In the Shopify Winter '26 RenAIssance Edition, Shopify introduced Rollouts — a native A/B testing and theme management system built directly into the admin.
For years, merchants have relied on third-party apps for split testing and theme deployment. Now, Shopify offers a production-grade solution that handles scheduled releases, A/B testing, and automatic rollbacks without requiring external tools.
This post explores what Rollouts can do, how it compares to established A/B testing apps, and when you should use each approach.
What Are Rollouts?
Rollouts is a centralised system for managing, scheduling, and testing changes to your online store theme before publishing them permanently. It's designed to reduce risk and increase confidence when making storefront changes.
Core Capabilities
Rollouts offers three primary functions:
- Scheduled Theme Releases: Prepare seasonal updates, sales campaigns, or rebrand launches in advance and schedule them to go live at a specific date and time
- A/B Testing: Test different theme variations against your live store by showing changes to a percentage of visitors and comparing performance through analytics
- Draft Customisations on Live Themes: Make changes directly to your published theme without creating duplicate themes, keeping your workflow clean and organised
All of this happens natively within the Shopify admin, integrated directly into the theme editor and Markets section.
How Rollouts Works
1. Creating a Rollout
From the Markets > Rollouts page in your admin, you can create a new rollout by defining:
- Visitor percentage: Choose what percentage of visitors see the rollout changes (e.g., 50% for a true A/B test, or 10% for a cautious soft launch)
- Schedule: Set start and end dates and times for when the rollout should be active
- Markets: If you have multiple markets, you can target specific regions with different rollout variations
2. Customising Your Theme
Once you've created and saved a rollout, you can customise your published theme specifically for that rollout. Any changes you make in the theme editor apply only to that rollout — areas you don't customise automatically stay synchronised with your live theme.
This means you can test specific sections (like a new hero banner or product page layout) without rebuilding your entire theme.
3. Reviewing Analytics
Shopify provides analytics to compare your rollout performance against your live store. You can track metrics like conversion rate, average order value, and revenue to determine which version performs better.
4. Applying or Archiving
After reviewing the results, you can:
- Apply the rollout permanently to make the changes live for all visitors
- Archive the rollout if the test didn't perform well (changes are permanently deleted)
- Pause or resume active rollouts as needed
Important: Once you apply a rollout, the changes cannot be reverted through the Rollouts system — you'd need to manually undo them in the theme editor.
Key Considerations and Limitations
Rollouts is currently in early access and has some important constraints:
- Published theme only: You can only create rollout customisations for your currently published theme
- No Liquid template changes: Rollouts don't support modifications to Liquid template files — only theme customisations made through the theme editor
- Translation limitations: Translation apps (including Shopify's Translate & Adapt) don't support translating text that's part of rollout theme changes
- No vintage theme support: Rollouts can't be applied to older vintage themes
- Must archive before publishing new themes: If you want to publish a new theme, you must first archive all active, scheduled, or draft rollouts
Rollouts vs. Third-Party A/B Testing Apps
For years, merchants have used apps like Shoplift, Intelligems, and Visually for A/B testing. Now that Shopify offers native functionality, how do they compare?
What Rollouts Does Well
| Feature | Rollouts | Third-Party Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, built into Shopify | £49–£999+/month depending on traffic and features |
| Integration | Native, no installation required | Requires app installation and setup |
| Theme testing | Full theme customisations via theme editor | Varies by app; some support full themes, others focus on specific elements |
| Scheduled releases | Built-in scheduling for campaigns and seasonal updates | Some apps offer scheduling; not universal |
| Market targeting | Target specific markets with different rollouts | Limited or requires advanced plans |
| Page speed impact | Minimal, as it's native to Shopify | Varies; some apps optimise for speed, others may add overhead |
What Third-Party Apps Do Better
While Rollouts is powerful, established A/B testing apps offer capabilities that Rollouts doesn't currently support:
| Feature | Rollouts | Apps (Shoplift, Intelligems, Visually) |
|---|---|---|
| Price testing | Not supported | ✅ Shoplift (beta), Intelligems, and Visually support price A/B testing |
| Discount testing | Not supported | ✅ Intelligems tests discount strategies and offers |
| Shipping rate testing | Not supported | ✅ Intelligems tests shipping thresholds and rates |
| Advanced segmentation | Basic (visitor percentage, markets) | ✅ Segment by device, location, customer type, behaviour, and more |
| Liquid template changes | Not supported | ✅ Shoplift and others support custom code and Liquid edits |
| AI-powered test generation | Not supported | ✅ Shoplift's Lift Assist and Visually AI auto-generate tests |
| Advanced analytics | Basic Shopify analytics | ✅ Deep analytics with RPV, AOV, CTR, statistical significance, and GA4 integration |
| Checkout testing | Not supported | ✅ Apps can test checkout upsells, post-purchase flows, and checkout customisations |
| URL/redirect testing | Not supported | ✅ Intelligems and others support redirect and URL-based tests |
| Multivariate testing | Not supported | ✅ Test multiple variables simultaneously |
Spotlight: Shoplift for Advanced A/B Testing
As a Think Commerce partner, Shoplift represents the gold standard for comprehensive A/B testing on Shopify. Here's what makes it stand out:
Comprehensive Testing Capabilities
Shoplift goes far beyond basic theme testing:
- Theme & Template Testing: Test complete theme rebrands, navigation changes, and mini-cart optimisations
- Price Testing (Beta): Experiment with different pricing strategies to find optimal price points
- Product Page Optimisation: Test layouts, imagery, copy, and calls-to-action
- Landing Page Testing: Optimise campaign landing pages and collection pages
- Custom Code Testing: Use the Javascript API for advanced customisations
Lift Assist: AI-Powered Experimentation
One of Shoplift's most powerful features is Lift Assist — an AI system that automatically creates branded, pixel-perfect split tests without requiring any coding or design work.
