This week’s roundup for Shopify and search
Hi everyone! We’re deep into Q4 now but the pace of updates across Shopify, search and analytics doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Here are some things that stood out this week - plus a big update on Macalytics.
Accessibility, ARIA tags and how Atlas interprets your site
One of the more interesting discussions this week focused on how ChatGPT’s Atlas browser actually navigates websites. It uses ARIA tags and structural cues in much the same way as screen readers. This is one of those things that is incredibly obvious in hindsight, but hasn't really been given much consideration.
It has two big implications for eCommerce:
- Accessibility becomes a stress test for AI interpretation
- Clean, well-structured HTML benefits both humans and LLM-driven experiences
Good accessibility is good machine readability, and vice-versa. It’s a helpful reminder that tidy, semantic layouts are becoming more important as AI systems take on more of the browsing and evaluation work.
Credit: Dana DiTomaso
📎 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dditomaso_webaccessibility-aria-digitalmarketing-activity-7394350793686048768-eos3
Shopify Markets – Test Drive update
Shopify has been encouraging brands to enable the new Markets experience via Test Drive. We’ve trialled it across several stores and the behaviour is inconsistent enough that we’re suggesting teams hold off for now.
This is especially important for merchants on Shopify Plus where international setups are more complex and the risk of unintended side effects is higher.
Meta Event Match Quality scores
Dan Bartow is one of my absolute favourite people in eCommerce. Last week he published his insight on Meta's EMQs scores, and how many teams have been thinking about it the wrong way.
For key conversion events like Purchase, Add Payment Info and Complete Registration, an EMQ score of around 6/10 is ideal. Chasing higher numbers doesn’t necessarily improve matching and can create noise.
This is one of the best explanations we’ve seen, and worth having on your radar.
📎 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/danbartow_if-you-ever-look-at-meta-emq-scores-in-events-activity-7394851643932151808-uZIS
Loxa – quick shout-out
A mention for Loxa - an insurance layer built directly for Shopify. It’s simple to set up, fits naturally in the storefront and is performing well for brands that need optional cover at checkout. We've rolled it out across a few clients and the results have been very, very impressive. The founder, Jamie Hamer, is also wonderful.
📎 https://www.loxacover.com/
Apple Pay inside Shop Pay
Shopify has now enabled Apple Pay directly inside Shop Pay. If you already support Apple Pay, this will activate automatically.
For iPhone and Safari users this reduces friction and shortens the path to purchase – essentially a free conversion win for most merchants.
📎 https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/accelerated-checkouts/apple-pay
Shopify’s goal for unified commerce
A useful overview this week explored how Shopify is positioning itself across surfaces. The focus is on AI-supported discovery, cross-environment shopping and simplifying purchasing wherever the customer happens to be.
It’s a good snapshot of how Shopify sees its longer-term strategic role.
📎 https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2024/shopify-boosts-ai-and-unified-commerce-tools-for-merchants
Search Console – custom annotations now available
Custom annotations are finally available for everyone in Search Console. You can right-click on performance charts, add a dated note and maintain a shared change log for the entire property.
Useful for migrations, theme updates, promotions and anything else that influences visibility.
📎 https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/11/custom-chart-annotations
GA4 – updated reporting playbook
Google has released an updated GA4 Reporting Playbook. It’s not a fix for the ongoing gaps in GA4, but it is a clear look at how Google expects teams to structure measurement and reporting.
For anyone looking to (or at least trying to) rebuild confidence in GA4, it’s a good reference.
📎https://services.google.com/fh/files/newsletters/google_analytics_4_reporting_playbook.pdf
Macalytics – the next stage...
We’re going to end this week’s newsletter with something bigger. A lot of you have been following the Macalytics journey from the early prototypes through to launch, and the response over the past few weeks has honestly been incredible.
It’s given us the confidence to think bigger about what Macalytics can become - not just a reporting tool, but a genuine acquisition engine for Shopify stores that want to grow without leaning on paid spend.
We’re now opening up conversations with investors who understand B2B SaaS and see the opportunity in what we’re building. If that sounds like you, or someone you know, I’d love to talk.
All the best,
Sam
