Last week Atlee Clark, Shopify’s Global VP of Partnerships, announced exciting new updates to the Shopify Partner Program for Agencies. With that, Domaine will be recognized in the Diamond Tier, the highest available partnership with Shopify. The new tiers take effect January 1 2027, and the Shopify directory will update the new tier that day.
“At the top, we’re introducing Diamond to recognize partners supporting some of the world’s largest merchants. Diamond requires $500M in attributed GMV and 25 attributed shops over four years,” Atlee said.
I’m proud to say that Domaine has blown past these requirements, with $2.9B in attributed GMV and 207 attributed merchants at the time of this blog post.
Why is this designation important for brands that are seeking the support of a Shopify partner?
The single most important factor in choosing a Shopify partner to work with for ecommerce companies is actual Shopify experience. There are a litany of generalist web design and development firms out there - but only a handful of companies that have the first-hand experience working with Shopify’s largest and fastest-growing companies.
That experience is critical to the success of a Shopify Migration, or to ongoing site management. The reason? Shopify is an opinionated platform. While the tools available are robust, the tacit knowledge is the most important part of building for Shopify. That means knowing the hard lines of building on Shopify: the platform’s nuances, and how to work with its flexibility rather than against it.
I’ve personally talked to hundreds of Shopify Plus and Shopify Enterprise brands about their experience working with agency partners. The most common theme I hear is that they went with a generalist company that did not have a firm grasp on the Shopify platform, resulting in improper use of the technology.
Shopify is made to be easy-to-use for merchants; to quickly make merchandizing changes to the homepage or product page. But when a non-specialist tries to use the platform in a way they are used to with other software they often end up working against the intention of the platform.
Domaine is now recognized as the most experienced Shopify agency, a designation I believe should be a critical factor for brands seeking their next collaboration partner.
What’s the difference in Shopify Partner Tiers?
Shopify announced five tiers of partnership status: Registered, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.
With this announcement, Domaine will be moving up from Platinum to Diamond. The difference between Platinum and Diamond is simply the amount of experience working with Shopify brands. To qualify for Platinum status, agencies need $50M of attributed GMV and 20 attributed clients. Compare this against the $500M in GMV and 25 attributed shops needed for Diamond.
What other updates did Shopify announce as part of their partner program updates?
Atlee also took the stage at Shopify’s Partner Town Hall to discuss some critical security updates for Shopify Apps, an overwhelmingly positive reception from long-term Shopify partners. Security updates have become much more critical in the age of AI.
After the security updates, Atlee detailed other updates to the Shopify Partner Directory, where interested brands can find their next agency partner.
Shopify has decided to build a directory - not a marketplace - where merchants can browse service partners and then go to their websites to make a connection. Shopify will no longer facilitate the introduction through their own contact form, instead directing merchants to their preferred partner’s website.
We’re grateful that Shopify is continuing to invest in their agency partners. The strength of the Shopify Partner community has always been a strength of the platform, and Domaine is committed to upholding the high standard of the Diamond Tier.
See more of Domaine’s work here.
