June was full of activities for the Codal team. It was a month packed with discovery, learning, and invaluable connections, from New York City to Toronto, Salt Lake City, and more.
Our team was on the ground at four key events: Shopify Editions, ContentCon, Outdoor Retailer, and CommerceNext. We absorbed the latest trends, participated in insightful discussions, and connected with industry leaders and fellow innovators. Below, we pull back the curtain to share our biggest takeaways from each event, alongside candid perspectives and emerging trends highlighted by our team members who attended.
Shopify Editions
Shopify Editions is Shopify’s twice-yearly event and platform update. The company announces and releases an extensive set of new tools, features, and improvements for the entire Shopify ecosystem. Instead of rolling out changes throughout the year, the company combines major updates into the biannual Editions events. This helps merchants, developers, and partners learn what’s new and create a plan for fully leveraging the latest innovations.
Shopify Editions Summer 2025, as Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said in a LinkedIn post, was all about expanding what’s possible and removing barriers that slow you down. Some of the core updates include:
10 new Shopify Horizon themes – the new, free themes are built with blocks giving users the flexibility to customize their stores. This is good news for brands with little developer experience.
Updates to Shopify Sidekick – Sidekick is Shopify’s AI assistant that connects your data points to uncover opportunities and deliver insights. It also creates content and executes tasks. Updates now include a multi-step reasoning process to provide data-driven strategies based on an analysis of a user’s business, basic levels of image generation, and the option for users to share their screen with voice chat. It’s now also available in 20 different languages.
A re-engineered developer dashboard – the new developer dashboard enables developers to create web and UI extensions end-to-end without having to deploy them first. Additionally, the platform enables developers to build on localhost without tunnels, test in dev stores that simulate the different Shopify plans, and pair with the Assistant via MCP.
Other updates coming out of Shopify Summer Editions ‘25 include adding discounts in the cart drawer, the discount function api, refund to store credit, and more.
Ryan Bloms, Director of Partnerships at Codal, touched on the pervasive theme of AI, stating that even though “AI has been a main topic at nearly every conference... our development team was floored by some of the new features.” He was particularly impressed by the point-of-sale innovations, adding, “I was super impressed by all of the new POS updates, and it is something we at Codal are doubling down on this year. More to come on that front in the coming months.”
ContentCon
ContentCon is Contentstack’s annual customer conference, dedicated to exploring the future of digital experiences, particularly through advancements in composable technology. Hosted in-person or virtually, attendees gather for two days of presentations and workshops designed to help put personalization and AI strategies into practice.
This year, ContentCon was held June 3 - 5 at the Convene Willis Tower, right around the corner from Codal’s headquarters in downtown Chicago. The event began with Partner Day, where technology companies and digital agencies gathered with the Contentstack team. “Things kicked off with Partner Day, which highlighted the incredible partner ecosystem Contentstack has built,” Ryan explained. “And learning about how they’ve been able to seamlessly integrate Lytics into the core platform, in only 5 short months, was truly amazing to see.”
The event featured inspirational keynote speakers including Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup Champion Brandi Chastain and Taryn Southern, an award-winning TV host and storyteller. Attendees gathered to hear expert insight on topics like real-time data activation, compliance and customer data, ROI of digital experiences, and much more. “What an event!,” Tyler Vonder Heide, Channel Partner, Sales at Codal, recalled. “ContentCon showcased the exciting evolution of personalization and how Contentstack is pushing the boundaries of digital experience. Excited to see our partnership continue to grow and drive more impactful results together."
Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer is a B2B outdoor sports show connecting industry brands, retailers, reps, designers, suppliers, and leaders. Held annually in June, the event highlights the largest collection of innovative and unique gear, apparel, footwear, hardgoods, and accessories. From June 18 - 20, our team was on the ground in Salt Lake City, Utah, connecting with clients and prospects and attending various educational sessions.
One key takeaway from our Lucas Vogele, Account Executive at Codal, was gaining a deeper understanding of Shopify's POS integrations and the current landscape of SMBs in the outdoor industry. This highlights the growing need for seamless eCommerce solutions.
Lucas also noted a significant shift in consumer behavior. "Consumers are more aware of the quality and sustainability of the product than before,” he said. “Forcing businesses to build better products and choose manufacturers that follow a more strict guideline for human rights and also environmental rights." He added that companies like Ocean Bottle, Cotopaxi, and TOAKS are raising the bar for what it means to be sustainable and connect with consumers on their values.
A major trend that caught their attention was Shopify POS and Shopify POS Mobile, seen as "the easiest way to connect your POS to a brick and mortar or pop up." Discussions around sustainability and its associated costs also remained a prominent theme, underscoring the ongoing challenge and importance of eco-friendly practices in the industry.
Beyond specific trends, Ethan Kirchberg, also an Account Executive at Codal, emphasized the value of in-person connections: "The best part about events like Outdoor Retailer is meeting many of the partners in our network, and sharing past/current projects with potential new clients. This helps significantly shape customer journeys—especially for outdoor brands looking to make a splash!" Ethan's sentiments highlight the crucial role these events play in fostering partnerships and shaping future client engagements.
CommerceNext
CommerceNext is a conference that prides itself on being a community for digital, marketing and technology retail leaders and bringing together retail industry executives and DTC trailblazers to openly share ideas. Our team headed to New York City to spend a few days connecting with attendees and learning more about their digital retail goals. We also had the pleasure of hosting a happy hour event, further deepening our connections with fellow attendees.
eCommerce Product Manager Abby Perasso, shared some key insights from the conference. A significant takeaway for her was the "recent push for banks to introduce their own payment products into the market on eCommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce." This shift is driven by financial institutions wanting to meet users at the point of purchase, allowing direct integration with existing credit lines. Abby noted, "It was shared during discussion with one individual in the industry that the goal is to compete with buy now pay later incumbents like Klarna."
In an interesting omnichannel discussion, Abby learned that "retailers are shifting to decommissioning self-checkout as part of an initiative to manage loss protection for brick-and-mortar stores." Even more striking, she discovered that "stores in NYC are beginning to control patron entrance to stores based on a 'social score' of trustworthiness for patrons which is identified via AI and facial recognition technology." This pilot program has the potential for broader adoption by major retailers like Walmart and Target. Abby recognized the broader implications, stating, "obviously both trends present issues with convenience and privacy concerns that would instead drive a customer to shop online."
Top Takeaways from June’s Events
Across all the June events, several powerful themes consistently emerged. The influence of AI was undeniable, transforming everything from content creation and customer service to in-store security. This shift highlights AI's evolution from a theoretical concept to an integrated tool driving smarter operations and more personalized customer interactions.
Coupled with AI's rise, the importance of seamless omnichannel strategies and a focus on personalized customer experiences stood out. Whether it's unified online and offline sales or tailoring messages based on detailed customer data, the goal is to meet consumers exactly where they are. Furthermore, sustainability continues to be non-negotiable, with brands across industries being pushed by consumer demand to adopt more ethical and environmentally conscious practices. These interconnected trends will continue to shape how businesses innovate and engage with their audiences moving forward.
The opportunity to connect with partners, clients, and industry leaders in person, as highlighted by our team members, truly showcases the enduring value of these gatherings. It's in these conversations and shared experiences that new ideas spark, collaborations form, and the path forward becomes clearer. We're excited to apply these learnings and continue to build impactful digital experiences that meet the demands of tomorrow's consumers.
