Shopify Updates for May 2026: Manage inventory, advanced features in Checkout and customer accounts, and deeper insights with Analytics

In May 2026, Shopify released a number of new features designed to support merchants in their day-to-day operations—from more flexible inventory management and enhanced customization options for checkout and customer accounts to improved analytics. There are also new options for automating marketing and workflows, as well as additional features for discounts, refunds, and AI-powered sales channels. In this overview, we provide a clear summary of the most important Shopify updates.

Manage inventory and shipping status more easily

View inventory, even for items not currently being sold

You can now view and edit inventory at all active locations—even if those locations aren’t currently being used for new orders.

New:

• Actual inventory is now displayed for products that aren’t actively being sold or shipped from that location.

• Existing reservations or unavailable quantities remain visible until they are completely depleted.

• An “available quantity” is not displayed in this case, as the location is not being used for new orders.

Here’s how it’s displayed:

• On the inventory page, a “—” appears instead of an available quantity, along with the note: “This location does not process this product variant.”

• On the product page, the field remains empty and displays the same note directly next to the respective location.

Important: Stock at these locations is still not used for new orders. However, existing or reserved orders can still be processed from there.

Mark deliveries as delivered even without tracking

Orders can now be marked as “delivered” even if no shipping carrier with tracking is supported.

This is particularly helpful for merchants who use their own or unsupported shipping carriers but still want to keep their delivery status up to date.

Employees can:

• mark individual deliveries as delivered directly within an order

• or update multiple orders at once via the order overview

More control over discounts and refunds

Adjust discounts directly when processing a refund

When creating a refund, discounts can now be added, changed, or removed directly on the refund page without having to edit the order first.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open the order and go to the refund page.

2. Add, change, or remove a discount for eligible products.

3. The outstanding amount is automatically recalculated.

4. The refund can be processed directly with the adjusted amount.

Why this is helpful: Previously, merchants had to edit the order first before they could apply a discount during a refund. This meant extra steps and more effort. Now, discounts can be adjusted directly during the refund process. This ensures that sales figures and tax calculations remain accurate and up-to-date.

Assign discounts specifically to certain markets

Discounts can now be specifically assigned to certain markets or customer groups. This allows you to precisely control where a discount is valid.

Examples:

• A short-term online sale applies only to the online store, not to the physical store.

• A special offer is displayed exclusively for wholesale customers.

• Different markets or customer groups can receive their own discount campaigns.

Newly available:

• On the discount page, you can specify which markets a discount should apply to.

• In the discount overview, you can filter by market, customer group, or individual customers.

• The market overview page centrally displays all active discounts for a market.

The preview function allows you to check how discounts are displayed in a specific market.

The “Discounts by Market” feature is available to all merchants on the Basic plan or higher who are using the new version of Markets.

Better understand analytics and identify trends faster

Track metrics over time more easily

In Analytics reports, metrics can now also be displayed as a cumulative trend. Instead of seeing only individual daily values, you can see how values build up over a specific period.

When the “Cumulative” feature is enabled in the chart view, the chart displays a running total. This makes it easier to see:

• how a value evolves over time

• whether a goal can be achieved

• how current results compare to previous periods

The cumulative view can be used in various ways:

• Standalone: Shows how a metric evolves day by day.

• With target values: Compares the current trend with a set goal.

• With time comparisons: Shows, for example, a comparison to the same period last year.

This makes it much easier to spot trends and developments.

Shop events visible directly in Analytics

Analytics reports now automatically display important shop events directly in the chart.

Example: If the conversion rate suddenly drops on a specific day, you can check directly in the chart whether changes were made to the shop at the same time—such as a new theme, published products, or installed apps.

The events are displayed as colored markers on the chart. Clicking on them reveals further details for the respective day.

Currently displayed:

• Product changes (e.g., products published or removed)

• Store changes (e.g., new theme published, apps installed or removed)

• System events (e.g., data delays or changes to metrics)

Additional benefits:

• Events can be filtered by type.

• You can navigate directly between days within the report.

• Particularly important product changes are automatically prioritized in the display.

The information is automatically pulled from store activity—no additional setup is required.

Consistent brand design for checkout and customer accounts

Centrally Manage Design Settings

The settings for the store design now apply uniformly to the checkout, customer accounts, and login pages. All customizations can be made centrally in the editor for checkout and customer accounts.

