Email Survey Results

Recently we conducted a survey on the topic of email marketing and how to make Magento do more for our users.  We had over thousands of responses and the results showed that MailChimp was the most popular choice.  Users told us that MailChimp works well for Magento because it allows Magento Merchants to really measure the ROI of email campaigns.  Through a plug-in to Magento they track when people click from merchant email campaigns, visit the website, and hopefully purchase. All of this information is then gathered and displayed on a merchant’s MailChimp campaign report.  The Magento:Mailchimp email extension is available free of charge here.

How Does It Work?

Once the extension is installed, MailChimp will automatically add some tags to links the merchant includes in the campaigns sent. Those tags will be picked up by a plugin installed in the merchant’s Magento store.  The extension will track users who have followed the links in merchant email campaigns. When a user completes a purchase, the plugin will quietly send the basic details of the order – products ordered, product categories, and shipping, tax, and order totals – back to MailChimp via an API call. That data will then be available on the merchant Campaign Reports page and eventually during segmentation when creating new campaigns, too.  We here at Magento think this is a pretty effective way to improve the results of merchant email campaigns.

MailChimp are now giving Magento merchants $75 to try MailChimp and see if they can help you make more money.  You can find out more here.

Watch it in Action

Watch the video for information on how MailChimp integrates with Magento and some pretty cool features that MailChimp offers.

Magento Enterprise Partners Optaros have recently released a Magento Connect extension called Facebook Connect Social Shopping which allows you to integrate social shopping via Facebook with your Magento storefront.  Ever seen a cool item and wished you could ask your friends what they thought before you went ahead an decided to buy? Then this extension is definitely for you!  Check out this video for a quick run through.

There is another Facebook Connect Magento module which allows you to use registration data from Facebook for users coming to your site, notify them of order updates via Facebook notifications and much more.

Also, check out the Facebook Link module from aheadWorks, which enables some pretty cool functionality such as wall posts to customers’ walls when they complete an order and allows them to offer their friends personal recommendations on items they have purchased.

What do you think about integration social networks and Magento?  What features would you like to see next?

The Magento Enterprise Edition is a powerful eCommerce platform with features designed to increase sales.

Keep your customers coming back by offering store credits and gift cards. Offer physical gift cards sent in the mail and virtual gift cards sent to an inbox. Set price tiers for customers to choose, or let them enter an amount within a preset minimum and a maximum value. The Enterprise Edition gives you control to define the card lifetime and enable gift messages so customers can add a personal touch.

Recipient’s can check their card balance before checkout, and use the available funds for purchase. Use an unlimited number of gift cards, or redeem and receive store credit. The Enterprise Edition keeps a gift card history so that you can see how gift cards are being used.

Reward loyal customers and handle returns by issuing store credits so customers can use the balance for future orders.  During the refund process, simply select the full refund amount, or enter a partial amount to create an automatic store credit. Your customers can choose to use their store credit during checkout along with other available payment methods. The Enterprise Edition makes it easy.

The Magento Enterprise Edition, giving you the tools to grow your business.

SAN FRANCISCO—June 8, 2009—Apple® today introduced the new iPhone™ 3GS, the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including improved speed and performance—up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G—with longer battery life, a high-quality 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control. iPhone 3GS includes the new iPhone OS 3.0, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 100 new features such as Cut, Copy and Paste, MMS*, Spotlight Search, landscape keyboard and more. iPhone 3GS customers get access to more than 50,000 applications from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, the largest application store in the world where customers have already downloaded over one billion apps. iPhone 3GS offers twice the capacity for the same price with a 16GB model for just $199 and a new 32GB model for just $299.** And beginning today, iPhone 3G is available at the breakthrough price of just $99 for the 8GB model—a huge milestone for the high end smartphone market.

“iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet and we think people will love the incredible new features including autofocus camera, video recording and the freedom of voice control,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of WorldWide Product Marketing. “And with a breakthrough price of $99, we are thrilled to get iPhone 3G into the hands of even more users who want them.”

iPhone 3GS offers incredible speed and performance, on average up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G, so you can render web pages quicker and launch applications faster. iPhone 3GS takes advantage of the OpenGL ES 2.0 standard for stunning high-quality 3D graphics, making mobile gaming and other graphic intense applications better than ever. iPhone 3GS is not only faster, but with longer battery life you can watch more videos, listen to more music, browse the Internet or keep using your favorite apps even longer. The new iPhone 3GS also supports 7.2 Mbps HSDPA for faster networking speeds.***

iPhone 3GS features a new 3 megapixel autofocus camera that takes amazing pictures and video, making it easier than ever to capture, edit and share those moments instantly with family and friends. The new autofocus camera adjusts focus, exposure, color and contrast for the best possible image and includes an automatic macro focus for extra close up shots. With the new “tap to focus” feature, you simply touch the display to select an object or area of interest and the camera automatically re-adjusts focus and exposure. You can record incredible high-quality video clips and edit them right on your iPhone 3GS by simply trimming the start and stop points. With iPhone 3GS you can send photos and video by email or MMS and post them to MobileMe™ or YouTube with just one tap.

