Just in time to celebrate the announcement of Shopify’s Edition Dot Dev 2026 Conference, the chat this week is all about community. Anne, Trudy, and Brenda share stories of how tech communities, both in-person and online, can be invaluable spaces for learning and growth, how they helped shape their careers, and the friends we met along the way (like each other!).

This week we get into a classic New Year topic: predictions for 2026.Come for the takes on Shopify, AI shopping, and trust. Stay for Anne delivering the most definitive Canadian pronunciation of the word “about,” Brenda’s Christmas tree making what might be its final appearance of the season, and Trudy’s field report on Zara’s virtual try-on so we can stop playing roulette with their strange product photography.Plus, a special intermission where you get to know Diana, and how she's played Hopscotch with her career before even thinking about building Downpay.

Winter Editions dropped and we did what any reasonable Shopify nerds would do.

We hit record immediately, argued about what year it even is for a solid minute, then jumped straight into the updates that actually matter if you build on Shopify or run a store on Shopify.

P.S This is Cart to Cart, our new podcast, we just wanted to jump right into it!

In this episode we get into:

• The AI Renaissance site, the Easter eggs, and why Shopify’s launch pages are always a flex
• Shopify Product Network and why it feels like the “marketplace pieces” are starting to click
• Sidekick building basic apps (and why that is a huge unlock for small teams)
• Sidekick connecting with partner apps, and why “native admin” is a win even if it hides the app a bit
• Agentic shopping and the “new SEO” question every merchant is about to face
• SIM Gym and A/B testing for stores that do not have big traffic
• Shop Minis and whether the Shop app can become a real habit

Featuring: Brenda Storer (Theme Partner, Whisk) Anne Thomas (Design Packs) Trudy MacNabb (Design Packs) Diana (Downpay)

If you’re into Shopify, ecommerce, themes, apps, and the stuff that’s coming next, subscribe.

We’ll keep shipping episodes and keep it real.