Shopify Changelog Recap
Shopify Changelog Recap: EU Product Identifiers, UK VAT by Fulfilment Location, and Stock Counts
This recap covers Shopify changes posted from October 19 to October 25, 2026. If you ship to Europe or the UK, start with the first two. The EU rule took effect on November 1, 2026. Each section links to Shopify's own pages so you can check the details yourself.
Published October 26, 2026. Author: Ecomm Guys. 6 min read.
1. EU-Bound Parcels Need Product Identifiers From November 1
What changed. As of November 1, 2026, the EU requires three product identifiers for every item in a parcel sent to a customer in the EU from outside the EU and worth €150 or less. The Help Center says a parcel missing them can be held or rejected at customs, and you might be charged return-to-origin fees.
When you buy labels through Shopify Shipping or Managed Markets, Shopify adds the identifiers to your customs documents from your product data. Labels for EU-bound orders can't be bought for items that are missing a required identifier. Shopify applies exemptions, such as for unprocessed agricultural goods, certain handmade goods, and antiques, from each variant's HS code, and you can't mark a product as exempt yourself.
Who it affects. Stores that ship direct-to-consumer parcels into the EU, including Canadian and US stores selling to EU customers.
What to do. Add the identifiers as product barcodes. The Merchant Product Identifier needs no action, because your product variant already covers it. For the Standardized Product Identifier, add a barcode with type GTIN, EAN, UPC, or ISBN. If the product has none, turn on No EU standardized identifier in the More details card of the product's Shipping section.
For the Non-Standardized Manufacturer Product Identifier, you can add the manufacturer's model number, part number, or style code as a barcode with type NS-PID. A variant that already has a GTIN or a SKU meets this requirement. The bulk editor can add barcodes and declarations to many products at once. Check your HS codes too, because they decide which items are exempt. If you buy labels outside Shopify, ask your carrier, broker, or fulfilment partner how to provide this information.
Sources: Shopify Changelog, Oct 24, 2026 and Shopify Help Center: Adding product identifiers for shipments to the European Union
2. UK VAT Now Follows the Location That Fulfils the Order
What changed. VAT on orders shipping to customers in Great Britain is now calculated from the fulfilment location that your order routing settings pick for each order. That's the same way tax is calculated for orders shipping to the United States. If an order totals more than £135 GBP before tax and shipping and is routed to a location outside the UK, it's treated as an import, so VAT isn't charged at checkout. That applies even if your store also has a UK location.
Who it affects. Stores that ship to Great Britain from a location outside the UK. Orders of £135 GBP or less, orders shipping to Northern Ireland, and existing orders aren't affected.
What to do. To charge VAT on these orders at checkout, update your order routing so they're assigned to a UK location, or collect duties and import taxes at checkout.
Sources: Shopify Changelog, Oct 23, 2026
3. Stock Counts in the Shopify Admin
What changed. Stock counts give you a structured way to check inventory in the Shopify admin. You create and schedule a count, add products by search or barcode scan, and assign the count to staff, who can complete it in the admin or in POS. Several staff members can add to the same count without overwriting each other, and you can see who recorded each quantity.
Before stock levels change, you review the differences between counted and recorded quantities and approve them. New permissions control who can perform counts and who can review and approve them.
Who it affects. Stores that count inventory today with spreadsheets or other workarounds.
What to do. Decide who should count and who should review and approve, and set the new permissions to match. We'd then run a small cycle count on one location to get used to the review step before you count everything.
Sources: Shopify Changelog, Oct 20, 2026
4. Your Online Store Checks Links to Other Websites
What changed. Your online store now protects customers from unexpected redirects to websites outside your store. After an update on October 23, it blocks links to websites that Shopify has identified as malicious and asks customers to confirm before going to websites that are suspicious. Other links take customers straight to the website.
Domains connected to your store and supported Shopify and social websites don't trigger a message. Shopify notes that websites you own but haven't connected to your store might still trigger it.
Who it affects. Every online store that links to other websites.
What to do. We'd click through the outside links on your store, such as links to a booking tool or a second store. If one of your own sites shows the confirmation message, connect that domain to your store.
Sources: Shopify Changelog, Oct 20, 2026, updated Oct 23
5. Managed Markets Can Set Your International Shipping Rates
What changed. Managed Markets can now manage your international shipping rates alongside duty-inclusive pricing. It sets Standard and Express rates for each destination, includes part of the shipping cost in your product prices, and charges the rest as shipping at checkout. You can also choose to absorb part of the cost. If you buy qualifying prepaid FedEx or DHL Express labels through Managed Markets, you won't be billed for later carrier cost adjustments.
Who it affects. Stores selling internationally with Managed Markets. Duty-inclusive pricing is required, and you can't edit these rates yourself. You can turn the feature off per market to use your own rates, without the label-cost guarantee.
What to do. Go to Markets, open a market, and find the Managed Markets section. Preview the international product prices, checkout totals, and expected payouts for each market before you turn it on.
Sources: Shopify Changelog, Oct 24, 2026
Also Worth Knowing
Rollouts now supports catalog changes, so you can activate, deactivate, or switch between existing catalogs at a set date and time, and test catalogs against each other on your online store. Source, Oct 23, 2026
Checkout has a tiled payment method layout that appears when your payment methods meet certain display criteria, including offering four or fewer. Other setups keep the standard list. Source, Oct 22, 2026
You can book a call with us if you'd like help working through any of these on your store. The Shopify Changelog lists every Shopify change in full.
Last checked against Shopify's official pages on November 12, 2026.