Magento Open Source vs. Adobe Commerce [To Pay or Not to Pay? ]

And it’s no surprise that sometimes they’re thinking of cutting them by using free versions of products or services, rather than paid alternatives. Of course, this also applies to eCommerce platforms. But such a choice doesn’t always work for the best.

Spoiler: sometimes it will make you spend even more.

In this article, we will take a look at how features of Adobe Commerce differ from what Magento OpenSource has to offer and discuss the following topics:

• main reasons you should consider Adobe Commerce
• Adobe Commerce B2B features, which will make your life, as a business owner,  much easier
• existing Magento Commerce features and their advantages
• features that are going to be implemented soon

Psst… If you’re not a big fan of reading, you check out our video with all the information on this topic.

The Differences You’re Probably Familiar With

You probably already know about such features as B2B functionality that Magento Open Source lacks. Or about Page Builder, which has limited capabilities in the open-source version. Or content staging, advanced marketing tools, and reporting.

There is even more to Adobe Commerce that makes it an indisputable leader in the market. And today we’ll talk about some of them.

This platform is for merchants who don’t settle for good enough and want to get the best features right away.

That’s why Asus, Liebherr, HP, and many other brands choose Adobe Commerce Cloud.

Getting to know Adobe Commerce better

Commerce Cloud features aim to provide users with business agility. Let’s take a look at how it’s done.

Here are some of the main reasons why you would want to choose Adobe Commerce:

• Fast time to market and scalability

The cross-segment capabilities of the platform speed up Time to Market and allow it to scale for global expansion quickly. You can move into any new business model and be sure that all the features are already included in your eCommerce system.

• Constant updates

Based on the Magento eCommerce ecosystem, the platform ensures its quality and offers excellent flexibility and extensibility.

• Outstanding engagement

If we talk about content-creation quality, the first provider, which comes to mind, is definitely Adobe. The platform offers the best and the easiest way for you to connect with your customers on every level and to provide them with the quality of experience they want and need.

Adobe Commerce B2B features

Not convinced yet? Let’s take a look at Adobe Commerce B2B features you may not have known you needed.

The vast majority of eCommerce platforms on the market are either B2B or B2C oriented. For example, Shopify is B2C heavy. It doesn’t have B2B capabilities for customer pricing, custom catalogs, and so on. With Salesforce Commerce Cloud, you’ll need to additionally buy a B2B specific eCommerce suite and integrate it with Salesforce.

Adobe Commerce B2B features include:

• Fast ordering
• Quoting
• Custom catalogs and price lists
• And all the tools that a business needs in the B2B segment.

With Adobe Commerce, B2B management feels like B2C. Whether you operate in B2B, B2C, D2C, or across all of them, the Adobe Commerce Cloud platform has you covered.

A Deeper Look Into Adobe Commerce Features

Now let’s take a look at some more Adobe commerce features and how they can benefit your business.

Inventory Management

Inventory and its management are another crucial thing for Magento Commerce businesses.

It’s not a surprise that managing the inventory when you are a small business and when it comes to medium and large-scale businesses is a big difference. However, Magento 2 Cloud is a powerful platform designed for no less ambitious eCommerce businesses, which means it has you covered in both cases.

And we are not talking about a feature that allows you to manage a hundred SKUs. We are talking about an absolute powerhouse that easily handles massive catalogs, millions of SKUs, multiple international locations, and dozens of sources of information for the warehouse.

With Magento Commerce Cloud features like this, you can fully automate complex fulfillment with Magento Order Management, set up automated source selection based on priority and distance to customers, and drastically decrease manual work, all while improving order fulfillment.

Headless Commerce (PWA)

Adobe Commerce supports headless, API-based architecture. It opens up a gazillion possibilities for eCommerce businesses and unprecedented flexibility by decoupling the front-end part of a website from the back-end.

In simple terms, you can create a unique user experience based on their device, for example, a desktop, a mobile device, or even Internet-of-Things technologies.

Instead of building a website to serve customers on desktop and two native apps to serve them on mobile, you can create a Progressive Web Application that works across all platforms and devices.