The voice control feature in iPhone 3GS offers hands free operation for both iPhone and iPod® functions. Simply speak the appropriate commands into the built-in microphone or headset microphone to dial by name or number. With voice control you can play your favorite music by artist, album or playlist and activate the Genius feature by saying “play more songs like this.” You can also tell iPhone to pause the music, play the next track, turn on shuffle or ask, “What’s playing right now?”

iPhone 3GS features a new built-in digital compass for instant navigation.**** The Compass app shows you which way you are headed and rotates as you change direction. You can orient yourself to true north or magnetic north, and iPhone’s built-in GPS automatically displays the coordinates of your current location. The new built-in digital compass is also integrated within Maps, so it automatically orients any map to the direction you are facing.

iPhone 3GS provides new accessibility features including VoiceOver, a screen reader that speaks what appears on the iPhone 3GS display, enabling visually impaired users to make calls, read email, browse web pages, play music and run applications. The new universal Zoom function magnifies the entire screen, and the White on Black feature reverses the colors on screen to provide higher contrast for people with low vision. iPhone 3GS also supports Mono Audio which combines left and right audio channels so that they can be heard in both earbuds for those with hearing loss in one ear.

iPhone 3GS includes the new iPhone OS 3.0 software with more than 100 new features including: Cut, Copy and Paste; MMS; Spotlight Search to search across iPhone or within Mail, Contacts, Calendar and iPod; landscape keyboard for Mail, Messages, Notes and Safari®; expanded parental controls for TV shows, movies and apps from the App Store; and the ability to capture and send audio recordings on the go with the new Voice Memo app. iPhone 3.0 software also includes a new Find My iPhone feature that works together with MobileMe so you can locate your lost iPhone on a map, send a message that will appear on the screen or play a sound to help you find it even if your phone is set to silent. If you cannot find your iPhone, you can erase all data and content on your iPhone with the new Remote Wipe feature. New iTunes® features available with iPhone 3.0 software include wirelessly downloading movies, TV and audio programs as well as iTunes U so students can download learning materials on the go.

iPhone 3GS gives users access to the revolutionary App Store, the largest application store in the world with more than 50,000 applications. The App Store allows developers to reach tens of millions of iPhone and iPod touch® users around the world. To date, customers have downloaded more than one billion apps from the App Store. And with more than 1,000 new APIs available with the iPhone SDK, developers can create even more innovative applications using In-App Purchases, a new Maps API and Push Notifications.

iPhone 3GS also features built-in Nike + iPod support making it an incredible workout companion. Users simply place the optional Nike + iPod sensor ($19) in their Nike + shoe to seamlessly connect with iPhone 3GS to track miles run or sync with the latest generation gym equipment.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 3GS will be available in the US on June 19 for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and just $299 (US) for the new 32GB model in both Apple and AT&T’s retail and online stores, Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores. iPhone 3GS requires a new two year contract with AT&T for qualifying customers. iPhone OS 3.0 software will be available on June 17 as a free software update via iTunes 8.2 or later for all iPhone customers. iPod touch customers will be able to purchase a software update for $9.95 (US). Beginning June 8, iPhone 3G will be available for just $99 (US) for the 8GB model. New MobileMe features for iPhone require iPhone OS 3.0. MobileMe is available for an annual subscription price of $99 (US).

iPhone 3GS will also be available in more than 80 countries in the coming weeks. For further information about US and international pricing and availability visit www.apple.com/iphone.

*MMS messaging is available only on iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS; fees may apply. MMS may not be available in all areas. MMS support from AT&T will be available in late summer.

**Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year AT&T rate plan, sold separately.

***Where available from AT&T later this year.

****Compass reliability may be affected by usage conditions such as nearby magnetic fields.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Press Contacts:

Tom Neumay, Apple
tneumayr@apple.com
(408) 974-1972

Christine Monaghan, Apple
cmonaghan@apple.com
(408) 974-8850

I’m very excited to announce to everyone that the latest and greatest version of WordPress, version 2.8 “Baker,” is immediately available for download. 2.8 represents a nice fit and finish release for WordPress with improvements to themes, widgets, taxonomies, and overall speed. We also fixed over 790 bugs. This release is named in honor of noted trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker. Here’s a quick video overview of everything in the new release:

The first thing you’ll notice is that visually 2.8 feels a lot like 2.7, just with some minor tweaks here and there. However once you’ll dig in you’ll begin to appreciate the changes.

