From Magento to Adobe Commerce: Magento’s Meteoric Rise in eCommerce

Before we dive in, is it Magento or Adobe Commerce? Actually, it’s both. Magento Open Source, true to its roots, is the free, downloadable, and open-source version of the platform. Adobe Commerce is the enterprise version, which includes additional features, support, and cloud hosting options for larger businesses (previously known as Magento Enterprise Edition).

Now, let’s get into the history of Magento, its ties to Adobe, and how it transformed eCommerce decades ago.

Magento first raised its hand in 2007, when online storefronts were still relatively new and mobile shopping was still a dream. The first Magento beta version was coded by a team of developers at Varien Inc., a Los Angeles-based company founded by Roy Rubin and Yoav Kutner. Varian released the first public beta version of Magento on August 31, 2007, as a solution to fill the gaps left by the then-dominant osCommerce. The development team used osCommerce’s open-source code as a starting point, modifying, expanding, and rewriting large parts of it to create something original that was more flexible and modular.

Following the release of the first public version in March 2008, Magento gained popularity within the ecommerce community as a solution capable of greater extensibility, customization, and scalability. By 2008, Magento had surpassed 500,000 downloads, making it one of the fastest-growing ecommerce platforms to date.

In 2010, Varien rebranded its business to Magento Inc. to become an ecommerce software company and also released its first mobile version. At this point, Magento had surpassed an astonishing 1.5 million downloads, establishing itself as the go-to ecommerce platform.

Magento’s growth continued between 2011 and 2015, with an increasing number of retailers adopting its platform. However, 2015 saw its first big outside investment by eBay. This investment was a significant step for the growing platform as eBay’s PayPal connection improved Magento’s payment options for small and mid-sized businesses. That same year, Magento also launched the Magento Enterprise Edition, which catered to larger merchants.

In 2012, Magento crested over 4 million downloads. Also significant that year was the departure of Magento OG, Yoav Kutner. However, his exit did not deter developers from working on refinements to the platform’s next iteration, Magento 2.0. This next generation featured updates that streamlined product management and enhanced shopping experiences.

In 2014, Magento rolled out a cost-effective version for retail store owners, which made the platform’s advanced capabilities more accessible. Next, in 2015, Magento partnered with New Relic and enhanced the platform’s performance by giving store owners greater control over data and advancing analytics. In the same year, the company continued to develop Magento 2.0, even after Magento Inc. was re-launched as an independent company, thanks to funding by Permira. Later that same month, Magento 2 officially launched, which further solidified its position as a leading force in eCommerce technology.

In 2016, Magento shared its relationship status with Adobe, officially announcing its upcoming partnership. The same year, another milestone occurred when Magento platforms sold $101 billion in merchandise to nearly 51 million shoppers. It’s no wonder that Gartner named Magento the leader in Digital Commerce in 2017, beating out 20 other platforms. Magento also announced new names for its products:

In 2017, Magento was crowned a leader in the B2B segment by Forrester, coinciding with the platform’s 10th anniversary. The company also introduced Magento Open Source 2.2, and Magento Commerce (Cloud) accounted for 40% of new Magento bookings.

Finally, in 2018, the long-awaited union materialized when Adobe officially acquired Magento for $1.68 billion. The acquisition provided store owners and developers with access to cutting-edge tools and features, while also enabling Magento to continue innovating. Between 2018 and 2020, a lot of major announcements and innovations occurred:

There’s no question that Adobe helped advance how ecommerce sites run on Magento, adding more advanced analytics, marketing capabilities, and cloud services to empower online stores. Furthermore, seamless integration with other Adobe products helped improve workflows for Magento users worldwide.

Today, Magento remains a leader in the eCommerce landscape, powering countless online stores globally across industries big and small. The platform raised the bar in eCommerce by offering more flexibility, customization, and scalability for online retailers, spurring millions of downloads since launching. Magento established today’s expectations of what an eCommerce platform should deliver: robust features, flexibility, scalability, and seamless integration with other business systems.

Looking ahead, Magento’s open architecture ensures it can adapt to emerging trends, from headless commerce to new payment and fulfillment technologies. As eCommerce continues to evolve, Magento is poised to remain a key player, offering the agility of open-source development balanced with the scalability of enterprise-level commerce solutions.

In a landscape crowded with “rentable” eCommerce platforms, Magento offers merchants complete ownership of their online stores without the limitations of subscription-based ecosystems. Full control over customization, data, and operations, combined with the platform’s flexibility and scalability, positions Magento to serve businesses of all sizes, remaining agile despite technological and market shifts.

Living Proof Creative is a full-service creative agency specializing in Magento website development, migrations, and integrations. Our expert developers harness the platform’s powerful capabilities to deliver stores that perform, scale, and engage. With every new Magento site launch or migration, we help clients unlock the platform’s full potential, giving them the power and confidence to thrive in today’s competitive online marketplace.