Voice Search in eCommerce
For any business at present, online presence is of utmost importance. Advancement in the field of Artificial Intelligence has made things quite easy on the managers’ end. To retain or manage customer queries, issues, and other particulars, we see chatbots, automated ordering system, and much more. For online shoppers, convenience is of the highest priority. In providing convenience to the customers, voice search is gaining popularity each day. All one needs to do is say what the user wants to be searched or looked for; the smartphone does rest of the job.
Why is Voice Search Highly-Demanded?
In the United States alone, more than 40% of adults and teenagers use voice search regularly. When asked about the reason, the answer is convenience and simplicity. Thanks to having a smartphone for every individual voice search facility is available all the time for its users. The reason why users prefer voice search in the field of eCommerce is they don’t face any difficulty in usage. The voice recognition is accurate; around 95% of the time and understands more than 100 languages. Other than smartphones, voice search features are now expanding in home appliances, computers, tablets, and other electronic devices. As you can see from the chart below, voice search is highly-demanded and will be the next most used technology among the Internet and electronic devices users.
How Does Voice Search Work?
From a user’s end, voice search works in the blink of an eye. You have to tap in the voice search button, say what you are looking for, and the voice search assistant will perform the task for you based on your instructions. As far as the back-end work is concerned, the assistant recognizes the speech and comes up with possible outcomes for the speech.
Voice Search Trends
Recent voice search trends suggest that two years from now, voice search will be the preferred mode of online search for more than 50 percent of the users. This is a great opportunity for marketers to utilize voice search features to tap into a more significant customer segment.
The growth of voice search usage. To keep up with the increasing demand for voice search usage, the speech recognition market will triple its growth within the next five years. Data collection and storage has become more accessible than ever before. Convenience and ease of use facilitated the increasing voice search usage.
Better consumer experience. The stats on Voice Search 2018 shows that this feature for eCommerce helps to build better customer experience. The younger populace is opting to voice search more compared to the adults, and they are the main target group in the eCommerce sector. The customers prefer voice search for seeking online information since they can multitask through this.
Useful for you:
Impact on commerce. The idea of online purchase came into being to provide convenience and the fact that people are unwilling to put in time and effort to go a store and search manually for a product. For online purchase before, users had to type what they wanted and thus needed to provide full concentration there. Now customers can simply focus on the task that they are doing and order voice search assistant to do the job for them.
Advantages of Voice Search
As already mentioned before, the number of users opting to voice search is on the rise. This means using voice search will hold on to more customers. In short here is the list of voice search advantages:
- simplicity;
- customer’s loyalty;
- better conversion results;
- advanced navigation through the website.
Regarding customer satisfaction, the consumers prefer talking about the product rather than typing about it. Therefore, the chances of marketing techniques and tools driving into sales become higher due to the use of voice search. Let’s move on to the tools and devices that help businesses and customers to use voice search technology.
Voice Search Assistants
Voice Search assistants are in literal terms your assistant for seeking online information or purchasing a product. You make a purchase decision by talking to a bot. This is more of a conversation than typing what you need. In simple terms, you will speak something; the assistant will recognize it and provide you with an answer verbally.
Voice Search Market Leaders
First mover advantage and brand recognition worked behind making the following market leaders in voice search.
Google Assistant
Google assistant can recognize your voice and perform the task being asked on the tap of a button. It can also provide reference information when asked for it.
Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo has started the journey in 2014. In simple terms, this voice search performs the command as per the instructions of its users. This is an excellent example of a personalized voice search.
Siri
Siri is made for iOS users. This is more of a conversation tool other than merely voice search. Siri will answer queries, provide recommendations, and understand the user choices after a period of usage.
Cortana
Cortana is a product of Microsoft. This voice search is expanding in android and hopes to come with an iOS version as well.
Mobile Devices and Voice Search
According to Statista, 31% of smartphone users worldwide use voice tech at least once a week. The overall number of search queries isn’t significant; however, it tends to be growing for the last 2 years.
The first question that app or website owner should ask is the following: In which situation, people are more likely to use voice commands instead of typing the question? Stone Temple Consulting carried out the research which shows that in 2019, people tend to use voice search at home alone, with friends or at the office alone – 30% to 60% respectively. There are even more places and situations where people can use any voice assistant, and this is good news for those who want to add voice search in their projects. Now, let’s move on to the voice search strategy for a business.
A Baseline for Voice Search Strategy
As a voice search was introduced by Google, we can make a conclusion that SEO optimization is the upmost point in building the voice search strategy. The second point is how voice search is performed on different devices: whether these are voice assistants like Siri on iPhone or Google Smart Speaker, they all have one thing in common. Voice assistants respond to the questions with a snippet that reflects the “featured snippet” on mobile and desktop results 41% of the time. Only the top search results reach the customers for every 2 or five queries, or a few answers outside the top results, but rarely.
How to Improve Search Results?
- Target different queries for your product/service. You can use services like Answer the Public, or Google first queries to get the most popular questions.
- Keep answers short. Make a limit of answers under 30 words. This will help you to reach higher positions in queries.
- Increase your pages’ speed. Page speed is crucial not only for a customer but for voice assistants, as the average page with voice search result loads in 4.6 seconds. Thus you need to control and optimize your website speed.
- Use https to appear higher on Google’s search results. According to Backlinko statistics, voice search results from websites that use https appear on Google’s first page on 70.4% more than other websites. Also, https make your site secure from man-in-the-middle attacks.
For better user experience, voice search is going to be a useful tool for improving store results. With the speech recognition facility, even a child can look for options online simply by speaking what it wants. People who have a functional disability to type what they want will be able to use search by voice feature for conveniently seeking online information.
As we work quite a lot with Magento-based stores, we want to give you some options on how to implement the voice search in your Magento 2 store.
Choose Voice Search Extension For Magento® 2 Store
At present, Magento 2 Store provides two voice search extensions. The increasing demand suggests that the scope will expand further.
Search by Voice
Search by voice possesses the quintessential characteristics of a voice search. It recognizes the speech and performs the task assigned to it. The task is mostly limited to searching the sites or places; the customer is looking for. It is compatible with Magento 2.1- 2.2 Community edition.
Voice Search by Emipro
This extension is available for Magento 2.1 – 2.2 Community or Open Source editions. It gives you an opportunity to add Voice assistant and supports multiple languages with the current language of the store. However, this extension is compatible only for the Chrome browser. The price is $50 for the 12-month support.
These are the two most known tools to implement voice search in your Magento store. However, many extensions and devices have voice search, and for sure, there will be more options for Magento store owners soon.
Magento 2.2.4 Core Bug: Saving Store-View Design Configuration Changes
Magento® released its update to 2.2.4, and a problem has been identified on Magento sites. When administrators tried to edit any design configuration parameter (Content/Design/Configuration), changes could not be saved, and administrators were shown the following error: “Something went wrong while saving this configuration: Area is already set.” We had to identify the reason for this error and fix it.
Let’s consider the entire sequential process of solving this problem.
