Shopify adds and improves features several times a year, and it is easy to miss what has changed since your store was set up. The list below focuses on features that matter most once a store has steady orders and a small team. Availability and limits can vary by plan and by country, so check Shopify's current plan comparison before relying on any of them.
1. Shopify Flow for everyday automation
Flow lets you build automations from triggers, conditions and actions without writing code. When an order is placed, a product runs low or a customer reaches a spending level, Flow can tag records, send internal emails, hide sold out products or start other workflows.
Good first automations include tagging high value orders for a manual check, alerting the team when stock of a best seller falls below a set level, and tagging repeat customers so they can be segmented later. We cover more examples in our article on ecommerce automation.
2. Metafields and metaobjects for structured product data
Metafields add custom fields to products, variants, collections, customers and orders. Metaobjects let you create reusable content types, such as a size chart or a material, that many products can reference.
Used well, they turn product descriptions written in free text into structured information that your theme can display consistently, your filters can use and your feeds can export. Online Store 2.0 themes can connect section settings directly to metafields, so the content updates itself on every product page.
3. Search & Discovery for filters and search
Shopify's free Search & Discovery app controls storefront filters, search synonyms, product boosts and recommendation settings. You can add filters based on metafields, tell search that "sofa" and "couch" mean the same thing, and promote specific products for important searches.
Before paying for a third party search app, set this up properly. For many catalogues it is enough.
4. Markets for selling internationally
Shopify Markets brings international selling settings into one place: which countries you sell to, local currencies, pricing adjustments, languages, domains and duties. You can manage different markets from the same store rather than running separate stores for each country.
Growing brands often start selling abroad informally. Configuring Markets properly makes prices clearer for international customers and keeps reporting by market straightforward.
5. Shop Pay and accelerated checkout
Shop Pay lets returning customers check out with saved details, which shortens the path to purchase on mobile in particular. Alongside other accelerated options such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, where available, it reduces the number of fields a customer has to fill in.
Check which options are supported in your markets, make sure they appear in the cart as well as at checkout, and test the experience on a phone.
6. Discounts that combine the way you intend
Shopify supports automatic discounts, discount codes, buy X get Y offers and free shipping discounts, with settings that control which discounts can combine. Many stores still use apps for promotions that the native discount system can now handle.
Plan promotions with combinations in mind. A product discount, an order discount and free shipping stacking unexpectedly can cost more than the campaign earns.
7. Customer segmentation and Shopify Email
The customer segmentation tool lets you build segments from purchase history, location, spend, tags and other attributes. Those segments can be used in Shopify Email, in discounts and in marketing apps.
Simple segments are often the most useful: customers who bought once and not again, customers who have not ordered in several months, or customers who bought a product that needs a refill. Shopify Email is a reasonable starting point for campaigns, and segments carry over if you later move to a dedicated email platform.
8. Staff accounts and permissions
As the team grows, everyone sharing one login becomes a risk. Staff accounts with specific permissions let each person access only what they need, and the activity they create is attributed to them. The number of staff accounts depends on your plan.
Review permissions when people join or leave, and give developers and agencies collaborator access rather than staff accounts, so access can be managed cleanly.
9. Shopify POS for selling in person
If you sell at a shop, pop-up or event, Shopify POS uses the same products, inventory and customer records as your online store. Stock sold in person is deducted from the same inventory, and customers can be recognised across channels.
POS has a basic tier and a paid upgrade with more retail features, so review which one your operation needs. For retailers whose main business is in-store billing with GST requirements in India, a dedicated retail system may suit better, which is the problem vStoreOS is built to address.
10. Analytics, reports and the Web performance report
Shopify's analytics cover sales, sessions, conversion steps, products, customers and marketing. Custom reports and explorations are available on higher plans. The Web performance report shows Core Web Vitals from real visits, which is the most reliable way to track whether your store is getting faster or slower.
Pick a small set of numbers to review every week: sessions, conversion rate, average order value, returning customer rate and the performance metrics. Watching a few numbers consistently is more useful than checking many occasionally. Our speed optimization guide explains how to read the performance data.
Before you install another app
A useful habit is to ask three questions whenever the team wants a new app:
- Does Shopify already do this, perhaps with a little setup?
- Could an existing app we pay for do it?
- What will this app load on the storefront, and what happens if we remove it later?
When the answer really is a new app or a custom feature, that is where development work earns its keep. At Sevicos we help growing brands get more from Shopify by configuring native features first and building custom sections, apps and integrations where they genuinely add value.
Common questions
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Are these features available on every Shopify plan?
Most are available on the main plans, but limits and advanced options vary. For example, the number of staff accounts and access to custom reports depend on the plan. Check Shopify's current plan comparison for your country.
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Can Shopify Flow replace paid automation apps?
For many common workflows, yes. Flow handles tagging, alerts, inventory rules and many order tasks. Complex logic or connections to external systems may still need an app or a custom integration.