Friday 2 October 2026
Websites
Shopify's Shop web address moves from shop.app to shop.com.
Shopify has moved Shop's web experience to shop.com. Links using the old shop.app address redirect automatically, and merchants' stores, products and channel settings stay the same. Shopify says no action is required. Businesses can update Shop links in their social profiles or advertising when convenient; existing links will continue to work.
Why it matters: Staff can recognise the new Shop address without treating the move as a change to their store settings.
Source: Shopify Changelog: Shop is now at shop.com
Software & systems
Shopify Analytics adds sales filters for product colour, material and other category details.
Shopify now lets merchants group and filter reports using category details already attached to their products, such as colour, material, fit and size. These fields are available in Reports, Explore and the query editor, with no activation needed for products already categorised. When an attribute has several values, Shopify keeps them together so the same sale is not counted twice.
Why it matters: Retailers can compare sales by product attributes inside Shopify Analytics instead of exporting data to make that comparison.
Source: Shopify Changelog: Category metafields are now available in Analytics
Software & systems
Shopify lets teams add their own notes beside analytics charts.
Shopify now lets staff record events such as campaign launches or supplier delays in supported time-series reports. Notes can include a title, description and date range, and are shared with staff who have Reports permission. Shopify's guidance says annotations are not included in report exports. Apps with access to a store's annotations can also read manually added titles and descriptions, so keep sensitive details out of these notes.
Why it matters: Keep the context for a sales change beside the chart, with a record the next person can understand.
Source: Shopify Help: Annotations in reports
Thursday 1 October 2026
Scams & security
Amaysim pays $138,600 after failed identity checks allowed unauthorised mobile-number transfers.
ACMA says Amaysim paid a $138,600 penalty after mandatory identity checks failed on 13 mobile-number transfers in 2025. The regulator is not aware of financial losses from those breaches. Amaysim must commission an independent review and improve its procedures under a court-enforceable undertaking. ACMA also warned Ezee Mobile over missing information about reporting suspected scams.
Why it matters: A hijacked mobile number can disrupt services and account access. ACMA says to contact your telco and financial institution immediately if you suspect phone fraud.
Source: ACMA: Amaysim and Ezee Mobile breach anti-fraud rules
Software & systems
Google Vids adds controls for caption fonts, placement and animation.
Google Vids users can now change caption fonts and typography, their position on screen and how they animate. Google lists the controls as available now for Rapid Release and Scheduled Release accounts, including Workspace Business Starter, Standard, Plus and Base. There is no admin control for the feature, and the announcement does not state a separate price.
Why it matters: Teams making customer or training videos can match caption styling to the rest of the video.
Source: Google Workspace Updates: Customize the style of your captions in Google Vids
Marketing
Microsoft Advertising adds HubSpot integration and expands campaign experiments.
Microsoft says its HubSpot integration can connect ad clicks with CRM contacts and deals, report which campaigns generate sales opportunities and revenue, and trigger configured lead follow-up. It also says optimisation experiments are generally available across Search, Shopping, Audience and Performance Max campaigns, letting advertisers compare changes before applying them. HubSpot subscription and account-access requirements apply.
Why it matters: Teams using Microsoft ads can test campaign changes, while HubSpot users can check which ads lead to deals.
Source: Microsoft Advertising: September 2026 product updates
AI at work
OpenAI releases GPT-6.1 Sol for Work and Codex, but not Chat.
OpenAI has released GPT-6.1 Sol for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and through its API. The company says the model improves document work and multi-step workflows. It is not yet available in Chat. These are vendor evaluations, rather than a guarantee of better results on a particular business task.
Why it matters: Teams using Work or Codex can compare it on a familiar task and check the result.
Source: OpenAI: Introducing GPT-6.1 Sol
