Toronto Keynote: Shopify Unite 2022

Shopify Unite 2022 centers on empowering developers to drive commerce scale through enhanced platform extensibility and robust tooling. The ecosystem, which generated $32 billion in 2021, prioritizes merchant uniqueness by moving beyond standardized store templates. Key advancements include Shopify Functions, allowing developers to customize backend logic via WebAssembly, and Checkout Extensibility, which enables seamless, high-performance modifications without compromising upgrade paths. Furthermore, the introduction of the "Built for Shopify" program establishes quality standards for apps, ensuring consistent user experiences across the admin interface. By integrating tools like Hydrogen for headless storefronts and the Marketplace Kit for embedding commerce into native experiences, Shopify provides developers with the flexibility to build specialized solutions for diverse verticals—from B2B wholesale to niche retail—ultimately democratizing professional-grade commerce capabilities for merchants globally.