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Eighteen months ago, Sidekick was a new feature. At Shopify's DotDev conference, Shopify's Head of Partnerships, Atlee Clark, presented it as a platform in its own right, and the numbers behind it are worth sitting with: 32 million analytics reports generated, 25 million flows built, 3.4 million customer segments created, and 600K flow automations now running every single day.

What Shopify's Sidekick Data Tells Us About the Future of Ecommerce Operations

The Shopify Toolkit for AI-Ready CPG Stores

Mack Weldon built its business on modern menswear essentials, underwear, undershirts, and everyday basics engineered with proprietary fabrics for comfort and durability. That product mix brings two different shoppers to the same product listing page (PLP): loyal customers who already know what they want and are moving quickly to restock, and new customers who are still comparing colors, fabrics, and fits for the first time. Designing navigation, filtering, and product-browsing tools that work for both audiences at once became the focus of our conversion rate optimization (CRO) testing program on Mack Weldon's PLPs.

How Hiding Filters Helped Mack Weldon Lift Conversion Rate by 6.06%

The collections overhaul announced at Shopify's DotDev developer conference on July 21 is not an incremental platform update. Shopify's Head of Partnerships, Atlee Clark, called it the biggest update to collections in ten years, and for CPG brands managing complex product lines, that is not an exaggeration.

Shopify's Latest Collections Update: What It Means for CPG Catalogs

Most brands treat customer service and customer experience (CX) as a cost center: a queue to clear, a ticket count to reduce. Good Protein treats it as one of the most valuable data sources in the business, and that decision is now paying off in an unexpected place: AI search visibility.

Turning Your CX Team Into a Content Engine

Agentic Checkout Is Already Converting. Is Your Catalog Ready?

Elvie UK Migration to Shopify Plus

On May 27, Barrel hosted a live webinar with partners from Shopify and Good Protein to talk through what it actually takes to get cited by AI search tools. One example from that conversation captures the reality of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): picture a blogger in Nebraska, with no meaningful following, who writes a single post comparing protein powders. That post could end up cited constantly by AI assistants, sometimes ahead of the brands it reviews. It's a small, specific scenario, but it's playing out across categories right now.

Why a Blogger in Nebraska Might Outrank Your CPG Brand

Barrel has been named a Shopify Platinum Partner, the top tier of Shopify's partner program. The designation recognizes agencies that have delivered sustained, high-impact results for Shopify merchants, and it's one Barrel has been working toward for years.

Barrel Is Now a Platinum Shopify Partner

From Color Schemes to Color Palettes: What Shopify's Update Means for Your Brand

How We Evolved Wamsutta’s Digital Experience to Support Their Retail Launch

As part of our ongoing partnership with Cabot, we designed a new category landing page template designed for both traditional SEO and AI search optimization.

Designing a Category Page Template Built for AI Search Optimization

As part of our ongoing partnership, we optimized Cabot’s website navigation to improve product discoverability across both traditional and AI-powered search.

Optimizing Cabot Creamery’s Navigation for Search Discoverability

What CPG brands need to know about AI-driven discovery

What CPG brands need to know about AI-driven discovery

Turning Shoppers Into Creators for the New InstantChill™ Product Launch

See how McCormick, Barrel, and Zest created a modern gifting experience, unlocking a new channel while enhancing the customer journey.

Bringing Modern Gifting to a 135-Year-Old Brand

Why Your Website Matters More After You Launch in Retail

From Popcorn to Chips: How Barrel Is Supporting Khloud’s Next Chapter

As better-for-you becomes the norm, brands must rethink digital. Learn how websites can guide decisions, build trust, and drive conversion.

Why “Better-for-You” Brands Need Better Digital Experiences

Cabot Evolves Its Site Experience with Enhanced Search

Barrel shares key observations from Expo West 2026, including trends in better-for-you CPG, retail discovery, and why digital experiences still matter for modern brands.

Observations from Expo West 2026

As part of Barrel's continued partnership with Wamsutta, they recently launched the first in a series of marketing landing pages designed to support focused campaigns and product storytelling.

Driving Product Discovery with New Marketing Pages for Wamsutta

Anthony’s Goods Expands into Retail with Erewhon Partnership

Our partnership with Khloud continues well beyond launch. This winter, we supported the rollout of two new flavors, Cinnamon Roll and Truffle & White Cheddar, each with different go-to-market strategies and technical needs.

Growing With Khloud, One Flavor at a Time

How User Testing Shaped Revision Skincare’s Digital Experience

Helping HALO Scale Its Digital Ecosystem Through the Child Craft Acquisition

Discover how Barrel elevated McCormick’s holiday shop with a unified creative system designed to connect ecommerce, gifting, and media.

Bringing a Cohesive Holiday Experience to the McCormick Shop

See how Barrel and WITHIN helped Anthony’s Goods expand beyond Amazon with a new Shopify site and media strategy that boosted revenue, loyalty, and customer experience.

Anthony’s Goods Grows Revenue 22% With New Site and Media Strategy by Barrel and WITHIN

Inspiring Mealtime Creativity With Cabot’s New Recipe Experience

Bringing Sweet Loren’s Joyful Rebel Brand to Life Online