A Timeline of The Global Growth of PrestaShop
In 2007, PrestaShop burst onto the scene as a free, open source, and on-premise eCommerce solution.
Within just a year, PrestaShop had been translated into 15 different languages by users in France, the US, Italy, the UK, Brazil, and Indonesia. All through word of mouth alone.
Today, PrestaShop powers over 250,000 active online stores, and their online community boasts over one million registered members.
When I visited PrestaShop’s Paris headquarters, I got to see for myself that PrestaShop is no longer just a popular eCommerce solution – it’s a software project with deep and meaningful roots that spread to the four corners of the earth.
A Timeline of PrestaShop’s Global Growth
2007
- PrestaShop Founded
2008
- Raised $220k in funding
- PrestaShop 1.0 released
- In the first month, there were 100 stores running in 10 countries
2009
- PrestaShop holds the first Community Barcamp with 250 attendees
- PrestaShop 1.1 and 1.2 are released
2010
- Raised $700k in funding
- PrestaShop 1.3 is launched
- The 2010 Barcamp has 450 attendees
2011
- Raised $3M in funding
- 100,000 active stores
- 200,000 community members
- The 2011 Barcamp has 1000 attendees
- PrestaShop version 1.4 is launched
2012
- PrestaShop software reaches 2 million downloads
- The Barcamp goes international to NYC and Barcelona
- PrestaShop version 1.5 is launched
- PrestaShop development goes on Github for the first time
2013
- PrestaShop software reaches 3 million downloads
- The Barcamp has 1500 attendees from 15 countries
2014
- Raised $9.4M in funding
- PrestaShop version 1.6 is launched with 23k downloads in the first day
2015
- PrestaShop hosts the largest community day ever with 2000 attendees
- New offices opened in Miami and Paris
- PrestaShop launches a global Ambassador Program
- PrestaShop launches PrestaShop Cloud
- PrestaShop announces $1M fund for developer
2016
- The PrestaShop community surpasses 1M members
- PrestaShop Days in Madrid, Paris and Milan have over 3000 attendees
- PrestaShop 1.7 is announced
Looking for more detail? Check out PrestaShop's timeline.
As you can see from the timeline above, PrestaShop’s eye for innovation was recognized by investors almost immediately. The core features of PrestaShop itself were always impressive, and that led the way for community members to help grow the platform in the first few years of its life.
Today, PrestaShop uses that solid foundation and rich history to welcome third-party plugin and theme development (as well as the sale thereof via the PrestaShop Marketplace), roll out innovative projects like PrestaShop Cloud, and expand into new regions of the world.
Speaking of which…
Big Movements In Europe & South America
Europe has always been the major hotspot for PrestaShop. It was born in France, and so neighbouring nations were the first to accept it in its early stages. Today, PrestaShop is considered to be the most popular eCommerce solution in a range of european countries.
But during my tour of PrestaShop’s headquarters, I was told about the platform’s recent growth across South America.
Here’s what Leah Anathan, PrestaShop’s CMO, has to say about that growth:
“We are very bullish about Latin America. Today we have over 15,000 active stores in the region and the growth rates are extremely positive. To give an example, we had a meetup recently in Buenos Aires, led by one of our Ambassadors, and several hundred people showed up. The interest in PrestaShop and market opportunity in Latin America is very exciting.”
A Localized Foundation, A Future In The Cloud?
PrestaShop has worked hard over the years to hone their core product and bolster their theme and module library – which is today their biggest driver of revenue. The impressive features of their downloadable product, plus the option for users to localize it through translations and adaptations, has led to its phenomenal growth across the globe over the last nine years.
I expect that growth to continue, with Latin America being the latest in a long line of regions that has accepted PrestaShop, along with all its flexibility, with open arms.
In terms of the future, the release of PrestaShop Cloud – a totally free and cloud-hosted eCommerce solution – was the moment that PrestaShop entered a new market, gave their platform a new dimension, and carved out a new route forwards.
Now that PrestaShop has an on-premise and cloud-hosted offering, the potential for its growth is nothing short of exciting.
To find out more about PrestaShop, and the upcoming PrestaShop 1.7 release, check out the PrestaShop website.
Also, be sure to stick around for more coverage of PrestaShop during this PrestaShop Featured Week.