Release Notes October 2024
The NextChapter eCommerce platform is constantly being improved and innovated. In the October 2024 Release Notes, we have again listed a number of important improvements & optimizations for you.
We are also continuously working on product development. Keep an eye on our blog, LinkedIn page and newsletter so that you don't miss any of our new developments. Want to know more about the release notes or their implementation in your webshop(s) and channels? Feel free to contact us.
We have done a lot of innovations in the past few months in various areas, such as:
1. Marketing & Frontend features
2. Integration
3. NextChapter PIM and multiˣ connector
4. Platform maintenance and health
Marketing & Frontend features
1. All-new NextChapter content editor
To make your content easier to manage and get more options and flexibility in content, NextChapter has launched the all-new NextChapter content editor.
The NextChapter content editor is an intuitive drag & drop editor where every content creator can give free rein to their creativity. No HTML knowledge is required. Previewing your page has also become much easier.
The NextChapter content editor is available in categories (type of content) and in the blog-where most content pages are created-and will continue to be rolled out on other types of pages in the platform in the coming quarters.
2. Ultrazoom on product images
Images are indispensable in the orientation and purchase process and can have a major impact on the amount of returns. If the product photos on the web shop are clear, the more likely it is to be purchased. And the better the product matches expectations, the less likely it is to be returned.
That's why NextChapter introduces the Ultrazoom. The Ultrazoom allows the customer to zoom in on a product photo in very small detail. In fashion items, for example, you can see down to the seam what the product looks like or what fabric it is made of.
3. More options in forms
The forms section in the CMS has been expanded to 20 optional, free-to-use fields. These fields can be used flexibly on top of the standard fields such as name, address, etc. This allows you to format forms even more flexibly using free fields, dropdowns, checkboxes or file uploads.
4. Payment methods
Apple Pay
Many of the (mostly mobile) devices used to visit web shops are from Apple. Apple also has its own payment service, Apple Pay, which allows customers to pay easily, quickly and securely from their Apple device using, for example, their iPhone. To make checkout even easier, you can now offer Apple Pay to Apple users in your NextChapter webshop(s).
Klarna via Multisafepay
Post-payment with Klarna is already possible through payment provider Buckaroo. If you work with Multisafepay for payments on your webshop, you can now also offer Klarna to your customers.
5. Video in product sets (Shop the Look)
To add even more excitement to your product sets, you can add video material to your product set, such as videos of a total look in Shop the Look.
6. Incentive to create account: more content available behind login
With the phasing out of third party cookies, First Party Data is becoming increasingly important in the world of e-commerce. First Party Data includes the information of your customers in their customer accounts. So it is becoming increasingly important to use the customer account better, for example by giving customers more privileges after they have logged in.
In addition to options that were already there, such as content specifically targeted to certain logged-in customers, the following items have been added:
On stock information behind login
Communicating inventory information is very relevant to potential buyers. However, it also provides insights to competitors or is distracting information in the exploratory phase of the customer journey. Therefore, there is now the option to show stock information (e.g., in stock/not in stock) only after someone has logged in.
Forms behind login
Furthermore, it is sometimes desirable to show forms only to logged-in customers, for example because it has a relationship with the account or because it has a privilege attached to it. You can choose per form whether the form is shown to all customers or only to customers who are logged in.
Landing page after login
Determine which page a customer lands on after he logs in. For example, the page where he left off while searching, on My Account, on the Homepage or a specific action page.
7. ChannelEngine integration enhancements.
Marketplaces added
NextChapter is continuously expanding the already great ChannelEngine integration for the purpose of selling on marketplaces. New available marketplaces are Shop Apotheke, Loods 5, Maisons du Monde, Manor, Home Deco and BHV Marais in various countries.
Yes/no html descriptions per marketplace
Most marketplaces require article data to be delivered as cleanly as possible. Some marketplaces give you the flexibility to add html formatting to the article descriptions. From NextChapter you can now apply both and specify per marketplace whether you want to send the clean text or the html text.
Optimization product feed for parent/childs
ChannelEngine feeds a parent/child structure to relate articles, such as articles in different colors. NextChapter feeds ChannelEngine with this article data for selling the articles on marketplaces. The structure has been updated according to the latest requirements of ChannelEngine. Existing users do not notice this because NextChapter always ensures at the back end that the technology is up to date while you as a shop owner can continue to use the functionality.
More fields in product feed
At the same time more fields have been added to the product feed, such as height, length, width, which makes the article data for marketplaces even richer.
Integrations
Expivi integration for 3D configurator
New is the integration with the online configuration platform Expivi. The link between NextChapter and Expivi ensures that -in this case an exhibitor at a fair- on the webshop of the supplier he can easily configure his exhibition stand in 3D. I.e. he can see his exhibition stand in 3D, add products, adjust colors, personalize products, and finally purchase the configured products in the webshop.
Integration Mplus Checkout
NextChapter is fully integrated with Mplus POS for the exchange of article data and transactional data.
API
Often the NextChapter platform needs to be linked to external parties and platforms for data exchange. Think for example of fulfillment and marketing parties. With the NextChapter API partners and other parties can easily extract this data from the NextChapter platform themselves.
In recent months the NextChapter API including documentation has been expanded and refined in detail, for example in the area of customer and customer groups, invoices, shipments, allocations, stock, locations and returns.
PIM
New look dashboard
The NextChapter PIM dashboard has been given a new look, more anno 2025 and more in line with the other NextChapter products. The operation has remained the same.
Insight into import issues
Article data enrichment occurs in large numbers via exports and imports. If large numbers are involved, there is a chance that certain data are sometimes incorrect or that there is another reason why an import is (partially) not running. To make this process run as smoothly as possible, NextChapter has made the import errors transparent. This allows you to be notified by e-mail that something is going on in your import, including an explanation of the issue. This speeds up the enrichment process in PIM considerably.
Deepening roles & rights in API & PIM
By using the NextChapter PIM API, external parties can easily retrieve article data from PIM or send data to PIM specific to their specific process. Therefore, the roles and rights structure in the API is constantly being rolled out and refined.
Roles and rights can be assigned to a very detailed level. For example, based on the role someone has, you can set rights such as read only/hidden/full access. This can be done at all levels within PIM, such as field/language/feature/feature value/channel level.
NextChapter multiˣ connector
A well running webshop within the NextChapter multiˣ suite consists of several processes that connect the NextChapter products with each other and with external systems. These processes ensure correct exchange of e.g. item data, inventory and transactional data with external platforms such as ERP systems. So these processes are very important, but often play out in the background for you as a web shop owner.
Therefore NextChapter develops the multi connector: a dashboard in which all your technical processes are listed in a clear overview.
The multiˣ connector is a shell over your existing processes. With this you not only gain insight in what is going well and what is not going well in your processes, but you can also re-run processes or run additional ones if desired.
The multiˣ connector is in development and getting richer all the time. Want to know if it is of interest to you? Please contact your account manager.
Platform maintenance and health
NextChapter focuses non-stop in every release on platform maintenance in the broadest sense of the word. This ensures technical stability and quality, obsolete components are updated or removed, existing code is improved, underlying technology is upgraded to the latest versions and the highest security and privacy requirements are met with great care. All with the goal of a worry-free, stable platform of high quality and strong performance.
Error-free
Problems and bugs in the platform are always solved by us immediately. That is why the NextChapter Platform is completely bug-free.
Contact
Do you have questions about the Release Notes or their implementation on your webshop(s) and channels? Please let us know.