In this year’s speculative Shopify Unite, Shopify is expected to continue pushing the boundaries of AI, developer tools, and headless commerce—building on the momentum from their Summer 2025 “Horizons” release. Here’s what we anticipate:
Horizon Theme Becomes Default (Informed)
- Shopify will mark Horizon, built on the new block-based Modular Content system, as their new default theme—replacing Dawn for new stores (posstack.com).
- Expect 10+ vertical presets, deep nested content blocks, and AI-powered layout building via Sidekick (foxecom.com).
AI-Powered Theme Editor with Sidekick
- Sidekick will evolve into a full AI theme-editor assistant: merchants can type natural-language prompts like “Add a testimonial section” and watch it appear in your theme (shopify.com).
- Enhanced UI features: live block previews, copy/paste blocks, and improved block search (conspireagency.com).
AI Shopping Agents for Conversational Commerce
- The new Storefront MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets merchants build AI chat interfaces that:
- Recommend products
- Answer customer queries
- Create carts through conversation (shopify.com).
Checkout Extensibility & Performance Enhancements
- Checkout Engine rework delivers 2-second faster load times, better mobile experience, and extended functionality such as store-credit refunds and unified flat-rate shipping (foxecom.com).
- Checkout Extensibility remains a focus, enabling deeper customization with extensions and native B2B features like net payment terms and min/max order controls (foxecom.com).
Sidekick Goes Global & Voice-Enabled
- Sidekick AI now speaks 20+ languages, supports voice chat and screen sharing, and can pull reports or create discounts by voice (shopify.com).
- Its reasoning capabilities have been enhanced with multi-step decision-making (“Why did sales dip last month?”) (shopify.com).
B2B Commerce Gets Smarter
- Shopify Markets now supports B2B storefronts with VAT validation, volume pricing, order thresholds, and net terms—moving Shopify closer to platforms like Adobe Commerce (foxecom.com).
- Increased flexibility for multi-buyer checkouts and company profiles .
Hydrogen & Oxygen 3.0 Launch
- The headless toolkit receives a refresh:
- Hydrogen 3.0 rewritten in React Server Components
- Enhanced dev experience in Oxygen
(themes.shopify.com, community.shopify.com).
- Improved Storefront MCP, developer CLI, and Polaris Web Components support (ontapgroup.com).
POS Go & Retail Experience Overhaul
- Shopify POS app updated with improved UI, multi-entity support, branded receipts, ship-and-deliver in one flow, and cart-level credit options (instant.so).
Global Expansion Tools
- Support for Shopify Payments in 16 new countries
- Flat shipping across multiple fulfillment locations
- Expanded local compliance and duties, replicating into global-first storefront strategy (foxecom.com, ontapgroup.com).
Developer Platform Enhancements
- Next-gen Shopify CLI, theme kit, GitHub integration, plus broader theme check tools .
- More Storefront and Checkout APIs, client-side live previews, and faster app bridge tools (ontapgroup.com).
Summary Table
| Area | Key Impact |
| Themes | Horizon with AI blocks becomes new default |
| AI & Sidekick | Voice + 20 languages, natural design & analytics |
| Checkout | Speed improvements, B2B extensibility, store-credit refunds |
| B2B Commerce | Full VAT, pricing, terms support via Markets |
| Headless Dev | Hydrogen 3.0 + Oxygen upgrades optimised for RSC |
| POS & Retail | Full POS app redesign & functionality boost |
| Global Support | Payments in new markets & shipping flexibility |
| Developer Platform | Enhanced CLI, GitHub, new APIs, theme check, Polaris components |
What This Means for You
- Merchants: Easier customization with AI-driven design, faster checkouts, and built-in B2B tools.
- Developers: Richer APIs, headless upgrades, and efficient workflows with Hydrogen/Oxygen and CLI.
- Agencies/Theme Designers: New baseline (Horizon), more focus on value-added layers and custom integrations.
Note: These details are predictive and extrapolated from Shopify’s Summer 2025 “Horizons” ecosystem. Official Unite announcements may vary—but closely follow this strategic pattern (instant.so, foxecom.com, community.shopify.com).
Final Take
At Shopify Unite 2025, expect to see Shopify solidifying its path toward AI-first merchant tools, modular theme architecture, and complete headless commerce—empowering businesses and developers with speed, flexibility, and smarter automation.
Let me know if you’d like a visual or PDF version of this recap—or updates once the official Unite content is released!
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