Problem: Error When Editing Design Configuration for Store View
We checked the Magento log to examine the error, where it was recorded in the following form:
[2018-05-14 09:20:16] main.CRITICAL: Exception message: Area is already set Trace: #0 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Model/Design/Config/Validator.php(117): Magento\Email\Model\AbstractTemplate->setForcedArea('design_email_he...') #1 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Model/Design/Config/Validator.php(68): Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator->getTemplateText('design_email_he...', Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #2 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Model/DesignConfigRepository.php(91): Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator->validate(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #3 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(58): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository->save(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #4 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(138): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->___callParent('save', Array) #5 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(153): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #6 /var/www/zenzii_beta/generated/code/Magento/Theme/Model/DesignConfigRepository/Interceptor.php(26): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->___callPlugins('save', Array, Array) #7 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Controller/Adminhtml/Design/Config/Save.php(75): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->save(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #8 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/Action/Action.php(107): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save->execute() #9 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-backend/App/AbstractAction.php(229): Magento\Framework\App\Action\Action->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #10 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(58): Magento\Backend\App\AbstractAction->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #11 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(138): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->___callParent('dispatch', Array) #12 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-backend/App/Action/Plugin/Authentication.php(143): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #13 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(135): Magento\Backend\App\Action\Plugin\Authentication->aroundDispatch(Object(Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor), Object(Closure), Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #14 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(153): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #15 /var/www/zenzii_beta/generated/code/Magento/Theme/Controller/Adminhtml/Design/Config/Save/Interceptor.php(26): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->___callPlugins('dispatch', Array, NULL) #16 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/FrontController.php(55): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #17 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(58): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #18 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(138): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->___callParent('dispatch', Array) #19 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(153): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #20 /var/www/zenzii_beta/generated/code/Magento/Framework/App/FrontController/Interceptor.php(26): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->___callPlugins('dispatch', Array, Array) #21 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/Http.php(135): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #22 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/Bootstrap.php(256): Magento\Framework\App\Http->launch() #23 /var/www/zenzii_beta/index.php(39): Magento\Framework\App\Bootstrap->run(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Http\Interceptor)) #24 {main} [] []It was found that this error occurred in the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class in the getTemplateText method.
Let’s look at this method:
private function getTemplateText($templateId,
DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)
{
//
Load template object by configured template id
$template = $this->templateFactory->create();
$template->emulateDesign($this->getScopeId($designConfig));
if (is_numeric($templateId)) {
$template->load($templateId);
} else {
$template->setForcedArea($templateId);
$template->loadDefault($templateId);
}
$text = $template->getTemplateText();
$template->revertDesign();
return $text;
}The following line causes the error:
$template->setForcedArea($templateId)We analyzed the cause. The $template is the object of Magento\Email\Model\Template class. The setForcedArea method is specified in its parent Magento\Email\Model\AbstractTemplate and looks like as follows:
public function setForcedArea($templateId)
{
if ($this->area) {
throw new \LogicException(__('Area is already set'));
}
$this->area = $this->emailConfig->getTemplateArea($templateId);
return $this;
}As you can see, the method throws an exception if the class variable “area” already has a value at the time of the call. It remains for us to find out which method it was set in. Based on the code of the getTemplateText method, we know that it could be either a constructor or the emulateDesign method.
Let’s analyze the code of the latter:
/**
* Get design configuration data
*
* @return DataObject
*/
public function getDesignConfig()
{
if ($this->designConfig === null) {
if ($this->area === null) {
$this->area = $this->design->getArea();
}
if ($this->store === null) {
$this->store = $this->storeManager->getStore()->getId();
}
$this->designConfig = new DataObject( ['area' => $this->area, 'store' => $this->store] );
}
return $this->designConfig;
}
/**
* Initialize design information for template processing
*
* @param array $config
* @return $this
* @throws LocalizedException
*/
public function setDesignConfig(array $config)
{
if (!isset($config['area']) || !isset($config['store'])) {
throw new LocalizedException(__('Design config must have area and store.'));
}
$this->getDesignConfig()->setData($config);
return $this;
}
…
public function emulateDesign($storeId, $area = self::DEFAULT_DESIGN_AREA)
{
if ($storeId !== null && $storeId !== false) {
// save current design settings
$this->emulatedDesignConfig = clone $this->getDesignConfig();
if ($this->getDesignConfig()->getStore() != $storeId || $this->getDesignConfig()->getArea() != $area ) {
$this->setDesignConfig(['area' => $area, 'store' => $storeId]);
$this->applyDesignConfig();
}
} else {
$this->emulatedDesignConfig = false;
}
}As you can see, emulateDesign is always called with the parameter area = “frontend” and at the same time, it calls the getDesignConfig method, which sets the “area” variable, leading to an error in setForcedArea. We can only guess why Magento developers added the call of the setForcedArea method in version 2.2.4. In version 2.2.3, this method was not called in the design configuration class validator.
Solution Using the Customization of the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator Class
Two problems arose when trying to solve the problem with the getTemplateText method code. First, the getTemplateText method of the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class is private. This means that it’s not possible to rewrite it using the “around” plugin. Furthermore, the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class contains only one public method besides the constructor, and the rest are private.
Secondly, the object of the class is initialized in the Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository class using the object manager in a private method. If it was passed as a parameter to the constructor, then the class would be replaced at the constructor level using the dependency injection. But because it cannot be redefined that way, all that’s left is to completely rewrite the class and replace it using “preference.” This is an extremely undesirable method for customizing Magento 2, but in this case, due to the above-mentioned reasons, this is the only possible method.
That’s why we redefine the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class in di.xml and implement it:
<preference
for="Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator"
type="Web4pro\All\Model\Design\Config\Validator"/>class Validator extends \Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator
{
/**
* @var string[]
*/
protected $fields = [];
/**
* @var TemplateFactory
*/
protected $templateFactory;
/**
* Initialize dependencies.
*
* @param TemplateFactory $templateFactory
* @param string[] $fields
*/
public function __construct(TemplateFactory $templateFactory, $fields = [])
{
$this->templateFactory = $templateFactory;
$this->fields = $fields;
parent::__construct($templateFactory,$fields);
}
/**
* Validate if design configuration has recursive references
*
* @param DesignConfigInterface $designConfig
*
* @throws LocalizedException
* @return void
*/
public function validate(DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)
{
/**
* @var DesignConfigDataInterface[] $designConfigData
*/
$designConfigData = $designConfig->getExtensionAttributes()->getDesignConfigData();
$elements = [];
foreach ($designConfigData as $designElement) {
if (!in_array($designElement->getFieldConfig()['field'], $this->fields)) {
continue;
}
/* Save mapping between field names and config paths */
$elements[$designElement->getFieldConfig()['field']] = [ 'config_path' => $designElement->getPath(), 'value' => $designElement->getValue() ];
}
foreach ($elements as $name => $data) {
$templateId = $data['value'];
$text = $this->getTemplateText($templateId, $designConfig);
// Check if template body has a reference to the same config path
if (preg_match_all(Template::CONSTRUCTION_TEMPLATE_PATTERN, $text, $constructions, PREG_SET_ORDER)) {
foreach ($constructions as $construction) {
$configPath = isset($construction[2]) ? $construction[2] : '';
$params = $this->getParameters($configPath);
if (isset($params['config_path']) && $params['config_path'] == $data['config_path']) {
throw new LocalizedException( __( "The %templateName contains an incorrect configuration. The template has " . "a reference to itself. Either remove or change the reference.", ["templateName" => $name]
)
);
};
}
}
}
}
/**
* Returns store identifier if is store scope
*
* @param DesignConfigInterface $designConfig
* @return string|bool
*/
protected function getScopeId(DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)
{
if ($designConfig->getScope() == 'stores') {
return $designConfig->getScopeId();
}
return false;
}
/**
* Load template text in configured scope
*
* @param integer|string $templateId
* @param DesignConfigInterface $designConfig
* @return string
*/
protected function getTemplateText($templateId, DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)
{
// Load template object by configured template id
$template = $this->templateFactory->create();
$template->emulateDesign($this->getScopeId($designConfig));
if (is_numeric($templateId)) {
$template->load($templateId);
} else {
$template->loadDefault($templateId);
}
$text = $template->getTemplateText();
$template->revertDesign();
return $text;
}
/**
* Return associative array of parameters.
