Over the past two weeks we’ve introduced you to some of our successful Magento Go merchants: David Bandrowski of The Deering Banjo Company and Kirshan Murphy of Inked Magazine are prime examples of merchants who have used Go to build better online businesses.

This week’s story may be the sweetest one yet. Arline Conigliaro of Imperial Cookies discusses her experience of working with a professional web designer to create a beautiful site that reflected her brand's image. Even without advanced technological skills, Arline finds it easy to print reports, fulfill orders, ship her cookies and run a successful online bakeshop.

Bob Schwartz here from the NRF 101st Annual Convention & EXPO floor at the Javits Center in NYC.

It is very interesting for me to see the change over the years in the content around eCommerce and multi-channel at NRF’s BigShow.  Way back In 1998, I was speaking on a Keynote panel at the NRF Convention as Head of eCommerce for NORDSTROM Inc’s new internet group. The questions at that time focused on cannibalization, channel conflicts, talent and technology costs. My panel on eCommerce was more of a novelty at NRF in 1998. We have seen eCommerce and multi-channel become a bigger part of the NRF Convention content In recent years, yet this year is different.  In 2012, eCommerce, mobile devices, social and the ways in which technology is drastically reshaping retail are a core part of the NRF content schedule.  I couldn’t agree more with this emphasis, since solving for these issues will quickly separate the retail winners from the losers over the next several years.

One topic that is of high interest is “social.” Social is quickly becoming a fundamental core influence on of the way people make purchasing decisions.  But what is social shopping exactly? Is there more to it than Facebook “Likes” and Tweets? How do I utilize social shopping to drive my business? How do I keep up with the almost daily changes in this rapidly evolving technology? I’m excited to be speaking on this topic today as part of the panel  “Social Shopping: Mobility, Social Media and Personalized Services.” We’ll be discussing what retailers should know about social shopping to make the most out of this emerging channel. If you’re at the show make sure to stop by the panel at 3:15pm in Hall A, 1A 10/12. Hope to see you there!

We invite you to discover eBridge and how to leverage integrated solutions for Magento eCommerce stores. If you've looked at our integration solutions in the past, we encourage you to attend as there have been significant advances in what we have to offer.

Solution Highlights:

• No per-document or per-character transaction fees
• No manual data entry
• Unlimited volume of transactions

Not only will we educate you on the recent enhancements and capabilities of our online integration platform, we will also provide a live demo of the product in action! Here's a brief overview of what will be covered:

Agenda:

• About eBridge & Magento
• Magento Accounting Integration Demo
• Wrap up + Q&A

Date/Time: Tuesday, January 17, 2011 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDT

We’re about to open the floodgates! That is, Early Bird registration for Imagine 2012 begins January 18th. We’re offering Early Bird tickets at the same low price as last year – just $795 (compared to our standard ticket price of $1,195).

Don’t miss out on a chance to get (and save on) coveted tickets to what’s been called the “Super Bowl of eCommerce.” Last year we sold out early, with over 650 people from 27 countries attending our inaugural conference. And 250 more found themselves on the waiting list, unable to get in. One ticket even sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars over face value.

Demand is expected to be even greater for this year’s exclusive event, taking place April 23rd – 25th in Vegas, baby! Just off the strip at the luxurious M Resort, Imagine will feature industry thought-leaders talking technology and business, offer invaluable network connections, and let you be the first to find out what’s coming down Magento’s powerful product pipeline. Plus, need we mention, Magento throws some great parties!

Just ask anyone who attended last year’s event. Of the attendees surveyed, 100% agreed that the Imagine eCommerce Conference was worth their time and investment. And 99% of them would recommend Imagine to colleagues. (The other 1% didn’t really like their colleagues).

To purchase Early Bird tickets to Imagine 2012 and book your hotel room, visit our site on January 18th. Tickets are LIMITED and will SELL OUT, so mark your calendar and sign up here to be reminded just before tickets go on sale!

Webinar: The Power of eBay!

Would you like to expand your Magento Go store to reach millions of eBay buyers? With M2E, a Magento Go extension, you can seamlessly connect your store with eBay's platform. It allows you to quickly and easily create and manage listings, synchronize stock levels and import eBay transactions and orders into your Go admin panel. The extension interacts with all 23 major eBay marketplaces and it is also possible to use the extension with multiple Go stores and eBay accounts. Get to know more about M2E with our next webinar. Here are the details:

Date: January 25, 2012 10:00 AM PST

Presenters: Paul Pidoprygora, CEO, ESS-UA, Alex Pidoprygora, Director of Marketing & Business Development, ESS-UA and Mosses Akizian, Product Marketing Manager, Magento

In this webinar, attendees will learn about:

• Why businesses need the M2E extension
• Who this extension is for
• What the extension offers
• Demonstration of M2E

Register now

Last week, TechCrunch announced the finalists for the 2011 Crunchies. We’re thrilled to report that of the 5 Finalists in the Best Shopping Application, 2 are Magento Enterprise customers!

