Shopify in 2026: the features that make a difference for those who want to scale.

Brazilian e-commerce closed 2025 with revenues of R$ 235,5 billion , a 15,3% increase over the previous year, and is projected to reach R$ 259,8 billion in 2026 , according to ABIACOM . This growth is no longer solely due to more online stores; it stems from operations that automate entire stages with artificial intelligence. This is where Shopify focused its biggest round of innovations in 2026, presented in Shopify Editions. The platform placed AI at the center of the store, from the first contact with the customer to checkout. For those looking to scale, understanding what has changed has become part of the strategy.

Shopify in 2026: what really changes

• WhatsApp has become the official marketing channel within the platform. It's possible to create campaigns, automations, and journeys through... Shopify Messaging, with the client's consent for email, SMS and WhatsApp centralized in a single profile.
• Shopify Catalog distributes products to AI engines. such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI, and Perplexity. According to itself. Shopify, Data synchronized by the platform generates double the conversion rate for purchases made within AI-powered systems.
• The sidekick went from assistant to task executor. It creates clients, generates purchase orders, works in the background, and operates within partner apps like Klaviyo, Smile, and Loop.
• Campaign Autopilot automates end-to-end marketing. The retailer sets goals and limits, and the AI ​​creates, distributes, and optimizes campaigns across multiple channels continuously.
• A/B testing and gradual rollout of changes became native....without relying on external applications. Analytics, internal search, and B2B capabilities have also evolved.
• The checkout process has been redesigned to convert more., with less distraction on your mobile phone and automatic reordering of payment methods according to the probability of conversion.

WhatsApp as a native marketing channel

For the Brazilian market, this is probably the most relevant change. A survey by Opinion Box from June 2025 shows that 97% of Brazilians access WhatsApp every day, 82% already communicate with brands through the app, and 60% have already purchased products or services through it. The channel has always been central to the relationship between store and consumer in the country; what was missing was integrating it into the operation without makeshift solutions.

Shopify now allows you to set up WhatsApp campaigns and automations directly through Shopify Messaging , reducing reliance on third-party platforms for a large part of your operations. Abandoned cart recovery , personalized offers, seasonal campaigns, and post-sales relationship management can all be created within the same environment where your store already operates.

There's a less visible but important benefit for scaling: the platform centralizes customer consent to receive messages via email, SMS, and WhatsApp in a single profile. This simplifies permission management and helps keep communication within the rules, something that becomes crucial when the contact base grows.

Agent commerce: selling within artificial intelligence.

Shopify 's most disruptive innovation in 2026 might also be the least intuitive. With Shopify Catalog, store products will be automatically distributed to AI engines like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI, and Perplexity. In practice, consumers can search for a product by conversing with an AI and complete the purchase without necessarily opening a website.

This movement creates an acquisition channel that didn't exist before. Shopify claims that synchronized catalogs show up to twice the conversion rate in AI-powered shopping experiences. This is a statistic that changes the calculations for those who rely solely on paid traffic and traditional SEO.

What really matters here is the quality of the catalog's structured data. When product discovery happens within an AI system, well-organized titles, attributes, descriptions, and images become as important as the store's layout . Brands that fix this foundation first gain a head start in this new space, known as AI Discovery.

A word of caution regarding expectations: agent commerce is still in its early stages, and sales volume through this channel tends to grow gradually. The point is not to abandon the website, but rather to prepare the catalog now so that, when consumers start buying by interacting with an AI, the store is already there and well-described. Structuring data takes time, and this is an advantage that is built before the channel matures.

Sidekick and Campaign Autopilot: less manual work

Sidekick already existed as Shopify 's AI assistant , but in 2026 it received its biggest update. It went from simply answering questions to performing real operational tasks : creating customers in natural language, generating purchase orders, working in the background , and interacting within partner apps like Klaviyo, Smile, Loop, and Judge.me. Each session begins with suggestions and recommended tasks for the merchant, reducing the time between "having an idea" and "putting it into practice."

In marketing, the highlight is Campaign Autopilot . This feature uses AI to automatically create, distribute, and optimize campaigns across multiple channels. The retailer defines the objectives and limits of the operation; artificial intelligence handles continuous optimizations to improve results. For lean teams, which is the reality for most operations in Brazil, this type of automation frees up hours that were previously spent on manual adjustments.

Checkout, search, and integrated store

A significant portion of conversions happens in the final steps, and Shopify's 2026 checkout process was redesigned with this in mind. The interface is cleaner, reduces distractions, and decreases scrolling on mobile devices, where most purchases take place. The payment button is now more prominent, and the order of payment methods is reorganized according to each customer's conversion probability , when available via Shopify Payments.

The internal search has also become smarter and understands typos, returning relevant results even when the customer misspells something. It may seem like a small detail, but a misinterpreted search result means a silent lost sale.

For those with physical operations, the integration between store and online has advanced: the consumer can buy and pick up part of the order in-store while receiving another part at home, all within the same checkout. This type of hybrid fulfillment brings the omnichannel experience closer to what the customer already expects.

SimGym and AI Toolkit: AI testing and operating the store.

Among the less talked-about innovations, SimGym stands out. The tool uses AI-powered simulated shoppers to navigate the store and identify navigation bottlenecks, conversion problems, and opportunities for improvement before real customers encounter them. It's a way to run continuous experience tests without waiting for losses to appear in the report before taking action.

Shopify has also opened its operations to developers with the AI ​​Toolkit , which allows managing stores through intelligent agents such as Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT , in addition to strengthening integrations with development platforms. The message is that building and operating an e-commerce business will be increasingly conversational, which changes how agencies and technical teams deliver projects.

Why Shopify in 2026 favors those who want to scale.

Three new features speak directly to those who need to grow without losing control. The first is native A/B testing: now you can test theme versions, checkout changes, and customer accounts, as well as release changes gradually and schedule publications, all through Shopify itself , without an external app. Making decisions based on testing, not guesswork, is what separates an operation that scales from one that only grows in cost.

The second is Analytics , which now delivers automatic daily insights, goal setting by metric, and new ways to visualize data. The objective is to reduce the time spent interpreting reports and accelerate decision-making.

The third is B2B , which has gained traction in more platform plans, with business profiles, volume pricing, multiple catalogs, and wholesale discounts. This makes Shopify more competitive for manufacturers, distributors, and industries that want to sell wholesale and retail using the same structure.

In this scenario, the indicators to track shift focus. In addition to the overall conversion rate, conversions from AI channels, shopping cart recovery via WhatsApp, and the average order value of omnichannel operations become important. These are metrics that only make sense to monitor after the operation is structured for the new channels.

Structure your operation for the new scenario.

Having the resources available is just the beginning. The return comes from a well-structured operation: an organized catalog, structured data for AI channels, integrations in place, and tests running to guide each decision . Without this foundation, AI operates on fragile ground and delivers less than it promises.

e-Plus specializes in the implementation, migration, and evolution of Shopify stores , helping brands and retailers leverage features like Shopify Editions with a structure designed for scalability. If your company wants to join Shopify , migrate platforms, or evolve an existing store, talk to the e-Plus team of experts . To delve deeper beforehand, it's worth exploring other blog content about e-commerce and technology.

Frequently asked questions about Shopify in 2026