*
* @param string $value raw parameters
* @return array
*/
protected function getParameters($value)
{
$tokenizer = new ParameterTokenizer();
$tokenizer->setString($value);
$params = $tokenizer->tokenize();
return $params;
}
}After that customization, it was possible to successfully save the design configuration. It was far from ideal to have to completely redefine all the methods just to remove one line that contains errors, simply because Magento made them private. In turn, our developer made the methods “protected.” If someone has to fix something in the validator class, then they will be able to inherit it from its class by creating a new class.
Features of Social Commerce for eCommerce Business
Social media has become an essential aspect of the modern world. Our social networks shape our interaction and opinions. With social commerce, this extends into our shopping habits and behavior as well. There are many beneficial features of social commerce. These include group shopping and shopping communities that bring together like-minded consumers. This social approach to commerce enhances the customer experience. Social commerce also offers features like mobile payments and bill splitting.
How Do We Define Social Commerce?
Social commerce is the blending of social networks with eCommerce. Social networks offer participants the opportunity to present and like posts. When combined with eCommerce, customers gain the option to buy. It is a natural step in the evolution of social networks.
Customers can share products and receive recommendations. Social commerce makes use of discussions, recommendations, votes, and influencers. Customers can discuss shopping decisions, receive group discounts, and recommend products or services to friends. This makes the online shopping experience more like offline shopping.
Impact of Social Commerce on the Buying Decisions
Social commerce influences the decision to buy in many ways. Recent studies show that trust, quality of information, and perceived usefulness are essential to the buying process. Trust is the most crucial factor and the best predictor for consumer purchasing. Comments, recommendations, and ratings are important for larger purchases.
Social networks create a trust for eCommerce production lines. They provide a forum for sharing customer reviews. This lets the consumer feel that the information is high-quality and useful. For more details on the impact of social commerce on buyer’s decisions check out this survey.
Future of Social Commerce
At this point, many consumers are still resistant to online purchases. But, eCommerce trends have been on the rise. Social media referrals to eCommerce websites more than doubled between 2014 and 2015. This trend has been growing steadily since this time.
The current generation has grown up with the Internet and social media. Information received through these channels is now seen as reliable. Social networking sites have kept up with this trend. Many now include “buy now” buttons, shopping platforms, and payment options. In the coming decade, social commerce activity is expected to grow to a level rivaling traditional shopping methods.
Benefits of Social Commerce
Shopping has been a forum for social networking since long before we developed the internet. As our mediums for social networking expand, they offer more ways to connect and share. In turn, we have more ways to expand this interaction to the shopping experience.
Social networking provides many added benefits. It allows consumers to connect with those who share their shopping habits and preferences. Social commerce lets the customer become an active participant. It also lets companies personify their brands. Consumers can receive personal recommendations from friends with similar interests. Finally, personal experience and reviews make consumers more comfortable with buying. This increases engagement and the likelihood of purchase.
Social Commerce Trends
As social commerce continues to explode into the consumer world, there are several trends that are leading market growth in 2018. One of the most powerful is the Facebook social commerce tool. Facebook messenger is one of the most widely-used messenger systems, including more than 1.3 billion users. Recently, Messenger has partnered with third-party software providers. This allows customers to integrate eCommerce activities with their messenger platform. Purchasing through the Facebook account makes transactions hassle-free.
Other trends include the use of chatbots, live-streaming videos, and influencers. Chatbots give the customer the same kind of experience they might have if they were talking to a real person, making them feel more valued. Plus, they have the highest approval rating of all customer engagement tools.
A live-streaming video is also on the rise, and more companies are using this medium to sell products every day.
Finally, influencers can speak to their customers in real time. This offers a unique opportunity to engage and monetize their audience. These trends make it easier than ever for entrepreneurs to enter the field of eCommerce.
eCommerce Through Social Media
Social media allows businesses to direct consumers towards deals and new products. It also allows a business to engage with customers and create a shopping community. Social commerce helps companies to retain customers and provide greater customer care. It facilitates personal engagement.
Social networking allows a company to bring attention to an eCommerce storefront. Plus, it’s simple. Consumers can share the interest with no more than the click of an icon. It also lets customers and companies share high-quality photographs to showcase products.
Social networks
Social media lets consumers share experiences, pictures, and ideas. They allow people to connect and communicate with one another. This is where social media and commerce come together. Commerce is social. Brands connect with people, and people are interacting with online shops and their products. Social commerce takes out the extra steps. It makes eCommerce as social as offline shopping.
Content and Social Sharing
For user engagement, content is king. Websites provide valuable content to their consumers, increasing engagement and attracting customer attention. Social networks are amazing mediums for collecting content from users. New users can read reviews and gain trust about the product and company that sells it. The key here is trust, the most important factor in consumer purchasing. More trust means a greater likelihood that potential clients will buy a product.
Online Reviews
As mentioned above, reviews bring in more customer confidence. This is more important for higher-cost purchases like computers and electronics. Customers don’t need to rely so heavily on online reviews when buying small things like books or kitchen products. However, major purposes require a bit more consideration and greater confidence. Essentially, online user reviews are a form of advertisement. Plus, consumers view them with greater attention than company-issued advertisements. They receive honest product feedback and then expect to experience similar results.
The Power of Social Commerce
Social commerce is one of the most powerful trends in eCommerce. It uses the popularity of social networking to gain product recognition. Plus, customers receive unbiased feedback about products and services.
Features of social commerce include group shopping and community engagement in commerce. It provides a platform for personal recommendations and reviews. Social commerce is the future of eCommerce. It has expanded steadily in the last decade and continues to pick up momentum as social networking evolves.
Magento 2 Marketing Features: How to Attract Potential Customers
Anyone who has an eCommerce company knows how important it is to invest in marketing; that said, it can be difficult to know where to start. In our below guide, we’ll discuss our top Magento® 2 marketing features. By using these tips, you can attract more potential customers and generate more conversions in the process.
General Magento 2 Marketing Features
Before we get to know how to implement marketing strategies effectively, let’s first discuss which marketing features are available in Magento.
Marketing Tools
Magento has plenty of marketing tools to offer; including:
- Up-Selling and Cross-Selling
- Pricing Rules Feature
- Coupons and Other Discounts
- Landing Page for Categories
- Items Promotional Tool
- Product Management
- Newsletter Management
Useful for you:
For more information about these Magento marketing tools, read below.
Up-Selling and Cross-Selling
Many are turning toward up-selling and cross-selling to generate more potential clients. Basically, eCommerce owners use up-selling to promote items that are similar and more expensive. Cross-selling, on the other hand, suggests related items that can complement or complete a set in your cart. By doing this, business owners can get potential customers to add items to their carts and to spend more.
Pricing Rules
Magento eCommerce business owners use pricing rules to attract potential customers. They offer smaller prices on items that are bought in bulk. That means instead of paying $3 per item; a customer might buy the same product at $2 or $2,50 if a certain number of items are bought. This will also help to increase your sales and to pay your customer’s attention to specific products.
