Updates come and go, and are a natural part of software life. So it goes with Magento Enterprise. Mangeto's most recent update, Magento Enterprise 1.12, has been out for close to a year now. However, version 1.12 features have never been timelier by connecting merchants to today’s digital consumer lifestyle and mindset.
1. Mobile HTML 5
Need only one reason? Enterprise 1.12 includes Mobile HTML 5 support. Anyone paying attention to current ecommerce trends knows that mobile accessibility plays a big part of the modern shopping experience. (If you want to know more, check out our articles on mobile commerce and the decisions consumers make when shopping online.)
According to Magento, the upgrade includes the following Mobile HTML5 features:
- Device-specific media capabilities for audio and video
- User-friendly search and results display
- Clean display of product detail pages
- Pinch, multi-touch and scaling images
- Easy swipe between product images
- Zoom capabilities
- Cross-sell and up-sell capabilities
- Drag-and-drop of products to the shopping cart
The upgrade essentially extends the Magento storefront to Magento-compatible browsers (which include iOS and Android). This newfound mobile-responsive capability gives consumers the option to make a purchase at any time with their favorite "smart" device.
Enterprise 1.12 also brings leverage to tablets. Broader than mobile and a more user-friendly interface to begin with, tablets have become essential in many households. Tailoring and tweaking your Magento interface to fit tablet dimensions and functionality is just another benefit to upgrading to 1.12. We’ve all heard mobile is the future. Tablet sales are catching up to the PC’s and consumers have clearly responded to smartphones and tablets, over and over again.
Trends and a simple look at consumers' technological lives today indicate mobile commerce is here to stay, in 2013 and beyond. For further proof that mobile technology is dominating the market: a majority of payments will soon be handled by mobile payments, and Magento merchants are now able to manage their stores from an iPhone app: Magento Magnate.
Any owner of an eCommerce store should strongly consider upgrading to Magento Enterprise 1.12 to target a consumer market through the mobile sphere.
2. Visitor Segmentation
If you're not on Magento 1.12, vast numbers of potential customers surfing to your site may pass unnoticed. Versions of Magento Enterprise prior to 1.12 don't allow merchants to identify visitors who are unregistered to their site or unattached to a customer group. You may be missing out on the opportunity to target a large component of site traffic.
With Enterprise 1.12, that problem is solved. You now have the option to target those unidentified visitors. Magneto Enterprise 1.12 merchants can easily appeal to all of their traffic instead of only those who are registered to their site.
For those loyal customers, 1.12 offers more choices to be flexible with your promotions. You can create campaigns that appeal to specific segments of consumers and target the groups that will boost your bottom-line.
3. Reducing Overhead Costs During the Administration Process
If the above doesn’t have you considering upgrading your store, then the following cost benefits will have your wheels spinning. New features improve the behind-the-scenes administrative processes, and offer merchants the option to reduce overhead costs. Some of these shortcuts are so simple, it only takes the click of a mouse:
- Automate coupon codes immediately. Codes leading to sales can be created without the use of external software, expediting the process.
- Add CMS pages to the navigation menu and make CMS page hierarchy enhancements. No custom development necessary.
- Obtain direct access to the following functions, supported by the REST API:
- Create/Retrieve/Update/Delete a simple product
- Retrieve a list of orders and specific order information
- Update/Retrieve catalog inventory
- Create/Retrieve/Update/Delete complete customer information
- Accept more payment methods. The Magento Secure Payment Bridge supports more payment gateways. More options means more flexibility in accepting various payment methods.
- Psi Gate
- RBS Worldpay
- Braintree
- First Data
- Card Gate Plus
- DIBS
- eWay Direct
- Ogone Directlink
- Paybox
- Payone
- Sage Pay
- CCAvenue
- Add CAPTCHA Log-in. Protect your store from robots, fake software, and fake log-in with the CAPTCHA options. This can work for admin and customer login, conveniently providing an extra layer of security.
4. Heightened Consumer Happiness
As for consumer user experience, the Magento Enterprise 1.12 update gives consumers the option to build multiple wish lists. Wish lists can be created by occasion and by personalizing wish lists options. Additionally, consumers can find what they need faster through enhanced layered price navigation. Searching for products now carries pricing filters based on similar products, so customers can immediately see which products are within their price range and tailor their searches from there.
So there you have it. All the reasons you need to upgrade to Magento Enterprise 1.12.
