Magento has built a strong following among SMB online merchants and shows no signs of slowing down, especially with the just-announced launch of Go. The launch of Magento's official SaaS-based commerce platform for small businesses was well-received by the 750 (was it 1000?) attendees at the Imagine eCommerce Conference.
There are almost 90K companies up on Magento now, with between 900 to 1000 on Magento enterprise. These guys are on a roll.
Perhaps less well-received (at least by some) was the post-show announcement yesterday that last March eBay had purchased a 49% stake in Magento.
According to President Roy Rubin, "one of the things that really sealed the deal for us was a shared vision with eBay for community, collaboration, partnership, and transparency."
So, what's the cross-border e-commerce angle?
In a recent series of cross-border e-commerce studies, we have found that small and medium sized e-commerce firms are generating a higher percentage of sales from international customers than are bigger merchants. In many cases, twice the percentage and, in a growing number of cases, three or four times as much.
eBay still gets a lot of disrespect from U.S. sellers (and other market spotters) when it comes to the marketplace. However, the company is making a lot of seemingly sound decisions when it comes to mobile and international e-commerce.
eBay's just-announced investment in Magento is a good one simply for purposes of future returns. Yet one can argue that eBay's investment in Magento is another smart investment in international e-commerce, albeit longer-term. Here's how.
Given Magento's growing appeal within the SMB marketplace, it is quite plausible that the SMB e-commerce community will increasingly adopt Magento as a preferred platform — for both existing and emerging e-commerce ventures.
As innovative SMB firms pursue a growing number of opportunities outside the U.S., we expect to see Magento become even more well-known as a global e-commerce brand.
To recap:
- SMBs are leading U.S. e-commerce into international markets.
- Magento is becoming the Go-to commerce platform for a growing number of these SMBs.
- Magento is positioned to become a force in cross-border e-commerce. If not this year, soon.
Oh, and don't forget that many e-commerce ventures that look like SMB sites may very well be e-commerce (and m-commerce) projects launched by bigger brands to test the waters.
eBay on Magento
As far as the Magento investment, eBay Inc. chief technology officer Mark Carges said the investment helps eBay position itself as "a resource for e-retailers, whether they conduct business on eBay.com or elsewhere."
eBay's PayPal is one of multiple forms of pre-integrated payment options that e-retailers can choose to accept within the Magento framework. Rubin says that eBay’s stake in the company will not change that situation.
It is notable that none of Magento’s e-commerce platforms, including the Go platform, currently integrates with eBay’s marketplace.
Given all the "super cool stuff" that developers can do with Magento's open-source e-commerce software, selling on eBay from a Magento site can be done. So too can selling on other marketplaces, both those that focus primarily on the U.S. market as well as those in other international markets.
Ok, so what's eBay's cross-border e-commerce angle here?
Does eBay see Magento as a very attractive on-ramp for U.S. SMBs to sell through international marketplaces?
These marketplaces are on fire in emerging e-commerce hotspots all around the world. In fact, our cross-border and international e-commerce research continues to point towards these thriving marketplaces as a key first point of entry for U.S. online brands looking to get marketing and demand generation traction in markets outside the U.S.
We're also see eBay investing in these marketplaces. We think it will be really interesting to watch whether Magento becomes a preferred platform for U.S. SMB e-commerce brands to sell cross-border — both direct and through marketplaces.
It will also be interesting to see if, when and how eBay's growing portfolio of global e-commerce properties come into play. It appears that eBay's vision may be peering beyond the eBay marketplace, at least the eBay that those of us in the U.S. have known over the past decade plus.
SIDEBAR:
Cairo. Tehran. Seattle?
If eBay is winning with its Magento investment, who is losing? Some thought Yahoo would have been smart to invest in Magento as a way to solidify its hold on the SMB e-commerce space, a hold that may or may not be slipping depending on who you talk to.
Amazon also seems to be losing but certainly not to eBay, at least not from a marketplace perspective.
What Amazon is losing is respect, at least from its marketplace sellers as it tightens its grip on commerce and customer data that flows through its marketplace.
Our fly on the wall at the Magento conference last week said one of the highlights of the end-user gathering was the near-standing ovation for one merchant who stood and ranted about Amazon's recent and less-than-friendly marketplace activities.
There has been a growing number of concerns aired by Amazon sellers lately that the customer, product and pricing data they supply Amazon may be used by Amazon to gain a competitive advantage over the very same "partners" that in 2010 generated $10 billion in gross sales for Amazon. While these sellers are not the hand that feeds Amazon, they are feeling the bite.
Will more sellers revolt as the Amazon marketplace tightens its iron fist and puts the squeeze on?
Has the Amazon marketplace era reached its zenith?
Will the rise of social marketplaces led by celebrity curators usher in a new world marketplace order?
Will the era of social discovery forever change the marketplaces as we know them?
What do you think? Let us know ...
Until next time ....
Cheers
Comments