# Shopify Rollouts: native A/B testing, and when you still need an app

> What Shopify Rollouts can schedule, test and roll back since Fall '26, where it falls short, and when an A/B app like Shoplift or Intelligems is worth it.

Rollouts is Shopify's built-in tool for scheduling, testing and rolling back changes to your store, found under Markets > Rollouts in the admin. Use it for scheduled launches, timed sales and simple theme A/B tests. Use a dedicated A/B testing app when you need to test prices or shipping rates, target by device or customer segment, or analyse results in more depth.

Shopify introduced Rollouts in the Winter '26 Edition, in early access and for theme changes only. The Fall '26 Edition widened it to checkout configurations, catalogues and discounts. This article was first published in February 2026 and has been updated for Fall '26. For the rest of that release, read our [guide to Shopify Editions Fall '26](https://thinkcommerce.com/insights/shopify-editions-exponential).

## What Rollouts does

A rollout bundles up to four kinds of change into one scheduled release:

- theme edits, or a replacement theme
- a replacement checkout configuration
- catalogues set to active or draft
- discounts switched on or off

### Three types of rollout

- **Launch.** Applies the changes permanently at the time you set.
- **Event.** Rolls back automatically when it ends. This suits a Black Friday sale that has to disappear on time.
- **Experiment.** Splits traffic between your live store and the rollout for an A/B test. Experiments need the Grow plan or higher.

## How an A/B test works in Rollouts

### 1. Set the traffic split and schedule

Create an Experiment rollout. Choose the share of visitors who see the change: half of them for a true A/B test, or a small share for a cautious soft launch. Set start and end times in your store's timezone. If you sell in more than one market, you can target specific markets.

### 2. Make the changes inside the rollout

Edit your published theme for that rollout in the theme editor. Anything you don't change stays in sync with your live theme. You can test a new hero banner or product page layout without rebuilding the whole theme.

### 3. Compare the results

Shopify's analytics compare the rollout with your live store on conversion rate, average order value and revenue.

### 4. Apply, pause or archive

When the results are in, apply the rollout so every visitor sees it, or archive it, which deletes the changes for good. You can also pause an active rollout and resume it later. Once a rollout is applied, Rollouts can't revert it. You have to undo the changes by hand in the theme editor.

## Limits to plan around

- **No segment or device targeting.** You can target markets, but not customer segments, tags or devices.
- **No B2B catalogues.** They can't be included in a rollout.
- **One rollout per discount.** Each discount can sit in only one unended rollout at a time.
- **Theme publishing.** Publishing a new theme while rollouts are scheduled can wipe their customisations. Freeze theme publishing until a rollout ends.
- **Translations.** At launch, translation apps, including Shopify's Translate & Adapt, couldn't translate text that was part of a rollout's theme changes. Check this before testing on a multi-language store.
- **Vintage themes.** At launch, Rollouts couldn't be used with older vintage themes.

At launch, edits inside a rollout had to go through the theme editor, not Liquid template files. Since Fall '26, a rollout can also include a whole replacement theme.

## Rollouts or an A/B testing app?

Merchants have used apps such as Shoplift, Intelligems and Visually for split testing for years. Rollouts now covers part of that ground.

### Where Rollouts is the better fit

| Feature | Rollouts | A/B testing apps |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cost | Built into Shopify, with no app subscription. Experiments need the Grow plan or higher | A monthly app subscription, usually priced by store traffic and features |
| Set-up | Native, with nothing to install | An app to install and set up |
| Theme testing | Theme edits in the theme editor, and since Fall '26 a whole replacement theme | Varies by app: some test whole themes, others focus on specific elements |
| Scheduled releases | Built in, for campaigns and seasonal updates | Some apps offer scheduling, not all |
| Market targeting | Different rollouts for different markets | Limited, or needs a higher plan |
| Page speed | Minimal impact, because it is native to Shopify | Varies: some apps are built for speed, others add overhead |

Rollouts also reaches beyond the theme: one release can change the theme, the checkout configuration, catalogues and discounts together.