This means:

• You only need to set the logo, colors, fonts, and design styles once.

• Changes are automatically applied across all areas.

• The visual appearance remains consistent throughout the entire purchase and login process.

This prevents individual pages from looking different from one another or design changes from being applied only partially.

Manage colors more easily

Colors can now be set directly using custom color values, without being limited to fixed color schemes.

Additionally, up to 20 brand colors can be saved in a custom color palette. If a color in the palette is changed, it automatically updates wherever it is used.

Customizations for specific areas

If needed, certain pages can still be customized individually.

For example:

• a different logo on the login page

• a different background color for checkout

• special design customizations for individual sections

Merchants with Shopify Plus also have access to advanced customization options via the Checkout and Accounts APIs.

New Design Options for the Login Page

The login page for customer accounts has been visually redesigned and now offers more options for customization.

New features include:

• a modern two-column layout

• the login form is located on the left

• a custom background image can be used on the right side

This allows for a stronger visual presentation of the brand—not just through the logo.

The login page can be customized directly in the editor and previewed. Shared design settings automatically apply to checkout, customer accounts, and login.

New central overview for AI-powered sales channels

There is now a dedicated section for AI-powered sales channels in the Shopify admin. Products from the store are automatically made available to AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Shop, or Copilot—via the Shopify Catalog. This makes it easier for products to be found in AI-powered search and shopping experiences.

Additionally, performance across AI channels can now be better tracked. The new dashboard shows how products are performing across various AI channels.

Among other things, merchants can now:

• see which search queries lead to products being found

• track which AI channels display products

• analyze the visibility and performance of their products

• receive recommendations on how to improve product data

This makes it easier to understand how products are displayed in AI-powered search and shopping systems and how their discoverability can be improved.

Managing multiple business entities within a single Shopify store

Companies with more complex business structures can now manage multiple legal business entities within the same country through a single Shopify store.

Previously, this often required multiple stores or additional workarounds when different parts of a company operated under different legal entities. Now, authorized merchants can set up multiple Shopify Payments accounts within a single store and manage them through Markets.

This makes it easier to:

• Operate online and brick-and-mortar sales under different legal entities

• Assign different branches to different business units

• Handling B2B and direct-to-consumer business separately

• Correctly assigning revenue, payouts, and legal requirements to the respective company

• Reducing administrative overhead caused by multiple separate stores

The new feature helps manage complex corporate structures more flexibly while centrally controlling more business areas within a single Shopify store.

Easier automation of customer communication and workflow testing

Create Automated SMS Marketing Campaigns

With Shopify Messaging, you can now send automated SMS messages to customers. This allows you to reach out to customers in a targeted manner at the right time—for example:

• when shopping carts are abandoned

• after incomplete checkouts

• when products are viewed but not purchased

Ready-made templates are available to get you started. Additionally, you can create your own SMS automations.

Automations are managed directly in Shopify Messaging. There, you can also set the budget for sending SMS messages. This makes SMS marketing easier to automate and can be managed directly from Shopify without additional tools.

Test workflows more easily with real store data

Workflows can now be tested much more easily using existing store data.

Example: If an order is flagged as fraudulent and there is a fraud detection workflow in place, that exact order can be used as a test case. This allows you to verify whether the workflow functions as intended.

Additionally, counter-checks can be created to ensure that normal orders are not mistakenly blocked.

Also new:

• With “Generate Test Events,” Sidekick automatically analyzes the workflow.

• Relevant real-world store data is suggested to test various scenarios.

• The suggested test cases can be reviewed, modified, or removed.

• You can add your own test cases at any time.

• The tests can be run immediately—without any additional setup.

Conclusion

The Shopify updates in May 2026 demonstrate one thing above all else: processes should be simpler, more flexible, and easier to manage centrally. From improved analytics and new automations to enhanced features for checkout, customer accounts, and inventory management, merchants gain more control while saving time in their day-to-day operations.

Latori: Your Shopify Platinum Partner

As a Shopify Partner and one of Germany’s first Shopify Platinum Agencies, Latori has firsthand knowledge and stays up to date with all changes to the platform. We have already assisted numerous national and international brands in migrating to Shopify Plus.