Shopify

Business owners, if listening to your audience isn't your top priority, your products will struggle to resonate. Case in point: 15 years ago, the beverage options for sober and sober-curious individuals fell short in flavor, lacked complexity, and offered little in terms of presentation due to attempts to solve a problem without fully understanding consumers' needs. This gap caught the attention of JW Wiseman, who, after a pivotal night out in 2012, recognized the demand for better non-alcoholic alternatives. What started as experiments in his kitchen transformed into a newfound mission to craft sophisticated, dynamic cocktails sans alcohol. This is where Curious Elixirs was born. Fast forward to today: Curious Elixirs has become a pioneer in the non-alcoholic space, consistently delivering premium options to a community that has deserved better from day one.

Developers, the Shopify.dev MCP server is live. You can now build and refine GraphQL operations within your preferred coding environment: Cursor, Windsurf, or Claude desktop. Add the MCP server to your settings: https://lnkd.in/d9ZvNMJP

A clear signal from March shopping trends: U.S. consumers are ready for spring. We analyzed month-over-month sales from thousands of Shopify merchants to discover what was trending in March. Gardening and grilling accessories rose to the top. Here are the highlights: → March marked the kickoff of those inevitable home and garden projects. Sales increased for sprinklers (+388%), pergolas (+242%), outdoor umbrellas (+240%), and plant bulbs (+131%). → Grilling season is here, with sales rising for outdoor grill carts (+66%), scrapers (+60%), covers (+45%), and even pizza ovens (+45%). → Consumers refreshed their closets for warmer weather, driving a surge in sales for chino shorts (+302%), tank tops (+300%), and bucket hats (+132%). → Outdoor activities are back in full swing. Kick scooter (+437%), pop-up tent (+273%), bike handlebar (+145%), and picnic blanket (+72%) sales were all up. Merchants, what’s trending in your store as we head into spring?

March Madness has become about more than just basketball for college athletes. Now able to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), athletes are taking control of their personal brands and seizing the opportunity to become entrepreneurs. Consider that less than 2% of NCAA college athletes will go pro, and it raises the stakes for capitalizing on pivotal moments like March Madness. As for the brands working with these athletes, Campus Ink & The NIL Store had its highest revenue month ever during last year’s March Madness, while Athlete's Thread—a brand that partners with 38,000 athletes—reports that 30% of its basketball sales occur in March and April. What other spaces do you think will spark the next wave of entrepreneurs? Drop your thoughts.

Where do the most innovative ideas come from? For rabbit founders Jill Deering and Monica DeVreese, the answer is community. As lifelong marathoners, they recognized a common challenge among runners: the need for great-fitting, functional gear that authentically reflects their community’s culture. Their solution? Building a product and brand hand-in-hand with their community. Jill and Monica began by sharing every running short they could find with friends, gathering insights on what they loved, disliked, and how the brand connected with them. The result: rabbit — a running apparel line deeply rooted in California culture that goes beyond selling high-quality gear. It puts the community first, actively supporting runners through initiatives like organizing shakeout runs before the Boston and Chicago Marathons and sponsoring the inaugural Every Woman’s Marathon. Now in its 8th year, rabbit has grown into one of the largest independent running apparel brands—proof that community collaboration can be the key to success.

Developers, our ecosystem hit new milestones in 2024: → $1B in app payouts (+37%) → 16K+ apps published (+23%) → 1.6B App Store sessions by merchants (+15%) We’re celebrating by bringing the builders back to Toronto this May. Join us at Editions.dev for debugging, pair programming, and an exclusive AMA with Shopify Founder and CEO Tobi Lütke. Tickets are available at https://Editions.dev… because you can’t ask when we’re unifying our app UIs if you aren’t registered.

Lady Gaga’s new website is hitting all the right notes. Immediately after its launch, add-to-cart rates increased by 128% and average order value rose by 55%. How’d she do it? Hydrogen. Hydrogen is an open-source framework for headless commerce. It’s ideal for merchants, like Lady Gaga, looking for bespoke solutions and building custom storefronts on Shopify. Enter: Commerce-UI, a Shopify Plus agency that specializes in Hydrogen. Commerce-UI used Hydrogen to: → Bring the creative concepts of Lady Gaga and Melody Yung of Yung Studio to life, such as the interactive 3D albums that move diagonally across the Music page. → Integrate a custom content management system, giving Lady Gaga’s team the autonomy to manage and update content quickly without relying on outside engineers. → Create a mobile and desktop-optimized site that can handle high volumes of traffic, including hundreds of thousands of visitors during major launches. Read more about how Commerce-UI rebuilt Lady Gaga’s site with Hydrogen: https://lnkd.in/exJDCvGs

Toys, fitness, quilting, and tablescape decor were top of mind for US consumers in February. We looked at month-over-month sales from hundreds of thousands of Shopify merchants to uncover what was trending. Here are the highlights: → Interest in toys and games surged, especially those with nostalgia ties like animal figures (+307%), play dough and putty (+92%). Sales of sports trading cards were up 848%, while gaming cards were up 816% and trended in Canada and Australia as well. → Consumers are investing in items that enhance their workout routine from fitness equipment like ab wheels (+190%) and stair steppers (+165%) to apparel like jogger shorts (+75%) and track jackets (+38%). → Sewing and quilting are making a resurgence with crafters. Demand was up for quilting thread (+201%) and rulers (+131%), fabric repair kits (+80%), and printable fabric (+60%). → Fueled by Valentine’s Day gatherings, consumers are enhancing their dining experience with items like place cards (+157%), cocktail decorations (+121%), and fresh cut flowers (+106%).

Describe your business and watch AI bring it to life. Our new AI store setup creates custom storefronts from a simple prompt, like “plants and garden accessories.”  Starting a business can be intimidating. That’s why we’re lowering the barriers to entry. With AI store setup, new merchants can save time and reach their first sale faster with a personalized, professional-looking storefront.

Entrepreneurship's next big thing? Generation Alpha. Kids born between 2010 and 2024 are showing early signs that they have what it takes to make it. Here’s why: → They’re creating income streams from an early age. According to Visa, over three quarters of Gen Alpha in the UK earned money in 2023, with 43% using technology to do so. → Kids are becoming more financially literate. From checkout.com, more than 30% of US teens used mobile payments in 2024 and globally and 64% of children are spending money independently online. → Children are monetizing their internet use. Emarketer shares that more than 36 million U.S. kids under 11 are using the internet, resulting in children as young as seven unlocking monetary potential by becoming social media influencers. Young entrepreneurs like Johnny Lye of Ovrload and Mya Beaudry of Kokom Scrunchies are proof that even at a young age, Gen Alpha can achieve entrepreneurial success. Read their stories: https://lnkd.in/eaZ4F38F