Operations
18 September 2022
Shopify plans 'major update' to app store
An overhaul of search, listings and categorization is being prepared, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein shared in tweets.

An overhaul of search, listings and categorization is being prepared, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein shared in tweets.
A forthcoming release in the Shopify app store will overhaul the marketplace itself.
Shopify is preparing to roll out changes to its app store that are designed to improve discoverability, a top executive shared this week.
The “major update” was previewed Sept. 15 in tweets by Shopify President Harley Finkelstein. Shopfiy’s app store is a marketplace where brands and merchants can access apps for their online stores that were built by both Shopify and third-party developers. It has created a software ecosystem around Shopify’s ecommerce infrastructure, empowering startups and developers that don’t work for Shopify to build new capabilities, and tech businesses of their own.
With the volume of apps on the store growing, Shopify is now making moves to overhaul search and categorization.
“It’s going to be much easier for merchants to find & learn about your apps so you can get more installs & build your biz,” Finkelstein wrote.
\u201cWe've got something awesome cooking with a major update to the @Shopify App Store. TLDR; it\u2019s going to be much easier for merchants to find & learn about your apps so you can get more installs & build your biz. Here are some initial changes & what you can do to make it awesome\ud83d\udc47\u201d— Harley Finkelstein (@Harley Finkelstein) 1663260219
The changes include a reorganization of categories within the app store.
“We made things simple & cut down the categories to help merchants discover apps as they browse through categories that are more in line with how they think about commerce problems.”
There will also be a new-look search page.
“We gave the search page a facelift,” Finkelstein wrote. “We’ve updated the search page design to have more of a focus on apps and reduce noise from filters that were rarely used.”
The listing page is in line for an overhaul, as well. This area was the source of an action item in the announcement.
“If you’re a developer, update your app listing,” Finkelstein wrote. “We're redesigning the listing page. The new listing page will make it simpler for merchants to get the key information they need in a format that's best for them.”
Finkelstein didn’t provide a date for the new release, but a public announcement from the company president makes it a fair bet that it is getting ready to ship.
The update comes in the months after the release of Shopify Editions, which detailed more than 100 recent product updates from Shopify. This included a host of new apps built by the company itself to enable functions such as checkout customization, B2B selling, cross-border commerce and sustainability.
This fall, Shopify is hosting a trio of developer-focused events under the umbrella of Shopify Unite. The first was held last week in London. Events in October are planned in Toronto and Melbourne.
The CX company is expanding tools to reach shoppers within a message.
Zendesk is rolling out new conversational tools for consumer brands and retailers, while deepening partnerships with key commerce platforms including Meta and Shopify.
The customer experience software company is rolling out a suite of tools called Conversational Commerce. They include the following:
Sales personalization: These tools allow agents to interact with abandoned carts, support active carts and inform customers when items are available in close proximity so they can complete purchases. Additional tools allow sharing of feature promotions.
Sales acceleration: This set of features is aimed at increasing overall order value. Agents can access a given shopper’s purchase history, merchandise preferences and browsing journey, and in turn provide recommendations for cross-sell and upsell.
Data at scale: Through more than 1,400 pre-built apps, businesses can use AI to automate conversions and recommendations. Additional integrations unify SKU, inventory and location data for product tracking, and connect disparate systems in order to provide a complete view of the customer.
Additionally, Zendesk is expanding integrations with a pair of key tech platforms for brands and retailers:
WhatsApp: An integration will enable businesses to create a buying experience within a message.
Shopify: Agents can incorporate product catalogs, checkout processes and promotions into their CX management approaches through Shopify’s platform.
Foot Locker is among the early retailers that are tapping these features, according to Zendesk.
Conversational experiences were among three areas that Zendesk CTO Adrian McDermott identified as key advances in customer experience in a conversation with The Current earlier this year.
According to the Zendesk 2023 CX Trends Report, 70% of customers expect conversational experiences when interacting with brands. Additionally, the survey found that 70% of consumers purchase more from brands that incorporate these capabilities.
“Whether it's Facebook Messenger, it's embedded messaging in your application, it's WhatsApp or it’s Google Business messaging, the messaging window has become the new browser window,” McDermott told The Current at the NRF Big Show in January.