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In an online store, effectively surfacing product information to match your users and the season — such as sale items or seasonal recommendations — can help drive sales. The "collections" feature is what you use to group products together for a specific purpose.
In July 2026, Shopify updated its collections feature. The previous distinction between manual collections and automated collections has been removed, and you can now combine manual additions with condition-based rules, or create collections that target specific variants.
Reference: Shopify Changelog: Collections now support multi-source and variants
This article summarizes the update and explains the basic mechanics of Shopify collections, the new features, and how to create them.
What Are Shopify Collections?
Shopify collections are a feature for grouping multiple products according to a purpose or a set of conditions. You can build product groups unique to your store based on categories, campaigns, and more.
Group Products by Product or by Specific Variant
Once you create a collection, you can manage multiple products as a single product group.
For example, an apparel store might set up category pages such as "Tops," "Bottoms," and "Outerwear," or feature pages such as "New Spring Arrivals" and "Summer Sale."
Collections let you build a group using a wide range of conditions, which you can specify and combine to suit the scenario. With the July 2026 update, you can now set more granular conditions, and even build a collection at the variant level.
Use Collections for Collection Pages and Discounts, Among Other Things
A collection you create can be published to your online store as a collection page.
Because the matching products are listed together, it becomes easier for buyers to find what they're looking for, even in a store with a large catalog. You can also add navigation to a collection from your online store's menu or home page.
In addition to organizing products in your online store, collections are also used across various other Shopify features — for example, to apply discounts or taxes to a specific product group.
Shopify Collections Received a Major Update in July 2026
On July 16, 2026, Shopify announced an update to its collections feature.
The main changes are that the distinction between manual and automated collections has been removed, and that the selectable sources and conditions have been expanded.
How This Differs from the Previous Manual and Automated Collections
In the previous version of Shopify, you chose either "manual" or "automated" when creating a collection.
With a manual collection, you added target products one at a time; with an automated collection, products matching conditions such as tags or price were added automatically. After the update, this distinction no longer exists, and you can combine condition-based automatic addition with manual product addition within the same collection.
Thanks to this update, you can now, for example, "automatically add products tagged 'sale' while also individually adding products that don't meet the conditions."
You Can Combine Multiple Sources in a Single Collection
In the new collections, the method or origin used to add products is managed as a "source." In the Shopify admin, four types of sources are available: products, variants, collections, and apps.
Image source: Shopify
Because you can add multiple sources to a single collection, you can build a product group that combines "products matching a condition," "individually specified products," and "products from another collection." Even if the same product is added from multiple sources, it will not appear duplicated on the collection page.
The detailed differences between sources are explained in "The Four Sources You Can Choose From in the Shopify Admin" below.
You Can Target Specific Variants
Previously, products were generally added to a collection at the product level, but the new collections let you target only specific variants.
Image source: Shopify
This feature is especially useful for stores such as apparel or general goods retailers, where customers often browse by variant attributes like color or size.
You Can Also Use Product Groups from Other Collections or Apps
You can also use an existing collection as a source, letting you combine multiple product groups.
Image source: Shopify
For example, you could combine "Sofas," "Tables," and "Chairs" collections into a single "Furniture" collection. In addition, if a Shopify app provides a source for collections, you can pull that app's product groups into a collection as well.
You Can Exclude Products by Condition or Individually
Beyond adding products or variants that match a condition, you can also exclude some of the products you've added. You can use conditions such as product category, tags, product type, or vendor, and you can also manually exclude specific products. There's also a way to exclude, in bulk, all products contained in another collection.
Image source: Shopify
For example, you could set a condition to "add products tagged 'sale'" while excluding just a subset of those products.
Rather than building out increasingly detailed addition conditions, you can add products under broad conditions and then exclude the ones you don't need, which makes it easier to keep your collection management simple.
The New Collections Feature Is Rolling Out to Stores Gradually
The new collections feature is being rolled out to Shopify stores gradually. On stores where the new feature has become available, existing manual and automated collections are migrated to the new format automatically, so there's no need to recreate your collections to take advantage of the update.
The Four Sources You Can Choose From in the Shopify Admin
In the new collections, you specify target products using products, variants, collections, and apps. Because you can combine multiple sources, choose the ones that fit the product group you want to build.
