Shopify just dropped Winter Editions '26, which means you probably should spend time reading the 150+ release notes and try to figure out what "Renaissance" actually means for your margins.

Fear not. I read them so you didn't have to.

On this special roundtable episode of Shopify1Percent, I brought in the heavy hitters—Gavin McKew (Shero Commerce) and Max Rolon (Domaine) to do surgery on the update. We strip away the marketing fluff to find the features that will actually make you money (and the ones you can safely ignore until 2027).

We are cutting through the noise on:

• Agentic Storefronts: Are consumers really ready to let ChatGPT buy their pants, or is this just another shiny object?

• Shopify SimGym: Is unleashng an army of AI bots to stress-test your store brilliant, or just a really expensive way to find out your checkout button is broken? (Spoiler: The panel is divided).

• The 2,048 Variant Limit: The meme is dead. You can finally sell a t-shirt in more than 3 colors without hacking the mainframe.

• Native A/B Testing (Rollouts): Why this is the "sleeper hit" of the entire update and why you should cancel your expensive testing app immediately.

• B2B Getting Sexy: ACH payments, Store Credit, and features that finally treat B2B buyers like adults.

Plus, the Elephant in the Room: We discuss the one glaring omission that Shopify still hasn't launched (Hint: It rhymes with "Customer Data Platform").

Stop guessing which features matter. Listen to this episode, implement the 1% wins, and go back to enjoying your life.

About the Guests:

• Gavin McKew: Managing Director at Shero Commerce

• Max Rolon: CTO at Domaine

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

The future of your Shopify brand has nothing to do with better ads or bigger discounts. It has everything to do with who your customers believe they are. By 2030 loyalty will not mean points. It will mean identity. In this episode, we explore why the next generation of Shopify winners will build ecosystems, status layers, and belonging, not coupon ladders. You will learn how to design membership experiences people are proud to join and how to create emotional loyalty that no competitor can touch. If you want your Shopify brand to matter in the future, start here.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

What if the real power of your Shopify subscription and membership program has nothing to do with your product and everything to do with human psychology? Membership doesn't just automate revenue. It automates behavior. In this episode, we unpack why paid members spend 4 times more, why sunk cost fallacy creates irrational loyalty, and how habit loops drive long-term retention. If you want your Shopify customers to stay because they want to, not because they forgot to cancel, this episode will change how you think about membership.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

The modern Shopify buyer is not ignoring you. They are drowning in noise. With 10,000 ads on average hitting them every day and endless product options, customers default to whatever is easiest, fastest, and most familiar.

In this episode, we unpack how the buyer brain has evolved, why friction kills conversions instantly, and how status, identity, and alignment with values shape purchase behavior in 2025. If you want your Shopify brand to cut through the noise instead of becoming part of it, this conversation shows you exactly how.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

The reason your Shopify customers are not loyal is because you're rewarding the wrong behavior. Points and discounts were built for a world that no longer exists. Today’s buyers want emotion, recognition, surprise, and belonging. In this episode, we uncover why emotional loyalty outperforms transactional rewards, how brands like Chewy and Starbucks turn small moments into lifelong fans, and how Shopify businesses can build real advocacy without bribing customers. If you want customers who choose you proudly, not reluctantly, this is the episode to hear.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

Here is a question most Shopify founders avoid. What if your marketing strategy is perfectly optimized for the wrong era of ecommerce? Most brands chase cheap CAC, tweak ads daily, and underinvest in the customers who already love them. The result is predictable. Growth stalls. Churn rises. Referrals disappear.

In this episode, we unpack why marketing must evolve, how member marketing delivers the highest ROI, and how engineered exclusivity and referrals can transform your Shopify business. If you want a smarter and more resilient way to scale, this conversation will change your thinking.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

The real reason your Shopify subscription growth stalled has nothing to do with your product and everything to do with predictable human psychology. Most brands hit the same wall around six or seven cycles, watching customers cancel even when the product works perfectly. That is subscription fatigue. In this episode, we dig into why perceived value always decays over time and how top Shopify brands beat fatigue with layered value, emotional benefits, and membership design. If you want subscribers who stay for years, not months, this episode gives you the playbook.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold

What if the biggest retention problem in your Shopify business is not retention at all, but the customers you are acquiring in the first place?

Most brands obsess over CAC and conversion, then panic when churn hits, never realizing the two are inseparable.

Acquisition is retention.

In this episode, I break down why the customer you attract determines the customer you keep, how the post-checkout dopamine spike shapes long-term loyalty, and how smart onboarding can lift retention before the first order even ships.

If you want to stop fighting churn and start engineering loyalty, this Shopify episode is your blueprint.

🧠 This is part of a 9-part series pulled from this full interview: https://www.shopify1percent.com/future-of-the-buyer-brain-shopify-evolution/

Omnisend - I personally use Omnisend for every Shopify store I manage! I’ve tried them all and Omnisend is hands down the easiest way to set up email and sms automations and campaigns, leverage segmentation to personalize them, and A/B test everything to optimize conversion. The push notifications and gamified email collection tools are just the icing on the cake 🤌

(plus most report paying about half the price of Klaviyo 🤫)

🚨Listeners (YOU) get an exclusive 30% OFF for 3 MONTHS: https://shopify1percent.com/omnisend

Bold Commerce - Maximize your Shopify sales with Bold's suite of powerful apps. From AI Upselling, to powerful Subscriptions, Memberships, and VIP Pricing tools, Bold has everything you need to Maximize your Shopify revenue!

Try Bold apps for free here: shopify1percent.com/bold