Short answer: The biggest change to your numbers isn't in the AI announcements but in Analytics. Since 21 September, Shopify counts sessions differently, so your conversion rate can rise without any extra orders. You also get annotations, better marketing reports and purchasing data in your reports. Much of the AI selling currently only works for customers in the US, Canada and Australia.
On 28 October Shopify released its autumn update, Editions Fall '26 "Exponential". It's a long list with hundreds of items. Agencies mainly write about Sidekick and selling through AI assistants. In this article we look only at what changes for your numbers, your costs and your margin, and what you can already do with it as a Dutch store.
Why is your conversion rate suddenly higher?
From 21 September 2026, Shopify measures sessions differently. Bots and system traffic are recognised more consistently. Where possible, the default view shows only human visitors. That affects every metric based on sessions:
- sessions and visitors to your store;
- conversion rate;
- adds to cart and checkouts reached;
- bounce rate and pages per session.
Your orders, revenue and number of customers don't change. Shopify itself says you should treat 21 September as a new baseline for all session metrics.
Conversion rate = orders ÷ sessions × 100
Fewer sessions with the same number of orders therefore means a higher conversion rate. Suppose Shopify counted 20,000 sessions in September and now, with the new measurement, 16,000 for the same visitors.
| Old measurement | New measurement | |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions | 20,000 | 16,000 |
| Orders | 300 | 300 |
| Conversion rate | 1.5 per cent | 1.9 per cent |
| Revenue excl. VAT (21% in the Netherlands) | €24,000 | €24,000 |
On paper your conversion rate has risen by a quarter. In reality nothing has changed. So don't compare October with September or with last year. Also be careful drawing conclusions about a new product page or theme change from that period.
If you also use Google Analytics 4, the gap between the two will grow. GA4 only counts visitors who accept cookies. Shopify uses its own measurement. The session counts were already far apart, and that gap is now shifting. A more stable metric to steer by is your revenue and margin per day, which the new measurement doesn't affect.
What's new in the reports?
For anyone using Shopify Analytics, these are the most useful updates:
- Annotations. You can add a note to a report, for example "Black Friday promotion starts" or "vase price increase". Later you'll see immediately why a line went up or down. Apps can also add annotations themselves. Add one on 21 September right away: "new session measurement".
- Better marketing reports. Shopify promises separate traffic sources and fewer misattributed orders. That helps you see which channel really sells. It does remain Shopify's own attribution, which isn't the same as what Google Ads and Meta report themselves.
- Purchase orders in Analytics. You can view, filter and export purchase orders, including supplier, costs and transfers. If you use purchase orders in Shopify, you finally have your purchasing costs alongside your sales.
- Custom reports with more data. You can group and filter by category metafields, and apps can add data to Analytics. That lets you build, for example, revenue per material or per colour.
What isn't changing yet: by default Shopify shows gross profit based on the cost price you enter per product. Shipping, payment fees, returns and advertising aren't deducted automatically. You still have to calculate that yourself, as explained in Calculating ROAS, POAS and MER.
Can you now sell through ChatGPT and Google?
Shopify makes it possible to sell inside AI assistants. Customers find your products and check out without visiting your store:
- in Google Search (including AI Mode) and in the Gemini app;
- with Shop Pay in AI assistants such as Claude Duet, Muse, Grok Bot and Instinct;
- via the Shop skill, which lets ChatGPT, Claude and other assistants find your products.
For a Dutch store, this is mainly something to keep an eye on for now. According to Fudge, checkout in Google AI Mode and Gemini is rolling out to customers in the US, Canada and Australia. According to Google itself, it's still in early access. If you sell to those countries, you can check in your admin whether you're eligible.
What you can do now: make sure your terms and conditions, privacy policy, returns policy and FAQs are fully set up in Shopify. AI assistants read them, and in the new update Shopify shows you what they get to see. According to Taylor Sicard, a store without a returns policy is excluded from in-chat checkout.
For your numbers: orders via an AI assistant land in your regular Shopify admin. Watch how they appear in your marketing reports so you don't attribute them to the wrong channel.
What changes for payments and chargebacks?
- Payouts. There's a new overview by date in which you can expand every amount, plus an itemised activity report. That makes it easier to reconcile your Shopify Payments payouts with your bank account and your bookkeeping.
- Chargebacks. Shopify uses AI to draft a chargeback response and automatically adds the carrier's proof of delivery. Protection against fraudulent chargebacks for orders without Shop Pay has been announced as "coming soon".
- Shopify Protect. Stopping fraud before an order is placed and testing your own fraud rules. This is also rolling out "soon". Check in your admin whether it's available for your store.
A chargeback costs you the order amount, the products if you don't get them back, and a fee per chargeback. The size of that fee is listed in your payment provider's pricing. Every chargeback you win therefore counts directly towards your margin.
What's specific to the Netherlands?
Most of the update applies worldwide or to the US first. These are the points specific to the Netherlands:
- DHL eCommerce labels can now be created in Shopify for shipments from the Netherlands. Compare the rates with your current carrier: after purchasing, shipping is often your biggest cost per order.
- Shop Campaigns, Shopify's own advertising service, now also runs in the EU. It shows ad spend, revenue, ROAS and cost per new customer. Do convert that ROAS back to margin, as with any channel.
- Receipts in the EU automatically get a VAT summary.
Several announcements are explicitly US-only, such as paying with HSA/FSA funds and automatic handling of US sales tax.
What should you do now?
- Add an annotation on 21 September in Shopify Analytics and don't compare session metrics across that date.
- Check in your own reports whether your sessions fell and your conversion rate rose. If so, you now know why.
- Complete your policy pages and FAQs so you're ready when selling through AI assistants comes to the Netherlands.
- If you use Shopify Payments, look at the new payout overview and the chargeback assistance.
- Steer by metrics that don't depend on how sessions are counted: revenue, margin and contribution margin per day.
Which other metrics to track is covered in Store KPIs: the 12 numbers you should track. How to bring them together is explained in Shopify dashboard: all your store numbers in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Why has my conversion rate in Shopify gone up?
Most likely because of the new session measurement from 21 September 2026. Shopify filters bots better, so you see fewer sessions for the same number of orders. Your orders and revenue don't change as a result.
Are my old numbers in Shopify Analytics still usable?
Your orders, revenue and customer figures are. Sessions, conversion rate, adds to cart and bounce rate from before and after 21 September can't be compared reliably. Shopify recommends treating that date as a new starting point.
Can I sell through Google AI Mode or ChatGPT as a Dutch store?
Not yet for Dutch customers. Checkout in Google AI Mode and Gemini is rolling out first to customers in the US, Canada and Australia. If you sell there, check in your admin whether you're eligible.
When is the next Shopify Editions?
Shopify usually releases two Editions a year, in winter and in summer or autumn. A date for the next one hasn't been announced yet.
Want to see your margin per day, regardless of how Shopify counts sessions? Ecommetrics combines your data from Shopify, Google Ads and Meta with your purchasing and shipping costs and shows what you really keep each day, excluding VAT. Join the waiting list.