Mailchimp API 3.0 is now live and all prior versions won’t be supported starting from January 1st, 2017. So, make sure you update your Mailchimp integration modules as soon as possible.
If your store runs X-Cart 5:
Updates for the Mailchimp Integration module are already available both for v5.2.x and v5.3.x. Click on the “Updates are available” bar on the top of the page in your X-Cart back-end, install the Mailchimp update and start using new cool features.
At the beginning of December, upgrade to new X-Cart v5.3.2 will be available in all live stores. It will also include the Mailchimp Integration module update. So, if you plan to upgrade your store to 5.3.2, you can skip the module update now and do it together with the store upgrade.
If your store runs X-Cart 4:
Apply ‘x-mailchimp-adv-v3updates’ to your Mailchimp module. If you don’t have Mailchimp (don’t confuse with MailChimp Basic) installed yet, please find the installation package for your version in File Area -> X-Cart 4 Addons ->
X-MailchimpIntegration and install it.
To apply the update, go to your File Area -> X-Cart 4 Addons -> X-MailchimpIntegration, download x-mailchimp-adv-v3updates-x.y.z.tgz (x.y.z - your current version of X-Cart) and install it following a standard module installation procedure. Currently, the package is available for versions 4.7.х, 4.6.х and 4.5.5. If your store runs an older X-Cart version, contact us in your Help Desk account.
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This update will not only switch the Mailchimp API from v2.0 to v3.0, but will also extend the module functionality (for both X-Cart 4 and X-Cart 5), providing you with powerful marketing tools, such as emails automation and product recommendations. Let me tell you about the new features.
The integration module will send information on your customers’ purchasing activity to Mailchimp and based on the gathered information you can set automatic campaigns. i.e.:
- Just subscribed customer follow-ups
- Abandoned Cart single email or series of emails follow-ups;
- First purchase follow-up;
- Specific or any product purchase follow-up;
- Category follow-ups (this feature is available only in X-Cart 5).
As for the Mailchimp Products Recommendations feature, it helps you to personalize emails to your customers. Just add a Product Recommendations block into the email template and based on the previous customer purchasing activity, Mailchimp will add products, that may be interesting to the email recipient, into that block. The information on this activity as well as on the recommended products is available in the subscribers’ profiles in Mailchimp.
Other changes are available only for X-Cart 5. Thus, the store administrator have got an opportunity to import list groups (or interests) into X-Cart. Also, now there is only one subscription option during registration or on checkout. If selected, a customer is subscribed to all existing lists and can manage subscriptions to lists and groups in his profile in the customer area later. In X-Cart 4, a customer will see all available lists on registration and checkout pages and can choose the lists to subscribe to.
Mailchimp has already
demonstrated its efficiency to X-Cart users and the updated integration brings even more power and flexibility into your marketing campaigns.