Introducing Advantage Shop: A New Name (with a Story Behind It)
Nearly a decade ago, our ecommerce solution – initially called “Cider” – grew out of a larger shift in how we approached digital experiences. At the time, our online offering consisted of what was known as the Foundation Site: a collection of webpages implemented with the Advantage API. However, it was not fully equipped for modern ecommerce and customer self‑service. We soon set out to build a more robust platform specifically for our clients.
When we chose Orchard as the underlying content management system for a new, more flexible ecommerce system, it marked a turning point. The goal was to build a modular, extensible solution capable of growing into a true platform. During that early work, a developer likened the idea of an orchard to an apple orchard—and the output of harvesting those apples to make cider. The name stuck, capturing both the technical foundation and the idea of turning raw capability into something truly valuable.
Cider evolved into Cider Plus, adding performance, security, extensibility, and modern features to its early strengths. Today, that evolution continues as Cider Plus becomes Advantage Shop.
Supporting the Full Customer Journey
This rebrand is rooted in our focus on the full customer journey—from discovery and acquisition through engagement, renewal, and retention. Advantage Shop plays a critical role in that journey by providing the environment in which those interactions happen. It supports acquisition through storefronts and landing pages, conversion through flexible checkout and payment options, ongoing engagement through account access and self‑service, and retention by making account management and renewals easier for customers.
What Is Advantage Shop?
Advantage Shop is the digital storefront and customer self‑service experience for organizations running on Advantage. From first click through renewal, Shop is the experience customers see and interact with. It’s where they can browse offers, purchase subscriptions and other products, and manage their accounts over time.
Behind the scenes, Advantage handles the business logic, data, and processing that make those interactions work reliably and at scale.
Part of a Vertically Integrated Advantage Ecosystem
It is important to view Advantage Shop in a larger context. It is not a bolt‑on ecommerce tool or a loosely connected frontend. Rather, it’s designed, built, and supported as part of a vertically integrated Advantage ecosystem, sharing the same business logic, data model, and roadmap.
Product definitions, pricing rules, promotions, subscriptions, payments, and customer data live in Advantage and are surfaced consistently through Shop. That tight integration eliminates duplicate configurations, reduces synchronization challenges, and provides a clear support and ownership model.
The result is a more cohesive platform—simpler to operate, easier to adapt, and better suited to delivering consistent customer experiences end‑to‑end.
Why the Name Change?
As our product family has grown, so has the need for naming that reflects connection, clarity, and purpose across the Advantage ecosystem. Cider Plus described where and how our ecommerce solution originated. Advantage Shop describes what it is today.
The new name makes its role immediately clear: this is Advantage’s native digital commerce and self‑service solution. It also brings Shop into closer alignment with other Advantage products such as Advantage Paywall, Advantage Single Sign‑On, and Advantage Analytics, reinforcing how these solutions work together as a single platform rather than standalone tools. As the platform continues to evolve—with deeper analytics, identity, and personalization capabilities—Shop is where interactions become visible and valuable to customers.
Looking Ahead
Advantage Shop represents where we’re going, not just where we’ve been.
As our roadmap continues to encompass the full customer journey, we are committed to reducing complexity across systems as well as giving organizations (and their customers) more control through self‑service. A cornerstone of the Advantage platform, Shop plays a significant role in this endeavor.
We’re excited to continue realizing our vision and working towards our mission: to power your customer journey.