Shopify's newly released feature, "Rollouts," lets you schedule theme changes for publishing and run A/B tests, all from within the admin. What sets it apart is that store improvement tactics that used to rely on external apps can now be carried out with no extra cost or complicated setup.
This article explains Shopify Rollouts' basic features, how to use it in practice, and use cases in an easy-to-follow way. If you want to streamline store improvements and campaign operations, we hope this helps.
What Is Shopify Rollouts?
Shopify Rollouts is a feature that lets you manage changes to a published theme from one place. Previously, testing a theme change required duplicating the theme, but with Rollouts, you can create a draft directly on your live theme. You can also publish at a specified date and time, show something for a limited period, and compare versions through A/B testing — all while managing everything from one place.
You can access it from "Markets" > "Rollouts" in the admin, and it can also be operated from the theme editor's menu bar.
Things to Watch Out for When Using Rollouts
Before using Rollouts, let's go over the main constraints and things to watch out for.
- Rollouts is available on the Basic plan or higher. However, A/B testing (splitting traffic to compare versions) and results analysis are limited to the Grow plan or higher
- The new version of Shopify Markets must be enabled on your store
- Customizations can only be created for an already-published theme
- You can't publish a new theme while there's an unfinished Rollout that includes a theme change (you'll need to archive the existing Rollout first)
- Not available for Shopify themes older than Online Store 2.0
If you're especially considering adopting it for A/B testing or results analysis, it's reassuring to check the plan requirements in advance.
A theme edited in Shopify Canvas can be added as a replacement theme for a Rollout. However, as of October 2, 2026, you can't edit that theme from the Rollout or open it in Canvas.
3 Things You Can Do with Shopify Rollouts
Broadly speaking, Rollouts lets you do three things. Let's look at each feature in detail.
Scheduled Publishing of Theme Changes
With Rollouts, you can prepare a theme change in advance and have it publish automatically at a specified date and time. For example, a tactic like "switch to a Christmas-themed design at midnight on December 1" no longer requires manually handling it in the middle of the night.
Since you can prepare updates in advance to line up with seasonal campaigns or new product launches, it should also reduce last-minute work mistakes.
Automatic End of Limited-Time Promotions
Another feature of Rollouts is that you can set not just a start date, but also an end date. For limited-time promotions like sales or flash sales, specifying an end date and time means it automatically reverts to the original theme.
This helps prevent issues like "forgetting to revert after a sale ends, leaving an expired price displayed." Since staff no longer need to manually handle changes that span holidays or overnight hours, it significantly reduces operational burden.
Results Verification Through A/B Testing
On the Grow plan or higher, you can also run A/B tests that compare your current theme against a changed version using real traffic. For example, if you change a product page's layout, you can show the new design to only some visitors and check its impact on metrics like purchase rate.
You can check test results in Shopify's analytics, and roll out whichever version performed better as the official version. Being able to make data-driven decisions with no additional tools is a major step forward.
3 Benefits of Using Shopify Rollouts
Here are three benefits you get from using Rollouts.
No Need for External Apps
Previously, running an A/B test on Shopify generally required an external tool like DLPO or AB Tasty, or a Shopify app. But since Rollouts is built into Shopify by default, there's no need to install an additional app or pay a monthly fee.
Since setup is completed entirely within the Shopify admin, you also won't need to spend time embedding scripts or on initial setup. This is a major advantage for small and medium-sized stores in particular, both in terms of cost and ease of adoption.
That said, what you can test with Rollouts is mainly limited to changes that can be made in the theme editor. Testing pricing, optimizing your checkout page, or running detailed segment-based analysis may still require a dedicated external tool.
No Negative Impact on Page Load Speed or Appearance
Since Rollouts handles the split on the server side, which version to show is decided before the page is displayed to the visitor. Thanks to this mechanism, there's no drop in load speed or "flicker" (a moment where a different design briefly appears).
Some traditional external A/B testing tools work by rewriting page content using JavaScript on the browser side, which can result in slower load times or flickering. Rollouts solves this problem at its root, letting you run tests without harming the visitor's browsing experience.
Market-Specific Targeting
For stores operating multiple markets, you can choose which markets a change applies to. For example, you could prepare a localized homepage for Europe, or run a seasonal campaign only for North America.
For stores running cross-border ecommerce, being able to try different messaging by region is a major strength. You can now optimize based on region-specific purchasing tendencies, all from a single admin.
How to Use and Set Up Shopify Rollouts
Here's how to use Rollouts, with screenshots.
Create a Rollout
You create a Rollout from "Markets" > "Rollouts" in the Shopify admin.
Image source: Shopify
Click "Create rollout" and enter a name for the Rollout.
Specify a Start and End Date
For a limited-time promotion, click "Start date" and "End date" and select the date and time from the date picker.
Selecting "Roll back to 0%" from the dropdown next to "End date" means the Rollout automatically ends on the specified date and reverts to the original theme. Choosing "Apply permanently" instead keeps the change in place.
Set Your Traffic Allocation
If you want to run it as an A/B test, adjust what percentage of visitors see the change. The default is set to 100%; setting it to 50%, for example, shows the new version to only half of your visitors.
For a bigger change, starting with a small percentage — 10–20%, say — lets you check the response while keeping risk low. If results are going as expected, you can gradually increase the percentage, or stop early if there's a problem — giving you flexible options for running it.
Note that this traffic-split A/B testing feature is available on the Grow plan or higher.
Add a Theme Change
Click "Add change" and select a theme to proceed with customization in the theme editor.
Your changes aren't applied immediately — they're saved as a draft.
Examples of How to Use Shopify Rollouts
Rollouts can be used in a variety of situations. Here are three representative examples.
Sales and Campaign Promotions
For promotions with a fixed start and end time, like Black Friday or a year-end sale, Rollouts' scheduling feature really shines. Specify a start date and time to publish your campaign design, and set an end date and time to revert automatically.
Staff no longer need to manually switch themes in the middle of the night or on a holiday, significantly reducing operational burden. The more frequently you run promotions, the bigger the benefit from Rollouts.
Testing Design Improvements
Rollouts' A/B testing feature is also useful for testing design improvements, such as "does moving the button on the product page increase purchase rate?" or "does changing the homepage layout improve bounce rate?"
Since you can make decisions based on actual data rather than intuition or guesswork, you can steadily grow your store. It's a good idea to start testing with small changes — like button color or placement — before gradually expanding into bigger improvements.
Region-Specific Promotions
Using the market-specific targeting feature, you can run different promotions by region. For example, you could run a Mother's Day campaign for Japan and an Independence Day sale for the US, tailoring your messaging to each culture and event.
For stores running cross-border ecommerce, being able to offer a store experience optimized for each region is a major competitive edge. You can compare the response in each market and refine your operations to be more effective over time.
Streamline Store Operations with Shopify Rollouts
Shopify Rollouts is a new feature that lets you handle scheduled publishing of theme changes, automatic ending of limited-time promotions, and results verification through A/B testing, all from within the admin. Being able to improve your store without relying on external apps, and without harming page speed, is a major appeal.
Why not try scheduled publishing on your next sale or campaign? You'll be freed from manually switching things in the middle of the night or on a holiday.
Once you're comfortable with scheduled operations, try the A/B testing feature available on the Grow plan or higher, and take on data-driven store improvement instead of relying on intuition.
