X-Cart Features Overview: Key Updates & Achievements in 2024
We’re excited to share the highlights of the past year, showcasing the innovations and improvements in X-Cart’s automotive eCommerce platform.
Here’s a quick roundup of what’s new and noteworthy:
1. Major Product Updates
Warehouse Distributor (WD) Integrations and Multi-WD
New WD Integrations:
- Keystone Automotive
- Meyer Distributing
- American Tire Distributors (ATD)
- Wheel Pros
WD Integrations that we support since 2023:
- Turn 14 Distribution
With warehouse distributor integrations store owners can:
- Expand your product range and add new brands by sourcing stock from trusted warehouse distributors.
- Automate stock and price updates with a set schedule.
- Fulfill orders directly from your warehouse distributors’ stock, with the added option of dropshipping.
- Save on logistics costs by using your distributor’s warehouse, eliminating the need for your own one – no maintenance or storage fees.
Multi-WD functionality:
- Import inventory and price information from multiple warehouse distributors directly into your X-Cart store.
- Choose to update stock and price, stock only, or price only, and adjust these data updates to fit your needs.
- Automate data updates with the Import Schedule feature to set the start time of data import from the selected warehouse distributor at your convenience.
Catalog Provider (CP) Integrations
CP Integrations that we support since 2023:
- SEMA Data
- ASAP Network
- AutoSync
- Wheel Pros
Catalog provider integrations allow store owners to populate their catalogs with up-to-date, accurate, and comprehensive product data.
Multi-catalog:
- Create a product catalog in X-Cart using multiple sources (SEMA Data, ASAP Network, AutoSync, and ACES & PIES files via FTP).
- Configure data import by choosing the following options:
- add new products and update existing ones;
- add new products only;
- update existing products only.
- Customize the types of data to be updated (product names, descriptions, attributes, images, fitment, prices) for each catalog provider and for individual brands.
- Automatically import and update the product catalog based on a defined schedule using the Import Schedule feature to set the import start time.
- Expand the product line with new brands from various catalog providers and warehouse distributors.
- Create your own catalog by importing product data from multiple sources.
Amazon SP API Integration
Simplify selling on Amazon with automated inventory updates, order imports, and taxonomy mapping.
- Support for international Amazon Marketplaces (Canada, Mexico, Brazil).
- Full Amazon taxonomy support, enabling merchants to list products in all categories, not just “Automotive.”
Enhanced Customer Experience Features
Dealer Locator Add-On
This add-on will help your customers locate trusted, authorized dealers and retailers on a map in their vicinity and get the necessary contact information.
Customer Gallery Add-On
Showcase the photos of customers’ vehicles upgraded with parts purchased from your online store on a dedicated page. Each photo links to detailed pages with car specs, more images, and direct links to the tires, rims, body parts, and upgrades used.
Customers can instantly add items to their cart and visualize their car’s appearance with the parts fitted.
Advanced Fitment Enhancement & Fitment Notes
Improved storefront fitment search functionality that:
- Assists customers in selecting and purchasing parts compatible with their vehicles.
- Helps customers consider additional fitment conditions:
- attributes include bolt size, lug nut size, and offset for wheels and tires;
- fitment notes for brake pads;
- bed size and cab style for 4 x 4 parts.
- Reduces the number of incorrectly purchased items that don’t fit the customer’s vehicle, thereby minimizing returns for the merchant’s store.
Automotive Website Design
We’ve created three more mobile-first automotive niche-focused design templates for automotive aftermarket manufacturers, online retailers specializing in performance parts, and wheels and tires online stores.
Price Management
Pricing Strategy – Ensure a minimum safety margin
With the new setting “Ensure a minimum safety margin,” merchants can set the desired profit margin for each brand individually:
- Using various price types (Cost Price, MSRP, Jobber Price).
- Meeting the requirement of MAP policy.
Manage pricing in your X-Cart store based on your target profit margin for each brand. If a price drops below your set margin, it will automatically adjust to meet your defined safety rule.
MAP Settings – Set up how MAP is applied
Control how MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) is applied by selecting the vendor’s MAP or the highest MAP from all suppliers.
If you wish your prices never go below MAP, choose “Use your vendor MAP” or “Use the highest MAP.” Alternatively, you can select “Disable MAP enforcement”.
2. Customer Feedback and Implementation
Popular New Features:
- Catalog Provider Integrations
- Warehouse Distributor Integrations
- Multi-Catalog & Multi-WD
- Dealer Locator
- Customer Gallery
Longtime Favorites:
- Make/Model/Year Vehicle Selector
- VIN Lookup
- My Garage
- AutoSync Visualizer
3. Technical Improvements
Platform Performance Enhancements:
- Faster catalog imports from SEMA Data, ASAP, AutoSync, and WD integrations.
- Improved import/export speed for product fitments.
- Optimized product inventory sync API for better performance.
- Enhanced CloudSearch and CloudFilters performance for quicker loading.
- Improved performance for the Import Schedule functionality.
Automation:
- Automated сatalog imports: Schedule regular imports from multiple sources without manual effort.
- Dropshipping from Multiple WDs: Expand product offerings and sales potential by leveraging distributor stock with automated purchase order creation.
More Looking Ahead
These updates are just the beginning! Our roadmap for 2025 includes even more exciting features, deeper integrations, and enhanced tools to empower automotive eCommerce businesses.
Have questions or need additional information on the latest X-Cart updates? Contact us to learn how X-Cart can help you grow your business.
