Shopify market metafields now break ties by market handle

Shopify has changed how it resolves conflicts between market metafields. When a buyer matches two or more equally specific markets that set the same metafield, Market.metafield and Market.metafields now return the value from the market with the lowest handle. Previously, the value that was updated most recently was returned.

The behavior change applies to the Storefront API, Liquid, and Function APIs on every API version. Shopify published the change in its release notes on November 13, 2026.

Why it matters

Stores with overlapping markets may see different metafield values than before, even though no code changed on the store’s side. Because the winner is now determined by handle rather than update time, editing a market’s metafield no longer changes which value a tied buyer receives. Any app or theme that assumes the most recent update wins may return unexpected results.

What to do

If your app or theme reads market metafields on a store with overlapping markets, check which value buyers receive in a tie. Review the full release notes and confirm the details on Shopify’s developer site before you change market handles or metafield logic.