Coupons and Other Discounts
Everyone loves a good discount. That’s why merchants know that the way to attract new customers is to provide them with a discount or coupon. Using coupons and discounts during a specific period will give potential customers a sense of urgency, and they’ll be more likely to buy your products.
Landing Pages for Categories
Landing pages allow merchants to use customizable URLs, search engine optimization, etc. This feature targets potential customers so when they search for specific topics, sales, and your landing pages are more likely to appear.
Most merchants include “On Sale” sections, where items at discounted prices are displayed. This is where people who want to save money will go first, and using these pages is one of the most useful tools you can use. They expand your reach and generate conversions.
Items Promotional Tool
Promoting items will be quite useful for anyone who needs to attract customers. Item promotion uses images and search engine optimization to ensure that the products you want to be shown are displayed on the specific page.
This is a useful method of marketing because you can:
- customize coupons;
- use long-lasting shopping carts;
- quantity discounts.
Working With Products
One of the best things to do when you’re trying to generate more customers is to work with your products. By managing your products properly, they’ll be easy to access. This attracts people more than anything else because your customers don’t want to search for products endlessly; they want to find your products so they can check out quickly.
Newsletter Management
This Magento multi-level marketing tool is known for reminding customers of their existing carts and which products they might be interested in. You can use newsletters to let your potential customers know about what’s new in your store and about which sales you have coming up. Simply reminding people about your presence will ensure that you generate more conversions for your store.
New Features of Marketing in Magento Community Edition
Now that you know about the basic Magento 2 marketing features, we can move onto Magento functionality and its benefits for your store.
Admin Panel Features
First, we’re going to discuss Magento admin panel features that you can use for your business demand.
CMS System
The acronym CMS stands for the enhanced content management system. With the new features in this category, Magento allows merchants to built their content pages easily. These pages are built with WYSIWYG that helps eCommerce owners to do the following:
- add content;
- insert menus and page hierarchy;
- control who publishes content.
Automated Email Reminders
This is one of the most effective ways to deal with customers who have left their carts empty. Merchants know that the abandoned items interest the potential customer. That is why they should consider the ways how to remind customers about the remaining products and also suggest other items. Automated email reminders can be compared to the little follow-up that tells them to buy a product. For anyone who’s looking for Magento marketing features, this might be one of your safer bets.
Useful for you:
Shopping Assistance
Assisted shopping is a bonus for anyone in the eCommerce world. Shopping assistance involves real-life people who aid customers in their shopping adventures. It can be controlled right from the admin panel, which makes it lightweight and manageable for anyone.
Customized Product Settings
You want to ensure that every product attracts a certain kind of client; because of this, merchants are learning the importance of customized product settings. This allows complete control from the merchant and for the recipient.
Private Sales Event
Private sales are like the name suggests: they’re sales which are specifically held for a selected group of people at a certain time. Invitations are usually sent personally which is the most popular trend in eCommerce this year. It provides potential customers with a sense of belonging; thereby, encouraging them to buy from this vendor.
Full Page Caching
Cache involves the personal information of customers and potential customers. When pages have access to full-page caches, they’re able to target pages toward specific individuals. Caching allows merchants to know about which products are most searched for and which are working best for the site; thereby, allowing them to focus on the ones that are most valuable.
Advanced Roles
Magento 2 allows eCommerce owners to create several sites from the same administration page. Advanced roles also allow administrators to view all actions that have been taken from these sites; giving complete control to merchants.
Better Security
We live in a society that stresses internet security more than ever before. With so many people saving their credit card and baking information on the web, many customers are happy to know that Magento 2 is proven to be a completely safe way to shop online.
Reward Points
Reward points are used for customers and potential clients around the world. Usually, these reward programs will offer customers some discounts or presents instead of points they gained when they buy certain products. This is an excellent way to attract customers to your store.
Attribute Management
Attribute management essentially helps merchants describe the characteristics of their products. The attributes of your products are values that describe your products. An example of this is the word “color” or “size.”
Customer Credit
You can provide customer credit in a variety of ways: you can decide to accept donations and provide potential customers with credit in exchange. This is a great method for anyone who wants to maintain their inventories while attracting more people. Customer credit is awarded to the customer(s) in question at checkout to make their cart(s) less expensive.
Best Magento Instagram Free Extension in 2019
Social media is necessary for any business that wants to perform its best, which is why so many eCommerce businesses are turning toward media for higher conversions. Instagram is one of the most prominent forms of social media, which might lead you to the question what the best Magento® Instagram free extension is.
Why is Social Media Presence Important for eCommerce?
More than a third of the world’s population is on social media. Using social media expands the reach of eCommerce businesses and owners. By using social media, you’re allowing more people to have access to your site than you would otherwise.
Not only this, but word-to-mouth is more effective on social media. When someone with hundreds of Instagram followers shares your products, you’re more likely to have people visit your site.
Anyone who’s signed up for Facebook has decided to provide the social media giant with their personal information. In doing so, they’ve helped to create one of the best marketing methods in the digital age.
Useful for you:
By having access to this information, organizations can tailor the feed of individuals so that advertisements work for those are more likely to buy specific products. If you’re a person who enjoys reading about sports and who follows several pages on just that, you’re more likely to see extensions about sports.
This form of marketing is different than any that have appeared in the past. That’s because while ads have always been used and popular, the marketing techniques on your television or your computer did not use your personal information.
Because these marketing techniques didn’t have access to as much of your personal information, they didn’t have the resources to get information about their customers. Without social media, it’s much harder to get ahold of phone numbers, preferences, and addresses.
Choose Your Magento Instagram Free Extension
If you want to choose your Magento Instagram extension, you’ll have to know what you’re looking for. The section below will show you the following extensions:
- Instagram Feed Plugin on Magento by POWr
- Free Responsive Magento 2 Module by Magnetech
- Magento 2 Instagram Integration by MageComp
- Instagram Feed Widget by Technology Mindz
- Magento Instagram Extension by eGrove Systems
These extensions allow you to incorporate your Instagram feed into your eCommerce business. With it, your Instagram followers can see everything that your store is up to and your Instagram visitors can access your store easily.
Useful for you:
Instagram Feed Plugin on Magento by POWr
This extension allows you to install your Instagram account right on your Magento store. Match your plugin’s colors to those of your site and to place your Instagram feed wherever you want on your eCommerce website. Installing your Instagram feed on your website increases your chances of ranking higher in search engines. It also provides your Instagram followers with access to your eCommerce website.
You can start using this extension by free and then extend additional features with a package price.
The best parts about using this advanced Magento Instagram extension can be found below:
- Free
- No coding
- Mobile-friendly
Free Responsive Magento 2 Module by Magentech
This Magento extension uses a grid layout to showcase the images on your Instagram feed. The addon also features pop-up images and a single admin page to help you manage your feed.
This addon is compatible with many Internet browsers; including, Firefox 2 , Safari, Chrome, etc. It is absolutely free which will be as a benefit and great to try it out.
Since this Magento extension is entirely customizable, so you can cause it to perform as much as you need it to. With it, you can:
- Set Instagram users
- Access tokens
- Support responsive layouts
Magento 2 Instagram Integration by MageComp
Instagram is a tool for anyone who enjoys sharing their images and videos with the world. By installing this addon, business owners can increase their visibility. Because of how many people use Instagram, pictures and videos from a given company will appear in the feeds of those that might be interested.
The basic community edition of this product is entirely free. That said, you can decide whether you want to upgrade your extension for the premium version for more money.
