ImprovementAdmin

"Most Relevant" added to collections
= Most Relevant has been added as a sort option

"Most Relevant" is a new option for sorting products within a collection. Existing sort settings stay as they are — it simply appears alongside Bestselling, Price, Newest, and the others as a new choice.

On this page
  1. Understand in 30 seconds: what was added
  2. Sort order lineup — diagram
  3. The most important premise: existing settings don't change
  4. What's known / what's not stated
  5. Where it shows up
  6. 5 points engineers should know
  7. 3 use cases you can apply to your work
  8. One-line summary you can use in a pitch

1Understand in 30 seconds: what was added

Within a collection (a group of products), one new option has been added to "what order to show the products in": Most Relevant — just one addition.
Existing sort orders are completely unchanged. It simply appears as a new choice alongside Bestselling, Price, Newest, and others.

What was added

A new option called "Most Relevant" has been added to collection sort orders.

What doesn't change

Your current collection sort settings are kept as-is (they won't switch on their own).

Positioning

Classified as "Improvement" and "Admin" (admin interface). An expansion of options for an existing feature.

2Sort order lineup — diagram

Collection sort orders (the ones named in the article) Bestselling Bestselling (existing) Price Price (existing) Newest Newest (existing) + NEW Most Relevant Most Relevant * The above lists only the options explicitly mentioned in the article. Shopify also has other sort orders (manual, alphabetical, etc.), but the article doesn't mention them. * The article doesn't state how "relevance" is calculated (the logic).

3The most important premise: existing settings don't change

What the article explicitly states: "Your existing collections sorting remains unchanged". In other words, your existing collection sort orders won't be switched to Most Relevant on their own.Switch over manually, only for the collections you wantOpt-in.
TopicHow the article covers it
Sort order of existing collections Unchanged Preserved as-is
How the new option appears Added Listed alongside existing options like Bestselling, Price, and Newest
Scope Provided as a collection sort order option
Additional cost / eligible plans Not stated

4What we know / what is not stated

Stated in the article

What can be said as fact

  • "Most Relevant" has been added to collection sort orders
  • Existing sort settings are not changed
  • Selectable alongside Bestselling, Price, Newest, etc.
  • Categorized as Improvement / Admin
  • Details are linked in the Shopify Help Center under "Collection sort order"
Not stated

What the article does not tell us

  • What "relevance" is determined by (logic / signals)
  • Eligible plans, regions, and rollout status
  • Admin API / GraphQL sortOrder impact on
  • Differences between automated and manual collections
  • How this is reflected in theme storefront displays
Hearing "sort by relevance" makes you imagine some optimization logic, butwhat's actually behind it isn't written in the article. When proposing adoption, treat it as "logic undisclosed, needs verification" and discuss it on the premise that effectiveness should be measured with real data.

5Where it appears

The article doesn't show detailed steps, but itclearly states that "it appears alongside existing sort order options". In other words, one option is added to the place where you normally pick a collection's sort.

Edit collection Product sort order Select sort order ▾ Bestselling Price (low / high) Newest Most Relevant NEW Select and save Only that collection Sort order switches

Note: The dropdown item names in the diagram above are examples mentioned in the article. Verify the actual display wording and screen flow in the admin (the article does not detail the steps).

65 Points Developers Should Know

Existing New

1. Fully Opt-in

Existing collection sort orders are unchanged. The new option only applies to collections you explicitly switch over, so there's no risk of behavior changing store-wide at once.

?

2. Ranking Logic Is Undisclosed

The article doesn't specify what counts as "relevant." Treat the internals as a black box for both proposals and implementation.

3. Per-Collection Setting

It's just one new option added to the existing "collection sort order" layer. It's not a store-wide setting — you choose it per collection.

API ?

4. API Behavior Needs Verification

For Admin GraphQL, sortOrder the article doesn't mention whether a new value will appear in the enum. If you plan to automate or bulk-configure, verify in a sandbox first.

5. Measure the Impact with Real Data

Since the logic isn't disclosed, comparing against the previous sort order is essential after rollout. The reliable approach is to look at CVR, browsing, and sales per collection page over a set period, then decide whether to keep Most Relevant or revert.

73 Practical Use Cases

...
USE CASE 1

Test the Order of "Browse Collections" in Large Catalogs

Problem
For collections with many products, manual reordering is impractical, and best-seller order tends to bury long-tail products.
Action
Switch only the target collection's sort order to Most Relevant and compare it with the previous order.
Impact
Try a different presentation without spending operational effort on manual reordering. If it works, keep it.
Technical Notes
Since existing settings are untouched, start with a limited trial on one or a few collections, then roll out more broadly based on results.
USE CASE 2

Reduce Reordering Cost for Campaign / Seasonal Collections

Problem
Every sale or seasonal feature requires staff to manually rearrange the order, making the process person-dependent and labor-intensive.
Action
Move collections that are heavy to maintain manually to Most Relevant and test whether it cuts down hand-curated reordering.
Impact
Potentially reduces the operator's workload while keeping the order fresh.
Technical Notes
Changing the sort order doesn't affect other collections, so you can roll it out partially with limited risk.
CVR / Browsing
USE CASE 3

Use a "Previous vs Most Relevant" Sort Comparison in Proposal Decks

Problem
Discussions about whether collection sort order drives sales rely on gut feeling and lack supporting evidence.
Action
Switch a comparable collection between the legacy sort and Most Relevant over a set period, then pull the metrics and compare.
Impact
You get data on how sort order performs with zero implementation, and you can reuse it as evidence behind your recommendations.
Technical notes
Measure via Shopify Analytics' per-collection metrics or a GA4 integration. Allow a long enough window (several weeks or more) to absorb seasonal effects.

8One-line summary for proposals

"A new Most Relevant sort option has been added to collection sort order.
Existing settings stay untouched — it's opt-in and only takes effect on collections you switch over.
The ranking logic isn't disclosed, so treat it as 'try it and measure'and start with just a few collections."