Products | Add Products Manually or by Condition
This is the source for adding products to a collection at the product level. You can either manually select specific products, or automatically add products based on conditions applied to product information. Available conditions include product category, product tags, price, inventory, and metafields. You can also set multiple conditions and choose to add only products that match all of them, or products that match any one of them.
Use the products source when grouping products by general category, new arrivals, campaign-eligible items, and similar groupings.
Variants | Add Specific Colors, Sizes, and More
This source lets you specify targets at the variant level rather than the product level. For example, you can add only specific variants to a collection, such as "color is black" or "size is M." You can also manually select the target variants.
This is well suited to collections that were previously hard to build at the product level, such as feature pages organized around color or size.
Collection | Pull In Products from an Existing Collection
This source pulls products from an existing collection into another collection. For example, you could combine "Dresses," "Tops," and "Bottoms" into a single product group called "Women's Fashion." If the product composition of the source collection changes, that change is reflected in any collection using it as a collection source.
This is useful when you want to reduce the effort of registering the same products to multiple collections individually.
App | Pull In Product Groups from Supported Apps
This source pulls product groups provided by a Shopify app into a collection.
Image source: Shopify
Because you can combine product groups created within an app with Shopify collections, this may let you apply rules that aren't possible using the standard features alone.
That said, not every installed app can be used this way. To use an app as a source, the app itself needs to support it.
How to Create a Shopify Collection
If the new collections feature is available on your store, you can create a collection from "Products" in the Shopify admin. The basic flow is to enter the collection's information, specify target products via a source, and then configure the display order and sales channels.
Creating a Collection from the Admin
From the Shopify admin, go to "Products" > "Collections" and select "Create collection."
Image source: Shopify
Because the collection name is also shown on your online store, we recommend a name that clearly conveys the products it contains — for example, "Summer Sale" or "Gift Items." Add a description and image as needed as well.
Image source: Shopify
Setting Conditions to Automatically Add or Exclude Products
Specify the products to include in the collection via a source. Choose products if you're working at the product level, or variants if you're targeting specific variants. Use collection if you're pulling in an existing collection, or app if you're using a supported app's product group. Add multiple sources as needed.
Once a source is set, matching products or variants can be added automatically based on your conditions.
Image source: Shopify
Set conditions that fit how you operate your store, such as product category, tags, price, inventory, or metafields. If there are products you don't want included, use the exclusion settings. In some cases, it's easier to manage your collection by separating a broad base addition condition from a separate exclusion condition, rather than continually adding more addition conditions.
Note that products or variants added manually are not automatically removed when conditions change. If they're no longer needed, you'll need to remove them from the collection manually.
Setting the Display Order of Products
On a collection page, you can set the display order of products. In addition to sorting by product name, price, or best-selling status, you can also manually adjust the order. If you want campaign items or flagship products to appear near the top, adjust the order with the sequence you want buyers to see in mind.
Image source: Shopify
Image source: Shopify
Setting the Title, Description, Image, and URL
You can set a title, description, and image for a collection.
Image source: Shopify
You can also edit the page title, meta description, and URL handle shown in search results. Set information that fits the products it contains and the purpose of the collection, so that both search engines and buyers understand what the page is about.
Setting Sales Channels
For a collection you've created, set which sales channels it's published to.
Image source: Shopify
To display it as a collection page on your online store, set the "Online Store" channel as a target. You can also schedule the publish date and time.
Note that publishing to your online store doesn't automatically add the collection to your menu. Add navigation to the collection from your menu or home page as needed.
Ways to Use Shopify Collections
Using collections isn't limited to organizing product categories. By making use of the new sources, you can also build storefronts that update automatically based on product information, or feature pages built around variants.
Automatically Gather New Arrivals or Sale Items
By setting a condition such as a product tag, you can automatically add new arrivals or sale-eligible products to a collection. For example, if you tag new products with "new," those products can be automatically added to a new-arrivals collection.
Because you don't need to register products one by one for every campaign, this reduces the management burden more the larger your product catalog is.
Gather Only a Specific Color or Size
Using a variant source, you can create a collection narrowed down to a specific color or size. For example, you could build storefronts tailored to buyer needs, such as a "White Items" feature or a "Plus-Size Products" collection.
Build a Higher-Level Collection That Combines Multiple Collections
Using a collection source, you can combine multiple collections you already manage. For example, you could combine "Tote Bags" and "Backpacks" collections into a single "Bags" collection. This lets you create a product listing for a broader category without re-registering individual products.