With Magento 2 Instagram Integration, you’re able to:
- Share content with hashtags
- Enable and disable extensions
- Approve posts
Instagram Feed Widget by Technology Mindz
The major benefit of this tool is that you can install your content on every post or page. This allows owners complete control and flexibility over what appears on their websites. You can limit the number of items that are shown on your page. For anyone who might be worried about the speed of the pages, this doesn’t have too much of an effect on your load time.
The community edition of this Magento 2 extension is inexpensive (currently costs $34), which makes it appealing to many in the eCommerce field. Instagram Feed Widget uses, as the name suggests, a widget to link an Instagram feed to an eCommerce website.
The benefits of using this extension include:
- Install content on every post or page
- Complete control over websites
- Limit the number of items on your page
Magento Instagram Extension by eGrove Systems
The interface of this extension is easy-to-use and very useful, which is one of the reasons why eCommerce business owners love it. Nowadays, business owners don’t want to have a website that needs to be reprogrammed and continuously retouched; instead, they want to ensure that they can use it whenever they need to. If you’re one of these people, consider installing the extension.
You can find this extension in several Magento versions. You can pay for six months worth of support and an initial installation fee.
Here’s a list of everything you can do with this extension:
- Limit the number of photos shown on your site
- Send emails or thoughts to customers
- Connect easily with your customers
How to Increase Sales with Friendly Interface – A Sight for Sore Eyes
When deciding on buying online, we always want it to be convenient – no one wants to forge through endless pages and waste time. A clumsy interface is one of the most important reasons for users to leave the website. Well, it is easy to say how vital interface is, but there should be tips on how to make it better. So, let’s find out what should you pay attention to in your store and how to increase online sales with these tips.
Does Your Navigation Safes from Getting Lost?
Imagine you have come to a shop to buy a fiction book, but instead of getting straight to the fiction section, you get lost among endless poorly organized shelves without any information signs. That’s poor navigation.
Navigation in a web store is as important as it is in a real one. When customers are unable to find the desired thing, they leave the shop with a deep feeling of sadness for wasted time and efforts. On the contrary, convenient navigation will keep users satisfied and help them in buying.
In its turn, navigation is the issue too complicated to be considered in one piece, so it is better to divide the issue into several parts and examine them solely:
Search
Many people already know what they need and want to find the particular item quickly and easily. Provide them with a direct path to it. The traditional yet efficient solution is to add a search bar in the upper part of the website – the most expected place for it.
To make search even more comfortable, you can add autocomplete. Some users don’t know the exact name and the offered variants will help them. There is also an issue of spelling errors, so take it into account as well.
Convenient Filters
Some users don’t have a solid vision of the item they need, but they have some specifications. Let them narrow their search by applying filters. It will release your clients from scanning an enormous amount of goods they don’t need and drive them right to the point they find interesting.
Sitemap
Sometimes it is easier for a customer to see all the pages your website has and then choose the one that has drawn his or her attention. A site map will be the best solution here. Just put a link to it on every page and by that reduce the searching time of your clients.
Go to Section and Scroll Up
No one likes much scrolling. But it is inevitable if you have products with a huge description and lots of sections. So don’t forget that after reading all of it, clients will have to return to the upper part, where the functionality is located.
Allow your users to jump to the start with one click using an extension like, for example, Scroll Up. Ease their pain and give them a little table of content with clickable links at the beginning of the text just like Wikipedia does:
Benefits of Mobile Optimization
Mobile eCommerce is rapidly growing each year. According to the OuterBox research, in 2018 62% of phone users have purchased something with their devices. However, the more interesting fact is that 84% have faced some troubles during the mobile purchase. It shows that for now, show owners don’t pay much attention to the mobile platform, underestimating its value.
Don’t make the same mistake. New clients may appear only because of smartphone optimization. However, to have a high and stable conversion rate, it is better to have the mobile version working correctly. Luckily, Magento® 2 has some means for essential responsiveness like SEO optimization and easily adjusted interface to any screen.
Do You Suffer from Shopping Cart Abandonment?
Customers are fickle folks. Even having all the desired products in the cart, they can still change their mind and leave without buying. This is usual practice – according to SaleCycle, a bit more than 75% of all the carts are abandoned. Moreover, the reasons for it lie in the interface. Here is the table with quickly from the Barilliance research.
Main Reasons for Cart Abandonment in the USA
| Reason | Percentage of abandonment |
| No express shipping | 4% |
| No coupon code | 8% |
| Difficult checkout | 9% |
| Not sure about payment security | 15% |
| Will buy later | 17% |
| Have to create another account | 22% |
| Unexpected shipping costs | 25% |
There are many issues. But when you think of them, you realize that some of them may be resolved. So, let’s see the possible ways out.
Improve Shipping Methods
It’s hard, but various shipping methods offer new opportunities. Not all the people are ready for customer pickup, and lots of them will pay for convenience. Add this convenience in their life with express shipping and enlarge your interface. Even more, some users prefer to have products of a single cart to be delivered to different addresses. Though vanilla Magento doesn’t have such an option, you can add it with, for example, Extended Table Rate Shipping extension.
Give Folks a Coupon
Not just for nothing, of course. But a little bonus for a huge purchase or on the particular date will give you more credibility and make your customers more loyal. Or you can excellently greet them a happy birthday and present a slight discount coupon. If you do not tend to follow all the users’ birthday manually, you can install an extension like Birthday Coupon.
Simplify the Checkout System
A list with lots of lines to fill in is a challenge for a client. Just do it simply and remove all the unnecessary questions, like mother’s maiden name and hobbies. It is possible to place an order without this information indeed. One step checkout will help here as well.
Make Users Feel Secure
Search for security is vital for all of us in all the spheres of life, what to tell about payments. Improve your general store security by adding advanced password settings, password authentication, and encrypted connections (SSL is meant). Frequent Magento updates with security patches are also great. Still, to have all the possible tools for security improvement, it is better to have a security extension, like Security Suite instead of check all the issues manually by yourself.
Remind Them About Their Cart
It is not a problem if they decide to buy something later. It is a problem when they forget about it. Remind them of you with a cart abandonment email. If sent within a short period (up to three hours) it even can convince clients to buy the items right now. If not – it will be a reminder for them.
To increase sales more, you can use a cross-selling technique right in the email. Just add here featured, most viewed, or other products to keep their interest. Moreover, you can add these tabs with products to your web store with Featured Products extensions. Cross-selling is too effective to underestimate.
Creating Another Account Should Be Quick
There are various reasons for creating another account – it’s nothing bad in it. Still, to help, clients, you can make the procedure of signing up easier. Just remove all the unnecessary registration lines again or offer the connection with social networks – it will simplify the registration.
Show All the Costs at Once
Hiding something, especially additional costs, is a bad idea. Clients will learn about them anyway, but they can feel deceived. To avoid it, display all the costs a client will have to pay clearly – it is fair.
Are Your Products Appropriately Displayed?
Visual representation is an ace in the hole of a store owner. It is because of our psychology – if we see something beautiful and eye drawing, we want to buy it. There are not empty words – according to Martech, 93% of clients take visual representation as the main buying factor.
But visual doesn’t only mean the product photos, though they are essential as well. There are a few other things that touch upon the website interface and products representation that is worth being implemented. That’s how to increase your business sales and make your brand stronger.
Make a collection
Though it works better for clothing websites, stores or other specification may also use it. The idea is in setting all the items according to their collection or trend. Still, these “collections” may be of various types – if you sell an instrument, you can make a professional collection for locksmiths or plumbers.
