“Blend Commerce deliver real value from day one. The practical, actionable information they share in their emails is remarkable.
- Subscription sign-ups increased by 61%.
- Overall store conversion rate improved by 14%.
The most impressive part is that we achieved all of this purely by using the data and tools Blend make freely available.”
Okay, when it comes to spreadsheets, rugby stats, CRO or AI… I am a big dork.
Sooo… Shopify Winter ’26 Editions has me nerding out.
CRO and AI mixed together like some crazy Christmas cocktail.
I am referring specifically to the new SimGym app.
It’s Shopify’s new crash test dummy for your website.
It runs simulated AI shoppers through your store before you push the changes live.
So instead of this…
- Publish a new theme
- Conversion rate drops
- Two weeks of guessing what the problem is
You get early signals on changes and how they could potentially impact your metrics.
You can also understand your customers’ likely navigation patterns and receive AI feedback on the entire user journey.
But before I get ahead of myself.
No, it’s not a crystal ball.
SimGym doesn’t replace A/B testing.
This is the new CRO one-two punch.
Simulated AI Signal + Live A/B testing validation.
Chat soon,
Peter
PS: Tomorrow, I’ll send over a swipe file of SimGym Simulated Research ideas.
About the author
Peter Gardner Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Peter Gardner is the Australia-based co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Blend Commerce, the specialist Shopify CRO agency named Global CRO Agency of the Year 2026. He helps established Shopify brands improve conversion rate, average order value and repeat purchase by combining quantitative data, qualitative customer insight and structured experimentation.
Peter writes the Shopify CRO Newsletter and is known for the Buy Trifecta®, a framework focused on helping customers Buy Now, Buy More and Buy Again, while using prioritisation models such as PECTI to help brands focus on the highest-impact CRO opportunities.
Peter also co-founded the eCom Collab Club®, a dynamic eCommerce community that connects and empowers eCommerce professionals through events, networking opportunities, and educational resources.
“Blend Commerce deliver real value from day one. The practical, actionable information they share in their emails is remarkable.
- Subscription sign-ups increased by 61%.
- Overall store conversion rate improved by 14%.
The most impressive part is that we achieved all of this purely by using the data and tools Blend make freely available.”