This is also useful when you want to manage category-level collections in detail while still creating a cross-cutting product listing for a campaign or feature.
Combine with Apps for Sales Initiatives
You can also organize products with collections and then use a Shopify app to set things like sales windows or purchase conditions.
For example, "RuffRuff Selling Periods" is a Shopify app that lets you set a "sale start date/time" and "sale end date/time" per product or variant, enabling launch announcements and limited-time sales.
By building a feature page with a variant-level collection and also setting the sales window per variant for the target products, you can combine Shopify's standard features with apps according to their strengths to run more detailed sales initiatives.
How to Customize a Collection Page
Once you've created a collection, you can adjust the page using your theme, Shopify Search & Discovery, and similar tools. Especially for stores with a large catalog, preparing not just product sort order but also filters and per-collection descriptions makes it easier for buyers to find what they're looking for.
Editing a Collection Page in the Theme Editor
The layout of a collection page can be edited from the Shopify theme you're using.
Open the theme editor from "Online Store" > "Themes" in the Shopify admin, and edit the template used for collections.
Image source: Shopify
The sections and layout options available vary by theme. If you want to change what's displayed for just a specific collection, you can also create a separate template and assign it to that collection.
Setting Up Narrowing and Filtering with Search & Discovery
Using Shopify's official Search & Discovery app, you can add product filtering to a collection page. Beyond inventory status, price, product type, and vendor, you can also set up filters that use product options and metafields. If you have a large catalog, it's a good idea to prepare conditions that are easy for buyers to use when choosing products, such as "color," "size," and "price range."
However, for collections with more than 5,000 products, Search & Discovery filters won't be shown on your online store. There's also a limit on the number of values that can be shown for a single filter. If you have a large catalog, splitting your collections by category or purpose makes filters easier to use.
For more on the benefits and usage of Search & Discovery, see the article below.
Adding Information with Metafields
Using metafields on a collection lets you add information that isn't covered by Shopify's standard fields. For example, you can register supplementary descriptions, images, or campaign information for each collection, and display it from a compatible theme. This is also handy when you want to vary what's shown per collection while still using a shared collection template.
Things to Keep in Mind When Using Shopify Collections
The new collections feature has some limits, such as on the number of conditions or the number of collections you can create. Because the available functionality also depends on your theme and how it integrates with external apps, it's worth checking the collection specifications when adopting the new feature on an existing store.
Limits on the Number You Can Create Depend on the Type of Collection
With the new collections, there are upper limits on how many collections you can create depending on the settings used. For example, collections that use conditions are capped at 5,000 per store, collections that include variants are capped at 100, and collections that include other collections are capped at 50.
These limits are rarely reached during normal store operation, but it's worth checking if you're managing a large number of products or collections.
If you create and manage collections via the API, there are also API-level limits on the number of sources and conditions, separate from those in the admin. If you're handling a large number of collections from an app or an external system, check Shopify Developers for the latest specifications.
Reference: Shopify Developers: "Use the new collections model"
Displaying Filters on Your Storefront Requires a Compatible Theme
Even if you set up filters with Search & Discovery, they won't appear on your online store if the theme you're using doesn't support filter display. If you plan to use filters, check whether your theme supports them.
Also, as noted earlier, filters may not display depending on the number of products. For stores with a large catalog, be sure to check Shopify's latest specifications as well.
External and Custom Apps Need to Confirm API Support
If your store retrieves or updates collections from an external app or a custom app, you'll need to check whether that app supports the new collections model.
Shopify provides APIs that support the new collections feature, but if the app you're using hasn't been updated for the new specification, it may not correctly handle information such as multiple sources, variants, or exclusions. If you're integrating collections with an external system, it's a good idea to check with the app or development provider.
You Don't Need to Rebuild Existing Collections
You don't need to recreate your existing collections to use the new collections feature. Existing collections are migrated automatically as part of the update. Once the new feature becomes available, it's enough to add sources or adopt variant-level management only for the collections that need it.
Summary
With the July 2026 update, you can now combine manual addition with condition-based rules, and you can also use sources based on variants, existing collections, and apps. An exclusion feature has also been added, giving you more flexibility than before in managing your product groups.
Once the new collections feature is available to you, start by adopting it for the collections that are the most work to keep updated, or for storefronts organized by color or size — anywhere the benefit is easy to picture.
