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Magento Connect March-April 2013: Three Big Changes at the Magento Marketplace You Shouldn't Miss

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! Two spring months have already passed and May is outdoors. The approach of summer is felt in the air. Day by day the weather brings us more sunshine and heat. But sometimes it’s unpredictable as well as Magento Connect statistics.

Several big changes were brought to the Magento Connect extension marketplace and we can't skip them while making our regular analysis. Wonder what are they?

The FIRST CHANGE is the delisting of outdated extensions on Connect. The removal of modules was based on compatibility with recent versions of Magento, and frequency of download/referral. As a result of “cleaning up”, the total quantity of extensions for all categories reduced from 11,095 (February) to 10,466 (March). 5% of extensions were delisted. This change influenced the statistics for March.

Magento Connect March Statistics 2013

 

Category & Product Page Enhancements (+26)


In spite of significant delisting, the extensions from this subcategory stayed the winners. The growth was even bigger than in February (+21). Developers make us get used to this permanent leadership. The most popular module from this subcategory has score 39256. It is free, as well as 30% of all extensions here. This tool helps add informational tabs to product pages.

Reporting (+8)


This subcategory is met in our “Magento Connect Statistics” reports for the first time. Its extensions, as it’s seen from the subcategory name, provide users with different kind of reports. This data includes bestsellers, the profit loss, visits, orders, revenue, conversion %, etc. Due to this information, merchants get great summary of their business at a glance. Users can choose modules to different tastes and budgets.

39% of all modules from this subcategory are free. The leading plugin with the popularity score 5504 is free as well. It provides deeply integrated real-time ecommerce analytics for Magento merchants and displays how online business is running.

Order Management (+6)


We mention the modules from this subcategory in Magento Connect Statistics reports for the third time. And it’s not weird. Developers understand the importance of orders. That’s why new extensions from this subcategory appear regularly. Expanding the Magento functionality, these tools help simplifying order processing.

The leader is a paid module, as well as 73% of all modules here. Its popularity score is 116095. This extension transforms Magento in a complete e-commerce solution to efficiently manage stocks, purchasing and order fulfillment.

Email Marketing (+6)


Here it is the second newbie among the leaders. But nobody will deny the importance of its extensions. The modules from this subcategory help merchants stay in close touch with customers. The ratio of free and paid modules is 43% - free, 57% - paid. The leading plugin is free and has the popularity score 8545. It provides full integration with MailChimp email marketing system.

The SECOND CHANGE is 16 new subcategories for Magento Connect Themes. This new division is a part of continually Magento Connect improvement for merchants, developers, and solution partners. There are 16 subcategories that include 972 themes. Three biggest are Styles & Colors (37% of all), Fashion & Apparel (17%), Computers & Electronics (7%). All the others - 39%.

Magento Connect Themes


The THIRD CHANGE is a new Ratings & Reviews system. Now users can leave the overall and three additional ratings for extensions (Developer Support, Functions as Described, and Usefulness). The main one is displayed in the form of stars near the popularity score. Reviews and additional ratings can be found in the “Reviews” tab when the product page is viewed. On the one hand, this system eases the evaluation of extensions for merchants.On the other hand, it helps improve support and promotion of products for developers.

It should be noted that the Ratings & Reviews system neither influences the positions of extensions in categories nor causes any changes in Magento Connect statistics. Positions of modules in subcategories are still defined by the popularity score.

There were no additional significant factors that influenced Magento Connect statistics in April.

Magento Connect April Statistics 2013

Administration (+20)


Representatives of the winning subcategory help controlling stock, order processing, drop ship, accounts; add customizable features to the admin product management grid; etc. Nobody will deny how useful they are. It is also proved by the popularity score of their leader, which reaches 222935. This extension is paid, as well as 63% modules for this subcategory. Its functionality allows acting as a bridge between Magento and the well-known price-comparison site.

Catalog (+17)


As many as 909 extensions are comprised in this subcategory. It is the biggest number among all. These modules provide Magento store owners with the new tools to improve their stores functionality & usability. 23% of them are free, 76% – paid. The leading module is the same as in the previous subcategory.

Category&Product Page Enhancements (+17)


The modules from this subcategory lost the winning position in April, but stay in the leading group.

Ease of Use (+11)


Here we can see the tools that help convert site visitors to customers and increase sales considerably. 29% of extensions from this subcategory are free, 71% - paid. The leader has the popularity score 50549. With this extension you're able to design your own vertical category navigation with subcategories and product count display. The module is free.

A small growth was observed in subcategories for Magento Connect Themes. Fashion & Apparel (+3 in comparison with March), Health & Beauty (+2), Computers & Electronics (+1).

It seems that developers never have rest, releasing numerous extensions. aheadWorks also makes its valuable contribution to the list and introduced 5 new extensions in March and April: Shop By Brand, Shipping Price, Activity Stream, Customer Attributes, Store Locator.

It’s really great that you follow Magento Connect statistics. I suppose, you would like to argue with me? You are welcome to address me in comments! See you in June.