### Where apps still do more

We compared them in February 2026 and rechecked Shoplift's features in November 2026.

| Feature | Rollouts | Apps such as Shoplift, Intelligems and Visually |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price testing | Not supported | Shoplift, Intelligems and Visually support price A/B tests |
| Discount testing | Can switch a discount on or off, but can't test one strategy against another | Intelligems tests discount strategies and offers |
| Shipping rate testing | Not supported | Intelligems tests shipping thresholds and rates |
| Segmentation | Share of visitors and markets only | Device, location, customer type, behaviour and more |
| Liquid and custom code | Theme editor changes, or a replacement theme | Shoplift and others test custom code and Liquid edits directly |
| AI-generated variants | Not supported | Shoplift's Lift Assist and Visually AI generate test variants |
| Analytics | Shopify analytics: conversion rate, average order value and revenue | Revenue per visitor, average order value, click-through rate, statistical significance and GA4 integration |
| Upsells and post-purchase | Not supported | Apps test checkout upsells and post-purchase flows |
| URL and redirect tests | Not supported | Intelligems and others run redirect and URL-based tests |
| Multivariate tests | Not supported | Apps test several variables at once |

### Use Rollouts when

- you want to schedule a seasonal campaign or a sale to start and stop on time
- you're testing simple theme changes such as colours, layouts or section order
- you need different changes for different markets
- you don't need advanced segmentation or analytics
- you'd rather work in the Shopify admin than add an app

### Use an app when

- you want to test prices, discount strategies or shipping rates
- you need to target tests by device, behaviour or customer segment
- your tests need Liquid or custom code
- you need statistical significance and revenue per visitor to make the call
- you want AI to generate test variants for you
- you want dedicated support and a testing strategy from experimentation specialists
- you run a testing programme across many parts of the store

## Shoplift for advanced A/B testing

Shoplift is a Think Commerce partner, and in our view it is the gold standard for A/B testing on Shopify. Here is what it adds beyond Rollouts.

### What you can test

- **Themes and templates:** whole theme rebrands, new page templates, navigation and the mini-cart.
- **Prices:** test different price points to find the one that works best.
- **Product pages:** layouts, imagery, copy and calls to action.
- **Landing and collection pages:** campaign landing pages and collection pages.
- **Custom code:** your own Liquid, or custom experiments written with Shoplift's JavaScript API.

### Lift Assist: AI-generated tests

Lift Assist generates on-brand test variants from your store, so you don't have to code or design each variation yourself. It keeps your brand identity while it tries alternatives that could convert better.

### Analytics and segmentation

- Bayesian analysis that shows each variant's probability to win
- revenue per visitor, average order value, conversion rate and click-through rate
- segmentation by device, country and region, and by audiences such as referring domain, channel or UTM parameters
- GA4 integration and data exports
- subscription testing

### Support and strategy

Shoplift's Pro plan adds a dedicated account manager, strategy sessions twice a month, a storefront audit and testing roadmap, and quarterly business reviews. It suits brands that run conversion testing as an ongoing programme.

### Shoplift's plans

At the time of writing (November 2026), Shoplift's [pricing page](https://shoplift.ai/pricing) lists three plans, in US dollars and priced by monthly store visitors:

- **Core:** from $74 a month billed annually, or $99 billed monthly. Template, theme and URL tests with Bayesian analysis.
- **Advanced:** from $299 a month. Adds price testing, advanced segmentation, Lift Assist and GA4 integration.
- **Pro:** from $699 a month, on an annual plan only. Adds a dedicated account manager, strategy sessions and quarterly reviews.

Core and Advanced start with a 14-day free trial. These are Shoplift's prices, not ours, and they rise with your traffic, so check the pricing page for your store.

### Using Shoplift alongside Rollouts

You don't have to pick one. Many merchants do best with both:

- Rollouts for scheduled theme releases, market variants and simple layout tests
- Shoplift for price tests, advanced theme experiments, AI-generated variants and a full conversion testing programme

That way you use Shopify's built-in tools where they are enough, and pay for Shoplift's extra depth on the tests most likely to move revenue.