We’re proud (but not surprised) that Magento is so well represented amongst this elite group of nominees. Our merchants value innovation and love to create unique shopping experiences for their customers. Magento Enterprise provides the platform for innovation and creativity; our amazing merchants do the rest.

We offer our congratulations to Birchbox and Warby Parker – as well as all of the 2011 Crunchies Finalists – on their nominations. And we encourage all of you to visit the Crunchies website and cast your vote today!

Following the enthusiastic response to our initial On-Demand course offerings – launched in October of 2011 – we’re launching another course and making it available free, on-demand to Magento customers and community members.

“Managing Your Magento Store - Part 2: Product Marketing” is geared to Magento store owners. The course offers practical information that will also help merchandisers, product marketing managers, customer service and operations management and staff who work with Magento. Topics covered within Product Marketing will include merchandising, product management, brand management, and driving traffic on-site and off-site.

This is the second in a 3-part video training series designed to empower merchants toward self-management of their Magento store. Part 1: Catalog Management – has been enthusiastically received, and is also available free, on-demand.

Visit the Magento U website to learn more about Magento U courses and to register for “Managing Your Magento Store - Part 2.

We are excited to announce the availability of Magento CE Version 1.6.2.0 Stable for download and upgrade.

Some of the key improvements in this release include:

• Refactored indexing process
• Implemented localized PayPal settings for Japan

To see the full list of features and fixed issues please visit our release notes page. Diff files are available here.

Please Note: We do NOT recommend upgrading a production installation of Magento directly. Please backup database and all files before upgrading. Please make sure to check file permission before trying to upgrade through your Magento Connect Manager.

Please report all issues with this release in the bug tracker.

The Magento Go merchant success stories keep coming!

Last week, we introduced you to David Bandrowski of The Deering Banjo Company. This week we’re excited to share a video from another successful Magento Go merchant, Kirshan Murphy of Inked Magazine. From great flexibility and design to the easy to use WYSIWYG editor, Kirshan reveals which features of Magento Go were most instrumental in growing Inked Magazine’s bottom line.

Are you a Magento Developer in or around Spain that wants to take the Fundamentals of Magento Development course?

Now is your chance - we just added a special class in Barcelona from January 16-20!

This 40 hour course covers topics that range from an introduction to the architecture of Magento, to MVC and data models. Learn how to work with Magento modules, and how to customize and extend Magento to ensure the best upgrade path for the websites they extend.

Successfully executing 3rd party integrations with your Magento store can contribute significantly to the success of your online business.

Please join Gold Solution Partner, Orange Collar Media, for this webinar where you will learn about the:

• Ins and outs of drop shipping
• Order integration with real time reporting
• Working with 3rd party fraud detection companies
• Product data distributors

Date/Time: Wednesday, January 11, 2011 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PST

Webinar: Go Global with International Shipping

Do you currently sell to only United States based customers? Have you ever considered selling internationally? If so, our next webinar 'Go Global with International Shipping' is a must-see event. Shipping directly from the United States to other countries can be complex. Some of the common issues are it's too slow, too expensive, too risky, too confusing and not good for the customer experience. With our next webinar, you'll learn how to effectively Go Global without going bust. We hope you'll be able to join us; here are the details:

Date: January 5, 2012 10:00 AM PST

Presenters: Nate Gilmore, VP of Marketing & Business Development, Shipwire and Mosses Akizian, Product Marketing Manager, Magento

In this webinar, attendees will learn about:

• Outsourced shipping
• International expansion
• Tour of Shipwire

Register now

Magento Go was released in February of 2011 as the eCommerce solution for small merchants who wanted more out of their online stores. Over the past year we’ve been amazed at everything our merchants have been able to accomplish using the platform. As the momentum behind Magento Go continues to build, we decided to share some of our merchants’ success stories…in their own words. We’re excited to show you video testimonials of merchants who are using Magento Go to effectively build their online businesses.

Our first testimonial comes from David Bandrowski of The Deering Banjo Company. David sought out a different solution for Deering’s eCommerce business when the company’s previous platform wasn’t performing to their standards. Magento Go’s template system was the solution David was searching for and more. Here’s his story…

Start with sweet Vermont butter, fresh local cream and pure Belgian chocolate...craft ingredients into small batches of irresistible treats...then offer these treats to chocolate lovers everywhere. That’s Lake Champlain Chocolates’ recipe for success. Their premium products are available throughout the US at specialty food and gift stores, upscale hotels and inns and at three company-owned stores in Vermont.

When it came time for Lake Champlain Chocolates to update their website to keep pace with growth, Magento Enterprise was at the core of the solution.

Magento Solution Partner Grand River designed and implemented the new site, which delivers an upscale shopping experience that effectively conveys Lake Champlain Chocolates’ premium brand. Grand River implemented several customizations, including a checkout feature that enables shoppers to easily ship products to multiple addresses on multiple dates.

Double the Conversion, Double the Order Size

The new site doesn’t just make your mouth water; it also converts shoppers into buyers, as evidenced on Cyber Monday 2011. Lake Champlain Chocolates’ conversion that day reached 16.44%, more than twice their conversion rate on the same day a year earlier. Average order value doubled as well.

