⚡Taming Tariff Pressure. Shopify’s Summer ’25 Power Play.

👋 Hello there,

Welcome to Buy&Beyond — a quick read for busy 🧠 DTC and e-commerce minds across AI, growth, operations and the full CX loop — pre- and post-purchase. No fluff, just actionable content.

If you're on the hook for 📈 growth and 🤑 cost efficiency in 2025, this edition’s for you.

This week, it’s hard to ignore two big themes:

Every ops or revenue lead I know is feeling the pinch. Margins are under fire (again) with 💸 tariffs. And 🛍️ Shopify just handed every brand a fresh set of tools to move faster, look better, and sell smarter with their Summer’25 release.

Let’s jump in.

📉 Margin Protection

Tariffs are squeezing margins. Here’s what to do about it.

Tariff hikes are quietly increasing landed costs across categories like apparel, personal care, furniture—you name it. Margins that were already tight are now being eaten alive by 10–25% extra in import duties. And the ripple effects are real: bloated fulfillment costs 📦, tough pricing decisions 💲, and confusing customs delays 🛃.

Here’s what I’m seeing smart brands do right now to stay ahead:

1/ Re-source with eyes open 👁️
You don’t have to rebuild your supply chain from scratch, but you do need to know your exposures. A quick supplier audit often reveals 1–2 SKUs that could shift to lower-duty countries, or be split between regions. Some merchants are also switching to DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) models to keep control over landed cost and avoid customs-time delay drama.

2/ Don’t blindly eat the cost 🧂
Raising prices? Totally fair, but make sure you communicate the “why.” Customers are more receptive when you say, “Here’s what changed globally” instead of just bumping tags. Also: suppliers aren’t off the hook. Many are willing to share the load and trim costs, if you ask.

3/ Fix what you can control 🔧
You can’t stop tariffs. But you can get ruthless about internal leakage.
Optimize ops. Cut the tools you don’t need or consolidate them with extensible platforms. And here’s a sneaky one: audit your carriers. We’ve seen some brands recover 5–20% of their shipping costs just by filing for refunds on late, lost/damaged packages and misbilled deliveries 📬.

🧠 The takeaway?
Tariffs aren’t a surprise anymore. They’re part of the new normal.
Smart brands treat them like another input cost — and focus on agility, transparency, and small gains that compound.

🛠 Storefront Innovation

If you're running on Shopify, the Summer ’25 release is worth your attention.

AI-designed storefronts 🤖. Branded checkout on mobile 📱. A smarter Shop app 🛍️. It’s not just backend cleanup — it’s a big shift in how fast, flexible, and creator-first your store can be.

Here’s what’s actually useful (and not just cool-sounding):

1/ AI-powered store building 🧱
Shopify's new "Horizon" theme foundation is drag-and-drop with AI-assisted block generation. Describe what you need like "seasonal discount banner" and it builds custom content blocks. Plus their AI Store Builder creates three unique designs from just a brand description.

It's fast, on-brand, and way more forgiving than custom dev work.

2/ POS just got slick 🧾
The redesigned POS app puts speed and brand energy front and center.
Tap-to-Pay turns your phone into a payment terminal 📲, "ship and carry out" lets customers leave with stock while the rest ships, and Display Editor lets you brand every screen with your logo and colors.

No more generic checkout experience.

3/ Shop app discovery engine 🔍
Shop app now morphs in real-time as buyers browse, making product discovery feel like it's reading their mind. Buyers can build and share collections (think mood boarding 🧑‍🎨), and product variants display as true-to-life visual swatches.

It's dynamic, personalized scrolling, not static feeds.

4/ Global selling without spreadsheets 🌐
Now you can sell from multiple entities in one store, bringing all your businesses and legal structures into unified admin and reporting. Shopify Payments expanded to Mexico and 15 new European markets 🇲🇽🇪🇺.

Multi-currency payouts and way fewer FX fees to juggle.

5/ Smarter shipping, fewer surprises 🚚
Split shipments just got smoother. Charge a flat rate even when orders ship from multiple locations—no more surprise costs at checkout. If an item’s unavailable, customers can choose a different address or pickup point. Low stock? Shopify now auto-splits fulfillment by quantity to keep orders moving.

It’s smarter fulfillment that keeps costs (and frustration 😤) in check.

🧠 The takeaway?
Shopify’s not just adding features — they’re giving you control.
The brands that move fastest, look sharpest, and talk in their own voice will win more customers this year. Explore the full update list here.

👋 Before you go…

Thanks for making it to the end of this one. Means a lot.

We try to keep things sharp, practical, and worth your scroll — so if you’re ever thinking “I wish someone broke that down,” just hit reply and tell us. We’re listening.

PS: If you’re rethinking the way you run post-purchase in 2025, this is a great time to explore what’s new and possible.

👉 Next Up in Buy&Beyond

Extensible platforms, CX pitfalls to avoid, and saving dollars. We’ll dive into how extensible tools win in the long game, why post-purchase deserves a seat at the strategy table, and small tweaks that quietly protect your margins.