directly through the editor in the Shopify admin. Who benefits? Brands with strong storytelling ambitions get the flexibility they often miss with standard themes.
We’ve already tested one of the Horizon themes. What it can do, where its limits are, and our verdict can be found in our detailed Shopify Horizon Deep Dive.
AI-Driven Design
Now things get exciting: With the new editor, you can generate content blocks, image galleries, or even full-page structures using simple text prompts. For example: "Create a product slider gallery in Polaroid style with a mobile preview."
No coding. No agency briefings. Just your idea — and the AI brings it to life.
These new AI features make designing far more accessible — especially for lean teams or founders working with limited budgets.
The catch? It’s currently English-only. But it’s safe to assume more language options are on the horizon.
Our tip: This is a great entry point for small teams to quickly test layout ideas. Plus: the AI-generated results are editable, so they’re also great for prototyping.
A More User-Friendly Editor
The theme editor got some thoughtful UX upgrades:
- Blocks are now easier to categorize
- Hover previews show what elements will look like
- Sidebar navigation is customizable
Small touches on their own — but together, they noticeably improve the overall user experience.
Sidekick Speaks Your Language
Shopify’s AI assistant "Sidekick" just got smarter: It now supports German, can generate images directly within the admin, and even works on mobile. On top of that, it’s gaining new shop management skills.
What’s new?
- Support for 20 new languages
- Image generation in the admin dashboard
- Mobile app integration
Our take: Great for quick ideas or simple tasks — but not yet a reliable tool for complex workflows. Sidekick isn’t a power tool just yet, but it’s evolving.
Shopify POS: Stronger Branding & Unified Checkout
Shopify POS is becoming more versatile — both in looks and functionality. Your branding (colors, logos) now appears across all customer-facing screens. That boosts brand presence at the point of sale. With the upgrade to Version 10, you also get faster navigation, smarter search, a customizable cart and more — it’s the most flexible POS version yet.
One of our favorite features: Customers can now mix take-home and shipped items in a single checkout. Buy in-store, ship part of the order — all in one smooth transaction. (POS Pro required.)
Other updates:
- Store credit for returns directly in the POS
- One discount across multiple categories (POS Pro only)
The result: a serious step toward true Unified Commerce.
Shopify POS caught your eye for a store opening or mobile pop-up?
We’ve put together everything you need to launch Shopify POS — including setup tips, hardware picks, and best practices.
Shopify B2B: Now With Markets Support
Shopify continues its B2B push with features that make a real difference:
- Min & max order quantities via checkout blocks
- VAT ID validation for EU & UK
- Shopify Markets now available for B2B — with local catalogs, tax rules, duties, and currencies
No plugins required. Everything’s built-in — which makes B2B setups smoother and global scaling more achievable.
Curious what this looks like in real life?
Check out how sustainable fashion label JAN 'N JUNE built their B2B store with Shopify — including behind-the-scenes insights into processes, advantages, and key learnings.
More Exciting Updates at a Glance
- Shopify Payments is now available in 16 more countries
- Discount codes can apply to multiple categories at once
- One-time shipping fee for split deliveries
- Faster checkout flows
Final Thoughts: A Lot of New Tools, A Lot of New Potential
With the Summer 2025 Edition, Shopify isn’t just dropping buzzwords — it’s delivering practical improvements for real-world use cases. Sure, some features (like AI design or Sidekick) are still maturing. But others — like the Horizon framework or hybrid POS checkout — could be true game changers for many shops.
Our recommendation: Use these new tools to rethink your current setup, experiment with new layouts, or take your B2B strategy to the next level. Not sure how to apply these updates to your store? Get in touch with us — we’ll give you honest advice tailored to what actually works for your business.