Release Notes October 2021: NextChapter platform development & innovations

Every few weeks we release brand new improvements to the NextChapter Platform. We have collected the most important changes in these October 2021 Release Notes. New functionalities and features have been released in e-commerce, marketing/frontend, the backend, OMS and the technical foundation of NextChapter PIM has been completely renewed. Also don't forget to check out our new shops (see the links below).

Check in these release notes the new functions and features for:

The e-commerce platform

e-commerce features

marketing/front-end features

NextChapter Core

NextChapter Backend

Order Management

PIM

New NextChapter webshops

Would you like to know more about the release notes, the features, innovations or their implementation on your webshop(s) and channels? Let us know.

E-commerce Features

Support WebP image format
The NextChapter platform now supports the WebP file format for images. Initially, the slider and theme images are now operational and in the upcoming sprints we will update all types of images. The WebP Google file format is lighter than other file formats and therefore contributes significantly to a faster loading time.

Daily results email
You can now receive a daily email with turnover, number of orders and number of items from the previous day.

Turnover, # orders and # items compared to the same day last year

Turnover, # orders and # items compared to the same date last year

Turnover, # orders and # articles compared to the same month last year

Even if your webshop is new to NextChapter eCommerce and has not yet collected statistics from last year, the information regarding the previous day is already interesting. Do you also want this mail in your mailbox every day? Let your account manager know.

Manage position of categories and filters
Is your webshop responsive? Then you can now manage whether you want to show your filters and categories vertically (left) or horizontally (top). This can be done on category pages, landing pages and brand pages.

301 redirects import function
301 redirects can now easily be uploaded in bulk.

Marketing / Frontend Features

Emphasize scarcity on product pages (stock warnings)
You can emphasize a limited availability of stock per variant on the product page. This can be done by means of a number ("only 2 available") or by means of a specific text that you can manage yourself ("Almost sold out!").

Show available variants on results page
A good clickthrough and conversion enhancement feature is showing the number of available variants of a product on overview pages, see the example of Didi Fashion in The Netherlands below. The most famous example is showing the number of available colors of an article. Consumers become curious and are triggered to click through and view other colors, thereby increasing purchase intent. This function can also be used for other product variants, such as packaging content or dimensions.

Deactivate buy/reserve button by brand
The buy button and reserve button on product pages could already be deactivated per product. You can now also deactivate it for an entire brand of products.

Innovations in responsive shops
There are new innovations in our responsive templates, such as improved sticky headers and zoom function.

Manageable content via Site Specific Content
A new type has been added to Site Specific Content: Newsletter. Here you manage all texts related to a newsletter subscription or unsubscription.

Index Content Pages Y/N
With content pages you can now easily indicate whether a page may be indexed by Google or not. If not, it will be automatically be excluded from the sitemap. This was already possible with categories and landing pages.

Extension data layer for Google enhanced e-commerce
In addition to the many existing events, Coupon Code (discount code) is also included in the extensive data layer for enhanced e-commerce. In addition, you can now also add custom dimensions of your choice in the data layer, such as a discount percentage. Please contact your account manager if you are interested in this option.

NextChapter Core

Security
We have tightened up security for malicious traffic (bad bots, spam bots, tools that send extremely high traffic, etc.). As a result, NextChapter webshops receive less unnecessary traffic, which contributes to the speed of the webshops, more reliable statistics and a better platform performance.

Migration transactional emails to new mailing core
This is a significant improvement in the delivery quality of transactional emails. With this update, the chance of emails not being received or delivered in a spam box is very small. In the near future, all transactional emails will be sent from the new email core.

NextChapter Backend

Integrations

A new integration is available with the ERP system Odoo.

A new integration is available with ProfitMetrics. ProfitMetrics offers insights into margins and the possibility to advertise margin-driven in a better way.

In addition, the NextChapter platform is continuously being developed in existing integrations, such as with payment providers (AfterPay Business) and logistics providers (SendCloud).

Reports
Reports can now be printed up to 62 days, so that data from 2 full months can be exported.

View category and brand pages directly from the backend
“View” links have been added to categories and brands, so that you can directly view the page on your live shop.

Search by external order number
Within our OMS you can search by a NextChapter order number, but also by external order numbers. For example, the order number of a marketplace.

Completely renewed technical foundation
A major project of the past 12 months was to replace the technical foundation of NextChapter PIM. The update was performed while the live system continued to function at the same time. This important update has been successfully completed, making PIM ready for further scalability and expansion.

Easier export for all data
Making an export of all data no longer requires mapping. All product data can be exported in one go very easily.

Drag & Drop images
The order of images is easier to manage via a drag and drop mechanism.

Multiple timings in imports and exports
It is now possible to run imports and exports on a more regular basis according to adjustable timings.

Products remain valid with at least one variant
Previously, products were only valid if all variants were complete. From now on, products will already be valid if at least one variant is valid. The product (the variant) can then be sold immediately, while the other variants are enriched.

Number of products in tabs
In the tabs Valid, Invalid, Replaced and Deleted you can view the number of products within that tab at a glance.

Removed variants included in searches
Removed variants are also shown in searches. This makes searching for an EAN, for example, a lot more efficient.

We continuously launch cool new webshops and update existing webshops. A selection of some recently launched/renewed webshops, that is worth checking out:

www.juffrouwjansen.nl and the completely renewed product page with emphasis on visual material

www.runnersworld.nl

www.marutifootwear.com

Issues and bugs in the platform are always immediately resolved by us, making the platform error-free.

Do you have any questions about the Release Notes of October 2021 or their implementation on your webshop(s) and channels? Let us know.