Major New Improvements

First and foremost, 2.8 is way faster to use. We’ve changed the way WordPress does style and scripting.

The core and plugin updaters in previous versions of WordPress have been such a success we decided to bring the same to themes. You can now browse the entire theme directory and install a theme with one click from the comfort of your WordPress dashboard.

If you make edits or tweaks to themes or plugins from your dashboard, you’ll appreciate the new CodePress editor which gives syntax highlighting to the previously-plain editor. Also there is now contextual documentation for the functions in the file you’re editing linked right below the editor.

If you were ever frustrated with widgets before, this release should be your savior. We’ve completely redesigned the widgets interface (which we didn’t have time to in 2.7) to allow you to do things like edit widgets on the fly, have multiple copies of the same widget, drag and drop widgets between sidebars, and save inactive widgets so you don’t lose all their settings. Developers now have access to a much cleaner and robust API for creating widgets as well.

Finally you should explore the new Screen Options on every page. It’s the tab in the top right. Now, for example, if you have a wide monitor you could set up your dashboard to have four columns of widgets instead of the two it has by default. On other pages you can change how many items show per page.

And Even More

You can read the full list of over 180 new features, changes, upgrades, and improvements on the Codex. The list is exhausting!

The Future

We’re already thinking hard about the next versions, 2.9 and 3.0. Keep an eye out for improved media handling, better dependency checking, versioning of templates and themes, and of course the fabled merging of WordPress and MU announced at WordCamp San Francisco two weeks ago.

From high-definition streaming to tiny gadgets, 2008 saw technology continue its steady transformation toward the small, cheap and on-demand. Our resident gadget guru takes a look at the six developments that shaped 2008.

1. Netflix Rocks Internet Movie Streaming
A year ago, we would have guessed that Apple would become the dominant player in the nascent business of streaming Internet-delivered TV shows and movies to TV with its Apple TV. We would have been wrong. Over the past year, Netflix’s “Watch It Now” feature evolved from a little-used part of its Web site to a killer app that is causing some people to cancel their cable. The secret to the success of Netflix’s streaming movie service: widespread integration into TV-connected devices that are either inexpensive (such as the $100 Roku Netflix Player) or already in people’s homes (such as the Xbox 360). Even better: The company is rapidly ramping up its high-definition and first-run offerings, including first-run TV shows just a day after they first air. Unlike Apple, which charges a few bucks for every TV show or movie, Netflix’s streaming is completely free to Netflix subscribers. And unlike Hulu (another sleeper success this year), Netflix streaming is advertisement-free.

2. Pocket Gadgets, on the Cheap
Netbooks and pocket camcorders were, undoubtedly, the two biggest consumer electronics breakthroughs of the past year. But these distinct new categories were really results of the same winning formula for 2008: No-frills, portable, cheap electronics. Netbook manufacturers found they could bring prices down well below $400 by exorcising features such as optical drives, large screens and even the latest operating systems. Pocket camcorder makers, such as Pure Digital Technologies, the makers of the best-selling Flip, came to the same conclusion, taking out frills for a bare-bones HD camcorder with its tiny, $230 Flip HD Mino. Consumers were willing to sacrifice top-notch performance to have cheap, portable gadgets. With the recent economic downturn, we would bet the demand for these budget-priced gadgets will only skyrocket.

3. Mobile Applications
Hardware- and feature-wise, cellphones have hit a plateau. The battle of millimeters in a rush to be the thinnest phone is largely a thing of the past, and just about any hardware-based feature we want is now standard. That’s why, these days, a smart phone is only as good as its applications. This is the new battleground for mobile technological supremacy, with stores such as the iPhone’s App Store and the Android Market leading the charge, and new entries from Palm and (coming in March) Blackberry close behind. Just because a feature wasn’t thought of in a boardroom doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. All it takes is a good idea and a standard development kit.

