Table of content:

INTRODUCTION

The Shopify Unite 2017 Conference was held recently in San Francisco where the Shopify management and developers came together to discuss the future of the platform. The conference was a tremendous success, not only in terms of the creativity and the commitment on show. But also because several announcements were made that are set to change the eCommerce landscape for good.

As a certified Shopify Plus Partner, we want to share what Shopify has in store for you However, Shopify is playing in the future of commerce, and by extension, more broadly the future of entrepreneurship and work.

To truly understand how we’re all connected, let’s look at one small business and the small businesses that support it. In fact, it’s a symbiotic relationship, entrepreneurship enabling entrepreneurship.

Shopify has reached 1 million active subscribers as of this year. This goes to show that it is a platform that has the trust of a large proportion of online merchants. To maintain this confidence, the Shopify team has to make a conscious effort to keep coming up with advancements and address some of the problems faced by their merchants.  And this year they’ve outdone themselves.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into some of the significant developments from Shopify that you can look forward to this year.

Shopify Pay

The announcement that we as a Shopify Partner are most excited for is that Shopify Pay is about to become a reality. In fact, it has already been rolled out to some degree and will be available to everyone for free in the next few weeks. The feature simplifies the checkout procedure tremendously, allowing your customers to select what they want to buy, and skip filling out extensive ordering and billing forms.

Since Shopify Pay has already been in practice in some stores, preliminary statistics have already come in. They show that it increases checkout times by 40% and enhances conversion rates of returning customers by 18%. Those are some impressive figures!

As a buyer, there is nothing more annoying than having to fill out forms over and over again. Shopify Pay allows you to check out within seconds. You have to fill out your details once and choose Shopify Pay to save your information for later. Next time you buy from any Shopify store, all you have to do is enter your email address. A 6-digit code will be sent to your phone, entering which will complete the process.

Multi-Channel Selling Redefined

As eCommerce continues to grow, so does the competition. In times like these, you want to be able to tap into as many sales channels as possible and diversify your customer base. The Channel Manager launched by Shopify in 2015 was a success. As of now, you can connect to Facebook Shop, Amazon, eBay, Messenger among a dozen other channels.

The number of these channels are about to grow exponentially this year. These include Kik and Wish. There is also talk of collaborating with Buzzfeed to help you highlight your eCommerce business. Just how this will happen is still a work in progress.

The reporting mechanism will be made better, with more data to help you keep track of how each of your sales channels is performing. This gives you a chance to make well-informed decisions before presenting your products in new markets. You’ll know what works and what doesn’t. If you are unclear on how to do this, you can always turn to a Shopify Partner like 1 Digital Agency to step in and give you a hand.

New Chip and Swipe Reader

Another prominent feature that is set to make your life easier is the new Chip and Swipe reader. Shopify POS has proved to be quite popular since it allows merchants to sell products and accept payments for them in person in addition to online transactions. The Chip and Swipe reader takes this to a whole new level.

Take it from a Shopify Partner, this handy little piece of tech is nothing short of extraordinary. The small, portable reader is incredibly easy to carry around and use. It accepts all major credit and debit cards securely. It supports the latest EMV chip technology, which is the new standard for secure payments. If your customer has an older card, don’t worry, the reader comes equipped with magstripe reader technology too.

Insert any card into the reader, and collect the payment from your phone. The Chip and Swipe reader comes with Bluetooth technology for wireless connectivity. So you can basically make a sale and collect payments wherever you are as long as you have your phone handy.

Marketing Made Simple

As a merchant, you are responsible for your products, their quality, their competitiveness, etc. Shopify gives you a platform to do this. A Shopify Partner like us develops apps and tools so that you may be able to sell your products effectively. It is a three-way relationship that has to work if you want to stay on top of the game.

Data and information are the foundations of a sound marketing strategy. Without the right data, you can never know if a plan is working, which part of it needs improvement and which aspect to discard. At Unite 2017, the Shopify team announced the launch of Marketing Events API. This was big news for developers. This API gives us the ability to add better performance tracking and analytics to our marketing apps.

In most cases, merchants have to keep track of their various marketing campaigns manually. When you do that, there is always the chance that you’ll miss something. Plus going through piles of data can get old very fast. The new Marketing Events API is bound to make things much easier for you. You can stay on top of your marketing strategy and make better decisions as a result. Plus it gives a Shopify Partner the chance to develop more efficient marketing apps.

Marketing Made Simple

As a merchant, you are responsible for your products, their quality, their competitiveness, etc. Shopify gives you a platform to do this. A Shopify Partner like us develops apps and tools so that you may be able to sell your products effectively. It is a three-way relationship that has to work if you want to stay on top of the game.

Data and information are the foundations of a sound marketing strategy. Without the right data, you can never know if a plan is working, which part of it needs improvement and which aspect to discard. At Unite 2017, the Shopify team announced the launch of Marketing Events API. This was big news for developers. This API gives us the ability to add better performance tracking and analytics to our marketing apps.

In most cases, merchants have to keep track of their various marketing campaigns manually. When you do that, there is always the chance that you’ll miss something. Plus going through piles of data can get old very fast. The new Marketing Events API is bound to make things much easier for you. You can stay on top of your marketing strategy and make better decisions as a result. Plus it gives a Shopify Partner the chance to develop more efficient marketing apps.

The Shopify team is always looking at ways to make the platform better. They work day and night to come with new features to help an eCommerce business excel. If the Unite 2017 Conference told us something, it was that Shopify actually cares about what we have to say and listens.

With all the new changes coming into play soon, it’s a hard time for a business owner. You don’t know how your business will be affected. For better or for worse, you need to make sure you know what you are getting into. At times like these, you need a Shopify Partner to hold your hand.

You can anytime rely on us whether it's an online store or any web app. Drop your requirements at nitesh@lucentinnovation.com

Source:
https://www.1digitalagency.com/major-takeaways-unite-2017-shopify-partner-developer-conference/
https://www.demacmedia.com/ceo-matt-bertulli/future-of-commerce-unite-2017/