See, what your targeted audience may find interesting and provide them with it. Sorting all the products in the right order and following their in-stock availability is also a great thing. To perform it easily, you may use such extension as Product Sorting.
Video Explanation
According to the Hubspot’s statistics, on the average we watch 1.5 hours of video content per day and 15% of all the responders watch even up to 3 hours. A broad opportunity for creativity, knowing that 97% of marketers claimed that videos had helped them in sailings.
Make a video of someone using your item instead of written guidelines and put it on the product page. Your users will probably find it more useful than a text explanation.
Useful for you:
360-Degree View
Despite the type of products you sell, your clients want to see it from all the angles. Offering this opportunity will positively affect the user experience and will lead to more sales. Moreover, customers like extra interactions with items and we can see how Addidas perform this feature flawlessly.
Product Comparison
Sometimes people can’t make a quick decision and need some time to think. Provide your users with a possibility to compare products and see all the characteristics. Probably this may require some changes in your interface, but this is the point – to make it more user-friendly.
Offshore Software Development Guide 2019
Whether a business is in its early stages or is already making a big impact in their market, they must consider outsourcing some of their projects. Outsourcing of projects provides many advantages if the business owner can understand what it means to outsource. This is particularly true concerning offshore software development.
However, web development is not something that you will confide to some unknown company. Yet, you might need some time to consider whether it is better to have an in-house team or outsource your project. This guide will explain what to expect before dealing with offshore development.
What is Offshore Software Development?
It refers to a business outsourcing work to a software developer in a different country. The third-party offshore developer is hired to handle a project for the business that will free up time and resources.
These developers are completely dedicated to their craft. If the company has a solid experience in a certain field, that means developers are working with technologies continuously. An advantage to using this option has a knowledgeable team tackle a project with speed and accuracy, delivering a better product with less cost.
How does the Offshore Software Development Model look?
There are various models that can be used by a business to make offshore development work for them. However, there must be a clear understanding of what the business needs, so they can choose a model that best fits their goals.
- Complete Outsourcing: This is when a business figures it would be best to completely outsource the technical side of the house. Meaning the offshore developers will handle the creation, maintenance, and implementation of all software applications.
- Partially Outsourcing: Here a project manager within the business will be assigned to monitor and manage the outsourced team developing certain applications.
- Project Based: Some companies already have a good handle on their software and web applications, but need some help with certain projects. Only small projects or pieces of a project are outsourced for better solutions.
What are some Offshore Software Development Services?
A business will need to understand what they are looking for before making a choice. Services from an offshore developer can range from Product Development to Analysis. It can also involve the following services;
- Custom Software Solutions
- Architecture
- UI/UX Design
- QA and testing
- Maintenance
- System Administration
- Support
- Web Development
- Mobile Applications
Although, services provided by a development company will vary depending on its expertise. Most will offer the services in this guide listed above, however, some offshore development companies providing with best practices in specific tasks, while others just starting. It is important to research each offshore developing company before making a decision based on price alone.
How to Manage Offshore Software Development
Dealing with a business in a different country, or even a different time zone can bring some questions. Lots of countries have their ways of doing business, and there is also a language barrier. However, most of the experienced companies will provide you with English speaking specialists and highly professional project managers then it won’t be a problem to build communication with a team.
Offshore benefits can give a company an advantage against the competition, but it must be appropriately managed. Leave no room for doubts. Ensure your goal is clear with specific details and milestones. Constantly check in on the developers to keep them in the direction desired to accomplish the goal without delay. Creating a framework before meeting an offshore company is what makes the difference between a great product and a bad product.
How to Calculate Offshore Development Costs
Conducting thorough research about costs before deciding on Offshore development is a no-brainer. There are several sites that contain some general pricing information, but it is always wise to communicate with a company directly to get clear rates.
Offshore Software Development Rates by Country
By country, the hourly rates can be broken down in this infographics. The USA and Europe have higher wages due to their standards of living and the average wages in each country.
In the case of Western Europe, if we will take Scandinavian countries, they are more likely to get $70-90 per hour of work. German development companies could charge you $40-55 and the average Western European rate per hour is around $35-65.
By comparison, Ukraine is the median for Europe coming in at an average hourly rate of $30. Highlighting the main reasons, most of Ukraine speaks English and they have a multitude of developers in a vast area of expertise.
What about Quality of Services?
In order to ensure the quality meets the needs of the business the manager must set those standards before reaching out to an offshore developer. It is important to clearly define what is expected with milestones in the progression of the project.
If you have a project and you start working with a certain offshore development team, you want to get clear code, precise explanation of each stage of work and support if needed. Constant checking in will help with any hiccups that might occur. Recurring meetings to discuss the progress and the end goal is another way to get the best from offshore developers. Indeed, you define the scope, timeline and other standard parts of the project. The development team should provide expertise and fit the deadlines.
Summary
Offshore software development can present an opportunity for a company to expand their horizons and compete with the ever growing competition. Communication is the key to conquering offshore software development. Once this is understood a business will have no issues with offshore development and can turn their complete focus on expanding their legacy.
Tips to Grow eCommerce Business in 2018
Do you own an eCommerce business? Are you wondering how to improve it this year? If so, then you already know what a struggle it can be to expand in this industry. With so much competition, you might be at a loss trying to figure out where to start.
That’s why we’ve created this article, which will provide you with only the best tips for eCommerce success. Before we start, though, here’s a short table of content so that you know what’s ahead.
Table of contents:
What Else to Do To Grow eCommerce Business in 2018: Keeping up with the Times
eCommerce Site Personalization: Making Every Experience Unique
Building Your Brand is Still Important in 2018: Branding for Best Results
Video Content For Success: How Diverse Content Shapes Your Brand
Gather the Best Team: Developing the Team That Will Lead You
Try New ECommerce Email Marketing Strategy: Emails and Your Future
Summary
What Else to Do To Grow eCommerce Business in 2018
Now that you’re familiar with the goal of this article, we can move on to how you can build your eCommerce Business Strategy. Overall, it’s essential that you keep up with new technologies and features because this will help you to stay ahead of your competition. If you’re using tricks that they aren’t, you’re going to generate more leads in the end!
eCommerce Site Personalization
Website personalization is one of the most impactful ways for you to increase your conversions. There are many more benefits of personalization in eCommerce which we’ll talk about a little more.
With website personalization, you can determine the overall dynamic of your website. When your pages are more interactive, it makes it easier for potential customers to navigate through your site and, therefore, they’re more likely to stay loyal to you rather than another company.
Offers are a great way to personalize your website as well because you can completely customize the product so that you’re providing an offer like no other. You can introduce time limits to get your customers buying right away, and you can edit the look of the off announcement banner.
You can introduce pop-ups to your website if you want to optimize your conversions completely. In doing this, you’ll personalize the offer and the content of the pop-up so that it’s unique to your customers. There are a few different pop-ups that you can introduce to your site: including on-click, timed, scroll, etc.
Building Your Brand in 2018
You might think that once your brand is established, you don’t have to continue with new strategies or to develop your current one anymore. This isn’t true. You have to continuously build your brand so that it stands out and so that it’s memorable.
Now, how do you build your brand? You need to establish a voice in the branding process. We don’t mean that you have to include voice clips; instead, your brand should speak for itself. Everything from the color palette of your site to the font, to the photography, should give your visitors the same vibe.