Sales & Ad Channels

Adobe Commerce Cloud not only allows you to sell effectively through your eCommerce store but to move to new sales channels. For example, Amazon Sales Channel is a direct integration of your Magento eCommerce store with the biggest eCommerce marketplace in the world.

According to the research, around 74% of US customers start a product search on Amazon. This means your eCommerce is either present there or you’re losing a chance to sell among over 170 million Amazon customers.

One of Magento Commerce Cloud features is an extension that brings a direct bridge between your store and Amazon. Among basic features, you get full synchronization of products, automatic inventory updates, and the ability to configure synchronization rules. Some exciting features include automatic intelligent repricing that helps win Amazon Buy Box and increase the chances of selling more. In fact, around 90% of Amazon sales go through the Buy Box. You can also fulfill orders by yourself or use fulfillment by Amazon.

And with the direct Google Shopping integration, you can sell products through this eCommerce service and manage Google Shopping Ads right from your Adobe Ecommerce admin panel.

Business Intelligence, Reporting & Visualization

Adobe Commerce provides you with all the tools needed to optimize your eCommerce business and to keep a finger on the pulse of all business operations thanks to integration with its AI system – Adobe Sensei.

The list of Commerce Cloud features starts with an AI-powered product recommendations system. It can show recommendations based on trending items, customer preferences, product popularity, and product similarity. In addition, the system aggregates data so you can easily understand how each recommendation impacts business results.

Another feature powered by Adobe Sensei is Live Search, which provides highly personalized product search to customers. It aggregates data from all sources, such as your website and social media, and centralizes it into a single cloud-based warehouse.

Advanced visualization capabilities allow you to quickly check various metrics, such as average customer lifetime value, the most popular products among returning customers, or even an average CLV by channel. You can create as many dashboards and reports as you wish.

Based on reports, you can make data-driven decisions. For example, you can easily see that Facebook ads bring a lot more new customers than Google Ads, and invest in Facebook more in the future.

Let’s Take a Look Backstage. Upcoming Magento Commerce Cloud Features.

As we mentioned earlier, Adobe Commerce Cloud always keeps up with the market and provides its users with top-notch features and updates. Here are some of the upcoming features you definitely wouldn’t want to miss.

Store Fulfillment

Buy Online, Pick Up in Store is one of the latest trends among Magento Commerce Cloud features. The research states that last year, 67% of US shoppers used such an option to make a purchase online. While in stores, 49% of customers make additional purchases. It seems like BOPIS is a great option to increase your sales, attract more customers, decrease shipping time and reduce product returns.

For users, it offers the ability to choose products online, select a store, and choose in-store or curbside pickup. Other Commerce Cloud features include notifications when the order is ready for pickup and a mobile app that allows users to notify when they’ve arrived at the store. And, in case of curbside pickup, how to find them. It’s a pure convenience at every step of the customer journey.

Store Fulfillment will fully integrate with your product management system, allowing you to show the in-store availability of products. As a result, employees spend less time collecting orders and don’t have to adjust stock availability when the order is fulfilled manually.

Shoprunner Integration

Now please raise your hand if you don’t like fast delivery… Yeah, as we thought — no one.

Adobe is cooking up integration with Shoprunner, a popular eCommerce platform that allows for two-day free order delivery.

You will get access to millions of customers already using the Shoprunner platform. In addition, it will bring such benefits as free two-day delivery, easy product returns with FedEx, and a seamless experience for customers.

And don’t forget that you can integrate your store with almost any other delivery solution in the world.

To Wrap It Up

Adobe Commerce is a powerful platform. It’s a single solution that covers all key business operations. Advanced Adobe Commerce B2B features are strengthened by flexibility, integration with hundreds of third-party solutions, built-in marketing, and analytics tools.

Adobe Commerce is not for huge eCommerce businesses only. It’s not for small businesses either. It’s for aspiring businesses that want to grow fast and are planning on major business expansion.

Yes, Adobe Commerce is a paid platform. But either your eCommerce store already has an established turnover, or it’s a new business with huge ambitions. The results Commerce Cloud features can bring to your business will cover the expenses by far.