On September 16, 2025, the Shopware Community Day (SCD) took place at the modern Confex in Cologne. Around 1,500 guests from all over the world experienced a day full of inspiration, product innovations, and networking – while also celebrating 25 years of Shopware with us.
A special extra: Visitors were able to use a combination ticket to directly attend DMEXCO in Cologne on September 17 and 18 – where Shopware was also present.
In this recap, we’ll walk you through the most important SCD highlights: from the keynote announcements and the latest product innovations to inspiring talks, community moments, and the unique anniversary atmosphere.
The biggest announcements from Shopware Community Day 2025
The highlight of the day was the keynote, which opened with an emotional video about the origins of Shopware. In it, brothers Stefan and Sebastian Hamann shared how they founded Shopware as teenagers – with nothing more than a computer, an idea, and plenty of passion. Today, Shopware celebrates its 25th anniversary – a special milestone that would not have been possible without the dedicated support of partners, customers, and our community. And even after a quarter century of change and groundbreaking innovation, the “Day One” spirit continues to shape the company, as Sebastian Hamann emphasized.
He then highlighted three strategic pillars that Shopware is focusing on: AI/Agentic Commerce, B2B/Complex Commerce, and Community/Open Ecosystem. Additional speakers and sessions demonstrated how these priorities are reflected in product development, technology, and partnerships.
Sebastian Hamann on stage
AI & agentic commerce: Shopware merchants are ready for the future
Experts predict that by 2030, 30% of all ecommerce transactions will be carried out by AI agents. This points to a future in which AI-driven systems act autonomously, easing the workload for merchants. Shopware is driving this development forward while ensuring that merchants always retain full control over their data and processes. To secure this freedom in commerce and to establish key standards, Shopware founded the Agentic Commerce Alliance in spring 2025 together with leading digital companies. In addition, Shopware is developing its own MCP server as a core technology for data exchange between AI models and the shop. Thanks to Shopware’s API-first approach, the platform is well-prepared to seamlessly integrate AI- and agentic-driven innovations – today and in the future.
Integration into the PayPal Commerce Agent Platform
Another major announcement was presented by Ryan Prichard (Vice President SMB and Financial Services, PayPal): Shopware will be one of the first ecommerce platforms in Europe to join the new PayPal Commerce Agent Platform. Developed by PayPal and soon to be rolled out more broadly, this innovation will allow Shopware merchants to make selected products discoverable – and purchasable – across various AI-driven sales channels and large language models such as Perplexity. The launch is scheduled for this fall.
Many product innovations are coming this year
Daniel Nögel (VP Engineering, Shopware) not only showcased the AI-driven features already available in Shopware – designed to increase efficiency and automation in areas such as image and text generation or UX – but also gave an outlook on what’s next for Shopware Copilot. Already available as an agentic commerce partner in the admin, Copilot can answer Shopware-specific questions. Starting this fall, the next stage will follow with Data Insights, providing merchants with direct visibility into relevant KPIs within their online store.
Example query for Data Insights in the agentic Shopware Copilot, launching this fall
Also announced for this fall is the first preview of Nexus – a new engine designed to simplify integrations and workflows. With Nexus, merchants will be able to configure and automate processes like inventory updates or marketplace synchronization much faster. The beta version is planned for early 2026, with the final launch scheduled for Q2 2026.
Mastering complexity: new features for B2B commerce
B2B business models come with unique requirements: individual workflows, international rollouts, multi-level sales structures, and deep system integrations. With the new features in the B2B Components, Shopware addresses exactly these needs – delivering more individuality, control, and efficiency.
Advanced Product Catalogs – available now: Merchants can create personalized catalogs for individual customers or business units. Especially with large assortments, this reduces complexity, improves clarity, and ensures a truly customized shopping experience.
Budget Management – available in Q4: Budgets can be allocated across teams or departments, with threshold alerts and approval processes included. This increases transparency in purchasing and provides greater security in controlling spend.
