More than 3,000 members of the global ecommerce community headed to Las Vegas to attend Magento Imagine 2018 this April.
With more than 150 speakers and 100 sessions on offer, the Magento Imagine 2018 event provided attendees with the chance to find out what is driving one of the leading eCommerce innovators on the planet.
Magento took the opportunity to announce new releases, partnerships and innovations at the event. Let’s take a look at some of the key announcements from the event and what benefits they might bring for you.
Create superb shopping experiences with Magento Commerce 2.2.4
Magento revealed the latest update to its Magento Commerce platform at Imagine 2018 – Magento Commerce 2.2.4.
Aimed at converting site visitors into customers and reducing cart abandonment, this latest version is designed to allow merchants to enhance the experience their shoppers have.
Benefits include faster image loading and quicker search results. Furthermore, over 200 community contributions have helped bring about a series of other quality enhancements.
Fulfilment processes have also been streamlined, with enhanced access to carriers, rates, and returns processing. This is available directly from Magento Admin with Magento Shipping.
Take advantage of enhanced payment and shipping options
Available within Magento Commerce 2.2.4, Magento Commerce announced a series of new integrations at Imagine 2018 to make it as easy as possible for site visitors to complete transactions.
By integrating with Amazon Pay and Klarna, Magento Commerce is aiming to speed up the checkout process and provide flexible terms around payment. The aim is to boost security, increase conversion rates and deliver the best shopping experience possible for customers.
And by integrating with Vertex, Magento Shipping is providing an enhanced customer experience during that final checkout process. Order price and shipping costs will now be automatically updated, helping to ensure there are no nasty surprises for the customer when it comes to completing their order.
Optimise for mobile with Magento Progressive Web Applications Studio
Consumers today are demanding an increasingly dynamic experience when it comes to shopping online. Easy-to-use websites that operate in ways that are familiar to them is the best way to ensure site visitors are consistently converted into customers.
Mobile commerce is on an upward trajectory, so to have an inefficient, unappealing eCommerce offering for mobile is not in your interest.
That’s why Magento has announced Progressive Web Applications (PWA) Studio. This suite of tools aims to make it easy for user to build an online store that operates like an app and provides visitors with an experience they’ll enjoy.
Magento PWA Studio brings together the best of website and mobile functionality, enabling the creation of an engaging eCommerce experience.
Key features include tools to personalise content and add local preferences, as well as an intuitive user experience and purpose-built developer tools aimed at boosting productivity.
Users can also create and oversee all channels and experiences via a single code base, while the studio’s modularised component architecture aims to drive opportunities for extension resellers.
An early adopter programme for Magento PWA Studio will be available this summer, so watch this space.
Teaming up with DHL
A further exciting announcement at Imagine was the news that Deutsche Post DHL Group has joined Magento Commerce as a Premier Partner.
The goal is to provide retailers with enhanced, flexible shipping options that will enable them to deliver top-level, end-to-end customer experiences.
Shipping is a major factor when it comes to purchase abandonment according to a recent study from eConsultancy, so it’s vital merchants offer fast, convenient shipping options to customers.
Magento and DHL are planning to integrate the full set of DHL shipping capabilities directly into the Magento Commerce platform in order to support joint partners as best they can.
Magento’s global ecosystem
Every year, Magento Imagine provides this thriving global community with a chance to discuss and learn more about the eCommerce opportunities Magento’s platform is delivering.
If you’re yet to make the positive move to Magento, Williams Commerce is ideally placed to provide the support and knowledge you need to enhance your eCommerce offering. Contact our team of experts to see how we can help you today.
