WooCommerce 10.9: What’s coming for developers

Less checkout churn and lower database pressure

PRs: #64155, #64806, #64392, #64418, #65119, #65276.

WooCommerce 10.9 continues our strong focus on improving performance across stores. Changes to the checkout flow reduce unnecessary order state and avoiding repeat database work. The Store API no longer needs to create a persisted draft order during fresh-session GET and PATCH requests. Instead, draft order creation is deferred closer to place-order time, which reduces orphaned checkout draft rows for shoppers who never complete an order.

Related performance work reduces checkout saves and lookups, improves product filter SQL behavior, and reduces query volume on shop and admin product pages.

Streamlined Woo admin screens

PRs: #64353, #65110, #64885, #64643, #65298, #64265.

If you notice a cleaner look across the store admin, you’re not seeing things. Across the dashboard, the Woo admin header receives fresh polish and better alignment with the WordPress design system, smaller-screen dashboard states get targeted fixes and modals get a unified style across the admin.

The task list reminder bar has been removed from most Woo admin pages, but setup guidance is still available from the Woo dashboard and the activity panel.

Transactional email troubleshooting in core

PRs: #64491, #64859, #65247, #65371, #64820.

Previously, troubleshooting transactional emails often started with installing a separate email logging plugin or sending a new test email. WooCommerce now includes transactional email logging in core. Email attempts are visible in WooCommerce > Status > Logs, along with send outcomes and local failure reasons where available.

For more information, read our deep dive into the new transaction email logging.

Experimental and beta features

Thanks to the whirlwind of “Radical Speed Month” at Automattic, WooCommerce 10.9 comes chock-full of experimental and beta features. These represent many long-standing feature requests, nice-to-haves, and a good amount of necessary housekeeping.

Canonical WooCommerce abilities for products, orders, and extensions

PRs: #64606, #64425.

WooCommerce 10.9 introduces the first canonical WooCommerce domain abilities for product and order operations. These abilities describe WooCommerce capabilities such as querying products, creating or updating products, querying orders, updating order status, and adding order notes. Replacing the original WooCommerce MCP abilities that wrapped REST endpoints one-to-one, the new approach defines schema-backed business operations with permission checks, metadata, and clear read/write behavior.

Abilities give WooCommerce a transport-neutral contract that can be exposed through the WordPress Abilities API, WordPress MCP, admin tools, CLI workflows, automation systems, and future agent surfaces. Product and order abilities ship first, and the deprecated WooCommerce-specific MCP endpoint remains available as a transition path for existing integrations.

The same pattern is also expanding across WooCommerce extensions. Extension-owned abilities can expose read-only surfaces for data such as subscriptions, payment account details, shipping rules, product add-ons, gift cards, automation workflows, and marketing status. For a deeper look, read Introducing canonical WooCommerce abilities for products and orders and Expanding Abilities across WooCommerce Extensions.

Experimental product management and product editor v2 retirement

PRs: #65333, #65236, #65224, #65159, #65231, #64702, #64713.

The experimental product catalog editor continues to mature in WooCommerce 10.9. The release includes crash recovery, better drawer and URL state handling, more type-aware quick edit fields, product list refinements, and stronger variation editing. The broader direction for this work is covered in Reimagining catalog management, which explains the DataViews-based product list experiment and the feedback WooCommerce is looking for.

At the same time, block-based Product Editor beta and its extension APIs are deprecated ahead of planned removal in WooCommerce 11.0. Extension developers using those APIs should audit usage now and plan a migration path. The dedicated advisory, The product editor beta is being retired in WooCommerce 11.0, has the migration timeline and API audit guidance. Note that this has no effect on any product data or content in WooCommerce.

Variation image galleries

PRs: #64524, #65290, #65222.

Native variation image galleries are coming to WooCommerce 10.9, but the feature ships off by default behind the Variation gallery toggle in WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features. The roadmap post Bringing Variation Galleries into Core has the rollout plan, migration notes, and REST API background.

Visual attributes and color swatches

PRs #64324, #64541, #64685, #64694, #65169, #65180, #65216, #65260, #65347, #65432.

Visual attributes and color swatches are another feature-gated testing area. The wc-visual attribute type moves into WooCommerce feature settings, allowing merchants to create attributes whose terms can carry color or image data. This work now has a dedicated roadmap post: Introducing color swatches in WooCommerce core.

The related block work renders swatches in Product Filters, and Variation Selector. Store API responses keep visual-only fields scoped to visual attributes so non-visual attribute responses preserve their existing shape.

Shopper collections: wishlist and save for later

PR: #65263.

The shopper collections branch introduces saved for later in cart, wishlist under My Account, blocks for rendering and interaction, Store API support at /wc/store/v1/shopper-lists/, and programmatic APIs through ShopperList and ShopperListItem.

Shopper collections are still in early development, so test accordingly.

Block-based email editor template updates

PRs: #64450, #64484, #64497, #64547, #64675, #64716, #64759, #64817.

The block-based email editor continues to mature, now tackling the issue of email template updates and user overrides. The editor can now detect core template updates and help merchants apply those updates without wiping customizations. This release also includes auto-apply behavior for unmodified templates, update indicators in the email list and editor, a change-summary endpoint, selective apply, undo, and a three-way diff for customized templates.

Back In Stock notifications

PRs: #64329, #64348, #65207.

Back In Stock notification work remains in early alpha and is currently gated by WOOCOMMERCE_BIS_ALPHA_ENABLED. In 10.9, verification and confirmation email flows are wired, and there have been some updates around reliability and testing.

Customer review request

PRs: #64906, #64960, #64984.

The customer review request email and related page template receive a few updates since their experimental addition in WooCommerce 10.8. The feature is available behind the customer_review_request feature flag or by enabling via WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features.

Experimental dual API and GraphQL infrastructure

PRs: #65151, #64647, #65235, #64596, #65259.

WooCommerce 10.9 introduces an experimental dual API and GraphQL infrastructure for developers testing on PHP 8.1 or newer. The basic idea is to define an authoritative code API in PHP classes, then generate a matching GraphQL API from those classes during development. Executable classes become queries and mutations, while DTOs become input and output types.

In core, the initial API is limited to products and coupons and should be treated as a proof of concept. The infrastructure is more broadly interesting for extension developers because plugins can define their own PHP API classes, generate GraphQL support, and register a GraphQL endpoint using WooCommerce’s provided utilities.

For more information, read Introducing the WooCommerce dual API.