To do this, you have to find out how to set yourself apart from the competition. You don’t want the same page layouts or fonts as everyone else. If you have a brand that needs to make a profound statement, you might consider bold fonts.
To build your brand, you also need to exploit the best parts of your business. Instead of only focusing on what needs to be worked on, you should identify what’s great about your business and advertise.
Let’s say you’re in an industry that has a hard time shipping quickly. You should find a way to ship within two days. People will have deadlines and events, so you need to be ahead of the game and make sure they get their items on time. Overall, customers will notice what sets you apart from everyone, and that’s what will attract them to your eCommerce business.
Video Content For Success
Video content is increasingly popular. That’s because we live in a digital world, and people don’t want to read as many long descriptions. Because of this, the companies which have video content are also the ones with the highest conversions.
If you have a clothing store, for example, you should consider including shopping hauls; wherein, popular YouTube channels buy hundreds of dollars of clothing to showcase and review the items. If you see that someone had many followers and liked your clothing, you can ask them to include the content on your site.
Companies tend to rank higher in Google when they have diverse content on their pages. You’re going to have more visitors if you have pictures, videos, and articles rather than just articles. As always, make sure your videos are branded with links that lead back to your main page because this will always bring visitors back to you.
Gather the Best Team
Building the best time can be a difficult task. This doesn’t just involve developing the right dedicated team for your company, but also for the development of your website, applications, etc. and for the store’s support.
All of these things will determine how well your store runs. If you have a team that doesn’t work efficiently, you’ll spend more time to set up right organization strategy. This will slow down you from getting the most sales results and, therefore, your company can’t expand fully.
When you build your team, you have to think in the long-term. These are people who will represent your business, and you have to find out whether they’ll be with for the next few years or more.
Try New eCommerce Email Marketing Strategy
Email marketing is underrated. This is because prices for advertising continue to increase. As they do, email marketing will become your main method of advertising and will be one of the features that provides you with the most leads.
Building your email list is the best way to get people to keep coming back to your site. Since you already have data on them, you’ll be able to target specific customers based on their past spending and search history.
Some claim that you should be getting almost a third of your overall revenue from email marketing. If you’re not getting that much, then you might want to consider increasing your email marketing importance.
Best Magento 2 GDPR Extensions Free & Premium in 2019
GDPR means General Data Protection Regulation. It is a piece of legislation involving information gathering and use. Since GDPR became law, every EU website is required to follow specific requirements in the collection of personal information. Companies out of compliance are subject to heavy penalties. Therefore, it’s essential for all eCommerce websites to include extensions and strategies to honor these regulations. In this piece, we’ll explore the best extensions to meet GDPR requirements for Magento® eCommerce platforms.
GDPR Overview
The GDPR came into force in May of this year. It addresses how information is collected by processors and controllers. Controllers are the companies and individuals that collect information. Processors are company workers and representatives. The aim of the GDPR is to protect data for all EU residents and citizens. If companies offer services and goods in the EU, they are obligated to follow GDPR law, even if they are foreign-based. If your website uses an EU language, accepts payments in Euros, or mentions EU clients, then regulations require it to act within GDPR law.
There are three main elements to the GDPR. Protection of personal data, protection of people’s rights and freedom regarding information gathering, and restrictions regarding the sharing and use of this information. Information which can identify a person qualifies as personal data. Regulations also require data collection details to be made transparent in the Privacy Policy of your website.
GDPR Regulation
GDPR aims to create awareness about and offer control over how information is collected and used. The goal is to simplify information collection and management. GDPR is oriented around seven principles:
- Processing: Information processing should be done with transparency, legally and fairly.
- Limitation of Purpose: Information can only be gathered for legitimate, precise, specific purposes and processed only for those purposes.
- Minimization: No information should be gathered beyond the stated purposes. As little data as possible should be collected to fulfill this purpose.
- Accuracy: All inaccurate information should be updated or removed immediately upon discovery.
- Limitation of Storage: Personal information should be removed once it has fulfilled the company’s stated goals.
- Confidentiality and Integrity: Information should be used only in legal and authorized fashions and protected from exposure to other parties.
- Accountability: Persons and companies responsible for processing and collecting information are accountable for any damage, destruction, or loss related to illegal or unauthorized information handling.
As per GDPR, information which can be used as an identifier is personal data. Names, ID numbers, online identifiers, locations, and other information which can be used to identify a specific person all fall under this category. GDPR makes allowances for technological innovation and changes in information gathering methods. It covers information collected automatically or gathered manually for filing systems.
GDPR also addresses sensitive information. This category includes genetic and biometric data. Philosophical views, religious views, and political views also fall under the heading of sensitive personal information. Sensitive data is protected under extra safeguards. Data protected with a pseudonym or key-code is regarded as personal data, if it can be connected with the individual, indirectly or directly.
Information is only regarded as personal if it “relates to” or concerns a specific person. Consider informational content, processing purpose, and potential impact. Inaccurate information can be regarded as personal data, but anonymized information is exempt from GDPR regulation. Data regarding the deceased, companies or public authorities are also exempt. On the other hand, information about employees, company directors, sole traders, and partners is protected under GDPR.
What Are GDPR Requirements?
Before gathering personal information, a company must establish a valid reason for its collection. The GDPR established six valid reasons, or lawful bases, which justify information gathering and processing. These are:
- Consent: A person can permit to process certain data for a stated goal.
- Contract: Specific information can be necessary to establish contract legitimacy.
- Legal Obligation: Legal compliance can legitimately require the processing of certain data.
- Vital Interests: Information can be gathered to protect life.
- Public Task: Specific information may be gathered to help officials to act in the public interest according to the scope of their position.
- Legitimate Interests: The legitimate interests of your company or a third party may require the gathering and processing of specific information.
These are the six legitimate purposes which justify data gathering and use. Should your goals change, information can be used for the new goals only if they are compatible with the previous ones. After defining a lawful basis, each website must explicitly state what information is collected and how it is used. This must be clarified in a site’s Cookie and Privacy statements.
How to Make Your Website GDPR Compliant
To ensure your company complies with GDPR standards, you must understand GDPR principles. Think about the content of the data you collect. If the sensitive personal information is gathered, read up on the additional conditions that apply to this specific type of data. You must also prepare all documentation to ensure that information is being collected according to a valid legal basis. Finally, all EU customers should be informed of the data gathered, the reason for gathering it, and the processing details.
The principles listed above are the core of GDPR. They are not ironclad laws. Instead, they lay out the intentions of data protection regulations. Websites are compliant when they act by these principles. Any infringements upon these basic principles will result in severe fines.
GDPR requires data to be processed legally, transparently, and fairly. To establish GDPR requirements, first, find your lawful basis for information gathering and processing. This gives you validity for the handling of information. Be open, honest, and clear regarding the information and its uses. Do not mislead the customer, and ensure that the data isn’t used detrimentally. Finally, follow GDPR standards and any other relevant regulations. This includes ensuring the information is not processed in any way that constitutes:
- Confidence breaches;
- Exceeding your legal powers or exercising them improperly;
- Copyright infringements;
- Contract breaches;
- Breaches of industry-specific regulations; or
- Breaches of the Human Rights Act of 1998.
