To the German article

2020 was an extraordinary year in many ways. We take the turn of the year as an opportunity to look back on a __turbulent and eventful Shopware and ecommerce year.__ ## 2020 – without question the Corona Year 2020 was, of course, significantly shaped by one central topic: The __coronavirus__. For merchants, the pandemic had very different effects. The local retail, which had to compete with online retail even before the Corona pandemic, had to struggle even more this year. Consumers increasingly shopped online as a result of the virus - whether in lockdown or even when the local shops were open. After all, the __fear of a possible infection__ caused many consumers to prefer to shop from home. According to the [Search Engine Journal](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ecommerce-mcommerce-trends-tips/390089/), the __winners were above all those merchants__ who were able to adapt quickly to the pandemic. This is the case for __online trade__ in general. ### Shopware offers immediate assistance for merchants We __supported__ merchants in need with the __power of the community__ in the best possible way. In the blink of an eye, we set up a [platform ](https://www.shopware.com/en/covid19/)where especially small, medium-sized and local merchants were provided with news about the topic and were able to take advantage of __various offers of help__. We would like to thank everyone involved and hope that we were able to help many merchants. As part of this, we also pushed the [Downtown project](https://downtown.shop/en) - a __free software__ that allows cities, municipalities and trade organisations to open __digital marketplaces for free__. The traders of the city of [Bolzano ](https://www.shopware.com/en/news/downtown-project-in-bolzano-teamblau-supports-local-businesses-with-a-digital-marketplace/)in Italy were the first to take advantage of this. ### The first completely virtual Shopware Community Day For May 2020, basically a normal Shopware Community Day was planned at the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Germany, as it was the case in 2018 and 2019. In February, we saw the __first events being cancelled__, and in March the state government announced the __ban on events__ of our size. "The cancellation of all events from March onwards presented us with some challenges and prompted us to rethink possibilities of online events," says Lucas Schlüter (Event Marketing Manager). Event Manager Björn Meß adds: “The week of the __cancellation__ was quite hard because we didn't know what to do from that point. We decided to go with a very basic __live stream__ that we had to produce completely on our own and film it at the campus in the garage we have here. When we sat down with our existing technology partners from the region, we set up a studio and that worked out really well!" Interestingly, networking via Slack also worked very well: “I also experienced that on the Slack channels. There were so many people, logging in and chatting about all kinds of stuff and also in the live chat.”, Björn explained. Since the [digital SCD](https://scd.shopware.com/en/recap/2020/) was a __great success__, the __digital event series__ [SCD Explore](https://scd.shopware.com/de/) was launched in the same year. It kicked off on 3 December with valuable insights and learnings from and for experts from the __B2B sector__. From this point of view, the fact that the Shopware Community Day did not take place as usual and was able to discover new forms of the format had a positive effect. ## 2020 = 20 years of Shopware During all the Corona hustle and bustle, we unfortunately couldn't celebrate as extensively as we would have liked. In fact, 2020 was also the year of our __20th anniversary__. You can read more about the__ founding story__ [here ](https://store.shopware.com/en/news/20-years-of-shopware-we-look-back-and-celebrate-the-anniversary)or watch the [video interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6-CKZZ1sHw&feature=youtu.be) with our founder. ## Huge changes from the product perspective From the product perspective, we were able to achieve a number of __milestones__ in 2020. In the first half of the year, we introduced two new products: * Firstly, the [Shopware Cloud](https://www.shopware.com/en/products/shopware-cloud/). With this, we have added a useful component to our product portfolio, with which even inexperienced users can get started in ecommerce easily, cost-effectively and without risk. * On the other hand, the [Shopware PWA](https://www.shopware.com/en/solutions/shopware-pwa/) frontend, which can be seamlessly integrated with Shopware 6 and enables unique customer experiences. In the second half of the year, we revised our release strategy and pursued our goal of offering our community __more predictability and transparency__. What's new about the __revised__ [release cycle](https://www.shopware.com/en/news/shopware-6-versioning-strategy/): With a few exceptions (for example, in the upcoming January), we publish a __new Shopware 6 version every month__. In this way, we promote regularity and enable users to benefit more quickly from innovations. In connection to this, we have also launched two new formats to create more transparency regarding our products and their development: * The [Release News](https://www.shopware.com/en/news/shopware-6-release-news-december-2020/), which are published on the day of the new release and present all innovations in detail. * The [Global Product Update](https://www.shopware.com/en/news/for-our-community-shopware-s-monthly-global-product-update/) - a video format in which our developers and product managers give a preview of the features they are currently working on. We have also __updated__ the [product roadmap](https://www.shopware.com/en/roadmap/) so that shop owners and developers can see exactly what we are currently working on, what we want to tackle next, and what visions we have for the future.

The Shopware Boost Day

The year started very excitingly for Shopware and the community: Shopware 6.1 was released in January 2020! Together with our community, we aimed at constantly improving Shopware 6!

Therefore, on 14 May 2020, the starting signal was given for the first virtual Shopware Boost Day. On this day, the Shopware core developers worked hand in hand with the community on new features and on the further development of Shopware 6. With 138 participants, 45 pull requests and over 3000 messages sent in Slack, the kick-off was a complete success so that the second virtual Boost Day already followed in September.

The third digital Boost Day will take place on 14 January 2021. This Boost Day will be all about the community: Under the guiding theme "Boost your knowledge", there will be a beginners' workshop with Dockware for installation and a beginners' workshop led by Michael Telgmann. For our experienced community, there will of course be exciting tickets available on GitHub.

Our Shopware developers are already looking forward to the day together with the community.

If you would also like to take part in the Boost Day, then register now:

Register now

## Recognition in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce Also important for us: Gartner recognised Shopware in their [Magic Quadrant](https://www.shopware.com/en/news/pride-and-motivation-at-the-same-time-shopware-is-recognized-in-gartner-s-magic-quadrant-for-digital-commerce-2020/) for __Digital Commerce 2020__. The Magic Quadrant is trendsetting and offers investors, providers, and manufactures with a sense of direction for their respective market segment. Grafik_Stefan-Hamann_Zitat-860x300_EN

## Christmas events for the end of the year For the first time ever, we have started__ a huge Secret Santa__ event for the community. Under [\#ShopwareSecretSanta](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShopwareSecretSanta?src=hashtag_click), we have already seen numerous lovely gifts on social media. We are delighted about the __engagement__ and __creativity of our community__. Another __Christmas activity__ relates to [projects close to our hearts](https://www.shopware.com/en/christmas-donations/), for which we are donating a total amount of __EUR 20,000__. Help us to decide how much of the donation goes to each of our favourite projects. Moreover, you have the opportunity to submit your own suggestions. ## We would like to say THANK YOU, we wish you HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a good start to the year 2021! Unfortunately, we were rarely able to meet the community in person in 2020. But hardly any other year has shown how crucial mutual support is. That makes it all the more important for us to say __"thank you"__. Together, we always get great things going - and look forward to the __New Year 2021 full of hope__! Weihnachten_20_twitter-post

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