Individual Pricing – also planned for Q4: Customer-specific prices are displayed and updated directly in the storefront. A practical example is Shopware customer Interpneu, where this capability powers around 16 million automated price updates every single day.
Together, these three features help reduce routine tasks in sales, accelerate processes, and reliably manage complex setups. The result: merchants can focus more on building customer relationships – while staying maximally flexible and avoiding the limitations of rigid “closed-box” systems.
Advanced Product Catalogs enable merchants to define personalized assortments for customers or business units – ensuring relevance and clarity in B2B commerce.
Open ecosystem and strong community
Shopware positions itself as an “open-box” platform, standing between rigid SaaS “in-the-box” solutions and highly fragmented custom builds. And the code is open as well: open source has long been a core part of Shopware’s DNA – fueled by the contributions of the community and a strong partner network.
A clear sign of this strength: over 360,000 extensions activated last year and more than 38,000 GitHub contributions from over 800 contributors.
In addition, the new Shopware Community Hub has been live for a few months – a central home for exchange, news, clubs, and learning paths with gamification elements. Already, thousands of members from 30 countries are using the platform to share knowledge, build connections, and shape the future of commerce together.
Watch the full keynote
All of these announcements and insights were presented during the keynote on the Main Stage. If you’d like to dive deeper, you can watch the full recording here:
A wide range of topics: panel discussions, masterclasses, and meetups
In addition to the keynote, Shopware Community Day 2025 offered a diverse program across three stages. A total of 56 speakers presented 21 sessions, complemented by 12 masterclasses – on topics such as AI & Spatial Commerce, Affiliate Marketing, or Deployment – and 8 meetups, including Women in Tech, Accessibility, and AI.
On the Tech Stage, practical sessions for developers and technology partners took center stage, covering topics such as Headless Commerce or Vibe Coding. On the Commerce Stage, the focus was on concrete solutions for B2B and B2C – for example, RENO and the agency Brandung showcased how consistent digital transformation can succeed and how to put omnichannel strategies into practice. Read the case study
Some highlights from the Main Stage panels and sessions:
From cart to heart – building lovebrands with Shopware From transactions to real relationships: In this panel, Christina Skoeries (camel active), Astrid Reintjes (MissPompadour), and Nicole Taupp (DRYKORN) discussed how brands strengthen their communities and turn customers into loyal fans. The discussion was moderated by Laura Kremer.
B2B digital commerce – trends, challenges & how leaders are shaping the future Mark Casidsid (IDC), Laurien Jakobi (AGIQON), and Ludger Müller (STRACK NORMA) shared insights into the biggest challenges and opportunities in B2B. The discussion focused on trends such as AI and API-first architectures, success factors in change management, and the balance between automation and personal interaction.
Shopware Visionary Award For the first time in Shopware’s history, awards were presented to particularly innovative Shopware shops. Find out in this blog post who won and how the winners were selected.
TCO learnings from 100 Shopware customers Adriana Dzalbe and Corinna Pratt from Shopware analyzed 100 customer cases and identified the five most important learnings for reducing the total cost of ownership. Read the full blog post for details.
Many recordings from the Main Stage sessions will be made publicly available soon. Sign up for the newsletter now to make sure you don’t miss them.
Encounters, networking, and atmosphere
Not only the program itself was a highlight – equally important were the encounters and the vibrant atmosphere around Shopware Community Day. Between sessions, there was plenty of time for conversations, spontaneous networking, and reconnecting with familiar faces.
Visitors could stop by various info booths hosted by Shopware and its partners to learn more about topics such as UX or explore the new Shopware Community Hub. A variety of food trucks and drink stations kept everyone refreshed, and in the evening, the legendary aftershow party with Jan-Christian Zeller and DJane Daytona created an unforgettable atmosphere. To capture the special vibe of the day, we’ve put together a small photo gallery.
To wrap things up, we simply want to say thank you: for 25 years of ideas, courage, and community. We look forward to writing the next chapter of Shopware together with you – here’s to many more years of innovation and solidarity.
