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Find out what improvements are included in the new Akeneo PIM 5.0

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The new Akeneo PIM 5.0 version comes with a revamped rules engine / © Akeneo

The new Akeneo PIM 5.0 version comes with a revamped rules engine / © Akeneo

The new Akeneo PIM 5.0 is now available in Enterprise and Community editions. The French multinational Akeneo, of which ASM Web Services is an official partner, has released a revamped version of its product information management system. The new PIM comes a year after the previous version was launched during the Akeneo PIM Summit 2020. In this post we summarize the main new features.

1. Increase automation with Akeneo PIM 5.0

The new version of Akeneo PIM comes with a revamped rules engine that includes Rules Builder. This new screen will allow users to create and manage business rules more easily. The screen takes all actions from YML files (which will remain available) and allows marketing teams to, for example, automatically categorize products, copy attribute values or set defaults.

2. Increased connectivity

A new API has also been introduced to facilitate data synchronization and distribution with third-party applications. The Events API accelerates data synchronization between Akeneo PIM and third-party applications. This new API is complementary to the existing REST API.

In addition, the new Akeneo PIM 5.0 features enhancements to Connections to allow users to track sent and received data more accurately. Increased autonomy to act on synchronization errors.

3. More facilities for monitoring data quality

The enhanced Data Quality Insights dashboard is another new feature of Akeneo PIM 5.0. It is designed to make it easier to monitor product data quality and get recommendations on how to improve it. It incorporates advanced spell checking features and language coverage to meet the needs of internationalized businesses.

4. Improves import and export

Import and export capabilities are also improved. A stop button and progress bar have been added, as well as new export profiles for assets and reference entities. Users can choose to export attribute tags instead of attribute codes.

5. Add custom units of measure

Finally, Akeneo PIM 5.0 allows you to easily create custom measurement units and measurement families, which join the wide range of traditional and standard measurements available in PIM.

Interested in any of the new features of the new version of Akeneo PIM? Get in touch with us. The ASM Web Services team will help you integrate this management system into your eCommerce.

 

Opportunities for the online store in 2021

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Opportunities for the online store in 2021

Online shopping has become the first choice for many consumers.

Online store usage soared during 2020 in Spain. The e-commerce sector reached a turnover of 12,243 million euros in the first quarter of 2020, 11.6% more than in the same period of 2019, according to data from the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC).

Online shopping has become the first choice for many consumers and the trend will continue in 2021. 67% of consumers expect to increase their spending on online shopping in the coming months, according to data from the study prepared by Google Internationalization online: an opportunity for companies.

This report also shows that 33% of Spanish users claim to have bought something in recent months in an online store where they had not done so before the coronavirus.

To take advantage of this context of growth, we have made a selection of the opportunities that will present themselves to the online store in 2021.

Quality product information

93% of shoppers already get information and search for what they are interested in through the online channel, as stated in IAB Spain’s 2020 Annual eCommerce Study. Marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay or Aliexpress are still the reference for product information among users. However, the websites of the stores themselves and search engines are growing compared to 2019 to reach 51% and 49% of searches, respectively. Having quality product content is key to offering consumers the information they are looking for at the right time and in the right place. To this end, having a PIM (Product Information Management), a product information management system, is essential. Akeneo PIM is one of the most powerful platforms on the market, simplifying the process of integrating suppliers and data sources. Regardless of the number of products in the catalog, Akeneo PIM helps to organize all the information and streamlines the way it is managed.

Secure payments become the only option

With the entry into force of the European PSD2 payment directive at the beginning of 2021, two-step customer identification (except for small payments) and secure payments will become the only option for selling, both physically and online. A commitment to payment technology that facilitates PSD2 compliance is a must.

The rise of social commerce will continue

The main social networks (Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest) have been incorporating functionalities that integrate or favor e-commerce through the platform itself. Social commerce, i.e. the integration of social platforms into the online commerce circuit, will increase in the coming year. It will do so either as a direct sales method or as a means for users to get information or advice on a product or service they are considering purchasing.

The chatbot, increasingly indispensable

Email conversations and phone calls are going out of fashion and consumers are losing interest in them. Chatbots will be an excellent way for online stores to provide customer support and clear the doubts they have about a product. In many occasions having a chatbot will make the difference between getting a sale or not.

Voice Commerce’s big breakthrough?

Voice search is one of the e-commerce trends that could make the biggest impact in the coming year. According to e-commerce data from ComsCore, by 2021 more than 50% of digital search queries will be by voice. According to data from the consulting firm Gartner, companies that support visual and voice search on their websites can achieve a 30% increase in online store revenues by 2021.