## Where SimGym fits

Alongside Rollouts, Shopify introduced SimGym, an app that simulates shopper behaviour to predict how a change will affect conversion before it goes live. In Fall '26, Sidekick can test its own suggestions against simulated shoppers in SimGym, in early access. Simulated shoppers aren't your shoppers, though. Treat a SimGym win as a hypothesis and confirm it with a real A/B test using a rollout Experiment. Read more about [how Sidekick tests its suggestions in SimGym](https://thinkcommerce.com/insights/shopify-sidekick-canvas).

## Running your Black Friday sale as a rollout

An Event is the safest way to run a sale that has to switch off on time. Create your sale catalogues per market first, make your theme edits inside the rollout, add your discounts, check the conflict warnings, then freeze theme publishing until the sale ends. Build and test it before mid-November. Our article on [checkout, payments and fraud in Fall '26](https://thinkcommerce.com/insights/shopify-checkout-payments-fraud) puts the rollout in a full pre-Black Friday timeline, alongside Shopify Protect.

## Getting started

1. Go to Markets > Rollouts in your Shopify admin and click Create rollout.
2. Choose Launch, Event or Experiment, then set the schedule and markets. For an Experiment, also set the share of visitors who see the change.
3. Add your changes: theme edits, a checkout configuration, catalogues or discounts.
4. Save and activate the rollout.
5. Watch the analytics and compare the rollout with your live store.
6. Apply the rollout if it performs well, or archive it if it doesn't.

Shopify's help centre has step-by-step instructions for [creating a rollout](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets/rollouts/create-a-rollout).

## The bigger picture

Rollouts changes how Shopify approaches testing:

- **From app-dependent to native.** Core testing is now built into the platform.
- **From risky to safer.** Scheduled releases, and Event rollouts that roll back automatically when they end, reduce the risk of a launch.
- **From manual to AI-assisted.** SimGym adds prediction to the testing process.
- **From fragmented to unified.** Testing, scheduling and analytics sit in one place.

This doesn't remove the need for specialist A/B testing apps, which still do things Rollouts can't. But for many merchants, Rollouts will cover most everyday testing without extra cost or complexity.

## What's next

When we first wrote this in February 2026, we expected Rollouts to move beyond themes, and to gain more advanced segmentation, deeper analytics, Liquid template changes and closer links with SimGym. Fall '26 delivered the first of those: a rollout can now include a checkout configuration, catalogues and discounts. Sidekick can also test its own suggestions against simulated shoppers in SimGym, in early access.

Still on our list:

- targeting by customer segment, tag or device
- Liquid and code changes inside an experiment, without building a replacement theme
- deeper analytics and reporting on experiments
- B2B catalogues in rollouts

Shopify is clearly investing in making testing available to every merchant, not only those with budgets for premium apps.

## Final thoughts

Rollouts lets merchants test theme changes, schedule releases and reduce launch risk without installing an app. For simple theme A/B tests and scheduled campaigns, it is the obvious choice. For advanced testing, such as prices, discounts, checkout upsells and multivariate experiments, apps like Shoplift, Intelligems and Visually are still essential.

Our advice: use Rollouts as your foundation, and add a specialist app where you need more depth.

## Get help with testing

Not sure what is worth testing? Start with a CRO audit, a one-off conversion review of your store. It is available as one of our [fixed-price projects](https://thinkcommerce.com/offers/fixed-price-projects) for £900, ex VAT. It is included quarterly in the [Growth retainer](https://thinkcommerce.com/offers/growth-retainer), and monthly, with A/B testing, in the [Partner retainer](https://thinkcommerce.com/offers/partner-retainer). We can also build your sale as a rollout. [Talk to us about testing on your store](https://thinkcommerce.com/contact).

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Source: https://thinkcommerce.com/insights/shopify-rollouts-ab-testing · Published: 25 February 2026 · Last updated: 6 November 2026 · Author: Paal Soberg · Contact: hello@thinkcommerce.com