Instead of manually building test variations, Lift Assist analyses your store and generates professional test variants that maintain your brand identity whilst exploring conversion-optimised alternatives.
Advanced Analytics & Segmentation
Shoplift provides enterprise-grade analytics:
- Bayesian predictive analysis for statistical confidence
- Revenue per visitor (RPV), AOV, conversion rate, and click-through rate tracking
- Audience segmentation by mobile vs. desktop, country, region, and custom segments
- GA4 integration and advanced data exports
- Subscription vs. one-time purchase reporting
Professional Support & Strategy
Shoplift's Pro plan includes dedicated merchant success management, twice-monthly strategy sessions, storefront audits, testing roadmaps, and quarterly business reviews — making it ideal for brands serious about conversion optimisation.
Pricing
Shoplift offers three tiers:
- Core: From £74/month (based on monthly unique visitors) — includes template, theme, and URL testing with Bayesian analysis
- Advanced: From £299/month — adds price testing (beta), advanced segmentation, Lift Assist, and GA4 integration
- Pro: From £699/month — includes everything plus dedicated support, strategy sessions, and quarterly reviews
All plans include a 14-day free trial.
When to Use Rollouts vs. Shoplift
Use Rollouts When:
- You want to test simple theme changes like colours, layouts, or section arrangements without installing an app
- You need to schedule seasonal campaigns (Black Friday themes, holiday banners, etc.) to go live at specific times
- You're testing market-specific customisations for different regions
- You want a free, native solution without monthly app costs
- You're running basic A/B tests and don't need advanced segmentation or analytics
- You prefer to work entirely within the Shopify admin without third-party integrations
Use Shoplift When:
- You need to test prices to find optimal pricing strategies
- You want AI-powered test generation with Lift Assist to create professional variants automatically
- You require Liquid template or custom code changes as part of your tests
- You need advanced segmentation by device type, customer behaviour, geography, or custom segments
- You want enterprise-grade analytics with Bayesian analysis, RPV tracking, and statistical significance
- You're testing checkout flows, upsells, or post-purchase experiences
- You need dedicated support and CRO strategy from experimentation experts
- You're running a comprehensive testing programme across multiple store elements
Combining Rollouts with Shoplift
You don't have to choose one or the other. Many merchants benefit from using both:
- Use Rollouts for scheduled theme releases, market-specific variations, and simple layout tests
- Use Shoplift for price testing, advanced theme experiments, AI-generated variants, and comprehensive CRO programmes
This hybrid approach lets you leverage Shopify's free native tools whilst accessing Shoplift's advanced capabilities for high-impact tests that drive revenue.
Rollouts + Shopify SimGym: AI-Powered Testing
Alongside Rollouts, Shopify introduced the SimGym app — an AI tool that simulates shopper behaviour using data from billions of Shopify purchases.
SimGym provides actionable recommendations before you go live by predicting how changes will impact conversion rates, helping you make data-driven decisions faster.
This combination of Rollouts (for testing) and SimGym (for prediction) represents Shopify's vision for AI-assisted optimisation — reducing guesswork and accelerating learning cycles.
Getting Started with Rollouts
Rollouts is currently in early access and available to select stores. If you have access, here's how to get started:
- Go to Markets > Rollouts in your Shopify admin
- Click Create rollout
- Define your visitor percentage, schedule, and target markets
- Click Add changes > Customise to edit your theme for this rollout
- Make your customisations in the theme editor
- Save and activate the rollout
- Monitor analytics to compare performance
- Apply the rollout permanently if it performs well, or archive it if it doesn't
For detailed instructions, see the official Rollouts documentation.
The Bigger Picture: Shopify's Testing Evolution
Rollouts represents a significant shift in Shopify's approach to experimentation and optimisation:
- From app-dependent to native: Core testing capabilities are now built into the platform
- From risky to safe: Scheduled releases and automatic rollbacks reduce deployment risk
- From manual to AI-assisted: SimGym adds predictive intelligence to the testing process
- From fragmented to unified: Testing, scheduling, and analytics are centralised in one system
This doesn't eliminate the need for specialised A/B testing apps — they still offer advanced capabilities that Rollouts doesn't support. But for many merchants, Rollouts will handle 80% of their testing needs without additional cost or complexity.
What's Next?
As Rollouts moves from early access to general availability, we expect to see:
- Expanded support for Liquid template changes
- More advanced segmentation options
- Deeper integration with Shopify's analytics and reporting
- Potential support for testing beyond themes (products, collections, etc.)
- Tighter integration with SimGym for predictive testing
Shopify is clearly investing in making experimentation accessible to all merchants, not just those with budgets for premium apps.
Final Thoughts
Rollouts is a game-changer for merchants who want to test theme changes, schedule releases, and reduce deployment risk — all without installing third-party apps.
For simple theme A/B tests and scheduled campaigns, Rollouts is the obvious choice. For advanced testing (prices, discounts, checkout flows, multivariate experiments), third-party apps like Shoplift, Intelligems, and Visually remain essential.
The best approach? Use Rollouts as your foundation, and layer in specialised apps where you need deeper capabilities.
Ready to start testing?
Explore Rollouts documentation, check out the SimGym app, or browse A/B testing apps on the Shopify App Store.
This post is part of our Think Commerce series breaking down the Shopify Winter '26 RenAIssance Edition. Read our previous posts on the full Winter '26 overview and agentic storefronts.