4. 3D Cinema
This past year’s Journey to the Center of the Earth may not have been a big hit, but it was significant for a few reasons. First: It was the first “live action” (we use that term loosely for any Brendan Fraser movie) digital 3D movie. And second, even though 3D screens accounted for a small percentage of its showings, they accounted for the majority of Journey’s revenue. In other words—where it was showing in 3D, people went to see it. Over the next year, 3D will continue its transition from novelty to Hollywood standard. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names, such as Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron are either working on or have already made digital 3D films. The granddaddy of them all, James Cameron’s Avatar (his first feature since the monster blockbuster Titanic) is slated for a3D release in late 2009. Just about every industry expert we’ve spoken to cites this release as the true tipping point for 3D saturation. Cameron has signaled that, at least initially, he wants to release the film only in 3D. So if theater owners want to cash in on what will likely be a huge hit, they’re going to need to install more 3D screens.

5. Location-Based Services
Take open mobile-application development, add widespread proliferation of phone-based GPS, and you get the emergence of location-based programs. Programs based on the global positioning of a user spread like crazy this year, particularly for the iPhone, which has dozens of applications that allow users to find businesses that are near their present location. Urbanspoon’s iPhone app, for example, connects users with nearby restaurants by using a randomized, roulette-style interface. Of course, the most interesting use of location-based programs is its marriage with social applications. Programs such as Loopt allow you to find friends who are nearby. Down the line, look for the emphasis to shift from finding existing friends who are nearby, to making new friends. Stranded at the airport? Soon you won’t think twice about finding a like-minded individual who is also at O’Hare.

6. Microblogging
Twitter may be the most famous tool for microblogging (the abbreviated, one-or-two sentence cousin to regular blogging), but it’s no longer the most important. That distinction now belongs to something that is rarely even thought of as a microblog: Facebook. Specifically, Facebook “status” updates. Millions of users update their “status” dozens of times a day, letting the world know how they are feeling, what they are doing and what they are looking to do be doing. And, thanks to Facebook’s recent redesign, these updates are broadcast, front on center, to each and every one of a user’s friends. Of course, microblogging has been around longer than the past year. What really sent it over the tipping point in the past 12 months was the meteoric rise of mobile applications. Now, users can update their Twitter or Facebook status in seconds, from anywhere and with ease. Instead of being the domain of desktop-bound bloggers, microblogs are now effectively quick broadcasts from the lunch line (“out of sushi again”), the stadium floor (“at AMAZING show!”), or the streets (“anybody around Avenue A wanna grab a drink?”).

Today Varien announced a theme for Magento tailored specifically for the iPhone. See just how easy customers will find shopping directly from their iPhone:

How exactly does this work? With the release of Magento 1.1 due out very soon, comes a new feature where Magento will auto-detect the iPhone user-agent and apply the iPhone specific theme for that visitor. This allows you to have a standard Magento theme for your normal browser visitors as well as the new iPhone optimized website theme for your mobile visitors.

Use of mobile devices for web browsing is exploding. E-tailers are quickly discovering the increased conversions that a mobile-targeted online experience can yield. Take a look at these recently posted findings by Nielsen Mobile (part of The Nielsen Company) as reported by Internet Retailer:

“Nielsen Mobile reports 9.16 million U.S. mobile phone users, 3.6% of the total 254.5 million, have used their phones to pay for goods and services, through avenues including wireless carrier portals, m-commerce sites and text messages. What’s more, 49% of the 94 million mobile phone users with data service—the ability to access the Internet from a mobile device—expect to participate in mobile commerce in the future … Already millions of mobile users are logging on to their favorite retailers over the phone and purchasing items. With the success of m-commerce sites like Amazon.com, which more than 2 million people have visited, and eBay, which more than 3 million have visited, this shows a critical mass that represents a real opportunity for retailers.”

As e-commerce sales continue to rise, contact Precision Creations to learn how you can grow your market share by making your e-commerce store available to the growing mobile web crowd.

We all know that search engines are increasingly focused on content – not just any content, but good content, relavent content. Depending on the specifics of what you’re trying to sell, in many cases it can be much more beneficial to launch and operate several highly focused e-commerce sites – each narrowly focused on a specific category of products. This approach allows search engines such as Google to really hone in and closely associate your site with the products offered for better listings when people search for terms related to those categories, instead of only loosely identifying your site with several relatively unrelated categories.

See the following video interview from Internet Retailer 2008, where Roy Rubin, CEO of Varien explains the benefits of multi-store retailing, and how Magento fits into the picture:

While setting up and operating just one e-commerce store seems daunting enough, fear not! The Magento e-commerce application greatly eases the burden of operating multiple stores – all from one single setup.

If you are interested in expanding your business and effectively leveraging multiple e-commerce storefronts to increase sales, contact Precision Creations. We’re skilled and experienced in walking you through the whole process – from correctly analyzing your current markets, to planning and executing a highly-effective advertising campaign, and setting up and operating an effective, customized Magento e-commerce platform.