Documentation
Extensive documentation is needed to demonstrate that you are prepared. To be compliant, you must be able to produce a set of documents upon demand. The documents required by the GDPR are as follows:
- Subject Access Request Forms and Procedures
- Retention and Erasure Policy & Schedule
- Records of Processing Activities (where applicable)
- Records of Consent from Data Subjects or Parental/Guardian Consent
- Processor Agreements (where applicable)
- Procedures for Subject Access Requests
- Procedures for Non-EU Data Transfers & Documented Safeguarding Measures
- Procedures for Data Breaches & Notifications
- Procedures & Notifications for Subject Rights
- Privacy Notice with Article 13/14 Information Disclosures
- Documented Technical & Organisational Measures for Processing Security
- Data Protection Policy
- Data Protection Officer Appointment, Duties & Notifications (where applicable)
- Data Protection Officer Appointment, Duties & Notifications (where applicable)
There are several additional forms which extend beyond mandatory requirements. These forms constitute best practice and show dedication to GDPR:
- Access Request Response Templates – These templates ensure compliant and consistent SAR responses.
- Information Audit – Record details of gathered information.
- Internal Audit & Review Policy & Procedures – First, establish GDPR policies and compliance measures and procedures. Review, audit and assess regularly. Adjust and adapt as necessary to maintain compliance.
- Privacy Notice Register – Keep Privacy Notice records. Make sure details like purpose, and last revision date are accessible.
- Staff Training Program –Training methods and policies, evaluations and assessments, any other relevant details.
Assigning Roles
GDPR requires you to assign roles for information processing and gathering. GDPR defines two key roles: processor and controller. Controllers define the goal of information collection and handling. Processors are entities working for a controller, dealing with information records or processing data. For companies employing over 250 individuals processing information from more than 5000 subjects, GDPR regulation requires a Data Protection Officer responsible for compliance.
Legislations relate specifically to each role, so each individual involved in information handling should understand their role. Processors must keep records of information processing and gathering. They are held liable if this information is breached. Controllers are not exempt from these obligations. They are legally obligated to ensure that processors act in compliance. All organizational activities within the EU are subject to these regulations.
Notifying Customers
Transparency is a key principle for GDPR. Your customers should be made fully aware of any information gathered, your reason for gathering it, and how it is processed. Inform the customer of the lawful basis for collecting data. Include written Cookie policies and Privacy policies which fully detail your information collection and usage practices.
Set Up Extension
There are several extensions which help to ensure GDPR compliant data collection. Each extension offers features which allow you to customize your data collection and processing practices and procedures. The sections below explore the features and pricing of each extension in further detail.
GDPR Magento 2 Extensions for eCommerce Stores
GDPR eCommerce can be complicated for companies both within and outside the EU. GDPR extensions ensure that your Magento eCommerce platform complies with GDPR. They help to bring all aspects of your business operation into alignment with current regulations.
GDPR Compliance Manager from OnTap
OnTap manager keeps tabs of all customer data. It also gives your customers access to their data and request erasure. Here are key features offered by OnTap:
- Offers Subject Access Requests to Customers.
- Provides a Compliance dashboard.
- Gives customers comprehensive access to information.
- Handles the deletion of data through Magento.
- Offers a workflow which tracks external system data deletion and shows external data sources.
- Informs you of obligations and notifies you of breaches.
- Installation is fast and easy. Installation services are offered in more complicated cases.
OnTap’s compliance manager retails at £199. It offers free installation and a 30-day money back guarantee. Free 90-day support is included in the purchase, with the option of 180-day support for £79.60 or 360-day support for £199 pounds.
GDPR Extension for Magento 2 from Amasty
Amasty’s GDPR extension for Magento 2 collects user consent for information gathering and handling. It manages privacy issues and creates privacy policies, adapting them to your operating region or creating several for different regions. It also provides policy updates for new regulations. This extension lets you:
- Reach GDPR EU regulation;
- Add Privacy Policy check box to relevant pages;
- Collect user consent on relevant pages;
- Establish and update privacy policies;
- Handle necessary documents;
- Let customers anonymize or download profile data and request deletion;
- Export customer lists according to consent;
- Obtain consent through email and manage consent via a grid;
- and Update customers on Privacy Policy changes via email.
Amasty Magento 2 GDPR extension retails for £199. Installation costs £59, however, Amasty offers a year of free support.
GDPR Extension for Magento 2 by Aheadworks
Aheadworks offers yet another GDPR extension with impressive features and at a competitive price. These are a few features this extension offers:
- Automatic deletion for accounts linked to abandoned carts or incomplete orders
- Complete Base Management for Customers
- Full customer access and means to request data deletion
- Email-driven customer verification
- Means to delete user information
- Means to export customer lists based on lack of consent
- Means to export data access and data removal requests
- Monitoring systems for customer removal requests
- Tracking systems for customers by consent or lack of consent
- Tracking systems for data access requests
- Means to request consents
- Regular automated updates for information protection policies
Just as with the OnTap and Amasty extensions, the AheadWorks GDPR extension for Magento 2 retails for £199. It comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee and 90 days of free support. This offer also includes free installation and free updates for life.
GDPR Magento Compliance Extension from Magebit
Magebit is a full-service provider of GDPR tool and all other eCommerce web platform solutions. They offer a free open source GDPR extension. Magebit also has a track record of bringing online stores into compliance with GDPR. They offer 24/7 service if you need your site brought into compliance urgently. Magebit also offers a free GDPR requirement checklist so that you can evaluate what your site needs.
Magebit tailors its services to your site, so they don’t give a single price for all web platforms. Magebit ensures that:
- You have a comprehensive list of all personal data, the sources, the uses, where it is shared, and how long it is kept.
- You have a detailed analysis of where personal data is stored and how information flows between these locations.
- The privacy policy is accessible to the public and details all processes relevant to personal data.
- The privacy policy includes a lawful basis in compliance with GDPR regulations and a clearly stated policy of use.
- You have a Data Protection Officer with all required documentation.
- Your decision makers and staff are aware of data protection and GDPR guidelines.
- Policies are in place for reporting breaches in data.
- You have a detailed list of sub-processors and contracts to cover data sharing under GDPR guidelines.
- Your customers can access, update, halt processing, or request deletions of data.
- Your system automatically deletes any data which is no longer in use.
These are just a few of the features that Magebit offers. It is a great tool to make your store GDPR-ready.
Prepare Your Store According to GDPR Requirements
GDPR requirements list is a major feature of current eCommerce web platforms operating within the EU. Given the extensive regulations, it can be challenging to meet all current requirements. However, with the extensions and information above, you can easily adapt to GDPR and keep your company on top of the game.
Meet Magento UK 2018 Summary
It was a couple of weeks ago, but to refresh memories of those who were there and those of you who wanted to know about such or similar events we’ve prepared our short recap of this event.
What Is Interesting About Meet Magento UK?
We have attended the Meet Magento® UK on June 13th, 2018 at The Mermaid Theatre in London. Let’s start with the venue: It had two halls: main – for the business topics and the other for technical discussions.
The MMUK18 has gathered 400 visitors from almost all around the world. There were two tracks: for merchants and technicians. Merchant track has been dedicated to investors expectations in the future of eCommerce and Magento obviously. Also, a big talk was devoted to ideas to help you plan, execute, and analyze research for your online store.
Also, he spoke about a customer’s journey and all the opportunities that brands have to create to improve the user experience. There was a great example of Tesla to show that experience is differentiated brands which will stand with a time.
There were more topics about innovation in eCommerce, research and each panel had a unique case that helped to understand each subject in practice.
The technical track was covered up questions about PWA, DevOps and Magento Page Builder. PWA was the hottest trend, and there were a lot of discussions around how it would be implemented, but also other topics were interesting for developers and merchants to think about having new features in future.