Sweet success indeed!

Have a Magento success story to share? Contact .

We are happy to announce the availability of Magento Preview Version CE 1.7.0.0-alpha1.

As this is a preview version it is NOT recommended in any way to be used in a production environment (more information about preview releases and the community edition release process can be found in this blog post). This release is available for upgrade through the Connect Manager, to download or via SVN.

Some of the new features and improvements in this release include:

• New and improved layered navigation price bucket algorithm
• Captcha functionality added to some of the forms
• Base prices based on customer groups
• Auto generation of multiple coupon codes for a price rule
• System backup and rollback functionality
• VAT ID Validation
• Support for DHL Europe
• Indexers refactoring
• Redesigned Mobile theme
• And much more...

Please report all issues with this release in the bug tracker.

Have a Happy New eCommerce Year!!!

First Book is a nonprofit organization that provides new books to schools and programs serving children from low-income families. When First Book decided to make it easier for teachers and program leaders to find and buy the books they need, they turned to Magento Solution Partner 6th Street Commerce for help. 6th Street Commerce then created a customized eCommerce solution built with Magento Enterprise.

Results include improved navigation and search functionality and reduced overhead relating to managing orders, inventory and grants. Thanks to 6th Street Commerce and Magento Enterprise, First Book can serve more schools in need while stretching the impact of their partners' donations.

Find the whole story here.

Have a Magento success story you’d like to share? Contact .

At Shop.org earlier this year, our goal was to create a fun and exciting booth that was inviting for eCommerce leaders to sit and talk Magento with our team.  To do so, we needed to find couches and furniture that matched our Magento colors and energy.  While renting was an option, it didn’t take us long to figure out a better option—why not buy the furniture instead and donate the items to a local charity? The cost was the same, but it was also right thing to do! So, we purchased the orange couches, plasma screens and cabinets needed for our booth, and donated them to ABC Masco (A Better Chance/Masconomet, Inc) at the end of the show.

ABC Masco is a local Boston charity that brings qualified, highly motivated disadvantaged students to the prestigious Masconomet High School.  Since ABC Masco was founded in 1974, there have been over 70 graduates, and all of them moved forward to attend outstanding institutions. This year is no different: one student has already been accepted to University of Connecticut and Providence College, while the others are exploring music, art, and fashion design at Masconomet.

As you can see in the photos below, the orange couches, monitors, and cabinets lent plenty of pizzazz to the Magento booth, and then made perfect additions to the boys’ new lounge area!

We are delighted to find ways to give back to local communities and organizations, and we look forward to more such opportunities in the future!

For more information about A Better Chance, or to learn how you can get involved, go to www.abetterchance.org.

In October, Magento launched the beta version of the Magento Certified Developer exam. Dozens of experienced Magento developers flocked to the X.commerce Innovate 2011 Conference – and to several other beta exam locations around the world – to take the exam. Many of them earned passing grades, becoming the world’s first Magento Certified Developers.

With the successful beta behind us, we are excited to announce the global launch of our Certification program. Now, developers can take the Magento Certified Developer exam at over 5,000 Prometric Testing Centers worldwide.

Find out how to register, prepare for, and take the certification exam on the Magento U Certification website.

What you should know about Magento Developer Certification:

• Magento Developer Certification is the first and only Magento-sponsored and approved professional certification program.
• Magento Developer Certification Exams were developed by a team of experts from across the Magento ecosystem to accurately test and verify real-world development skills.
• Developers who pass the exam can differentiate themselves in the marketplace by using the Magento Developer Certification badge on their resume/CV, and – starting in early 2012 – by listing themselves in the Magento Certification directory, a key resource for finding and verifying Magento Certified Developers.

We’ve made it easy for developers to purchase vouchers, download study guides, and register to take the exam. Visit the Magento U Certification website to learn more about Magento Developer Certification and how it can help your business.

Webinar: Go Global with International Shipping

Do you currently sell to only United States based customers? Have you ever considered selling internationally? If so, our next webinar 'Go Global with International Shipping' is a must-see event. Shipping directly from the United States to other countries can be complex. Some of the common issues are it's too slow, too expensive, too risky, too confusing and not good for the customer experience. With our next webinar, you'll learn how to effectively Go Global without going bust. We hope you'll be able to join us; here are the details:

Date: January 5, 2012 10:00 AM PST

Presenters: Nate Gilmore, VP of Marketing & Business Development, Shipwire and Mosses Akizian, Product Marketing Manager, Magento

In this webinar, attendees will learn about:

• Outsourced shipping
• International expansion
• Tour of Shipwire

Register now

One of our valued Magento Enterprise customers - Oneida Ltd – recently shared their November Pingdom Report with us, along with a brief note. We’re proud to share this with all of you:

Congratulations to Oneida, to Lyons Consulting Group, and to the entire Magento team on another inspiring customer success story!

Have a Magento success story you’d like to share? Send it to success@magento.com.