With the increased use of mobile devices and technology, WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0 enables smart phones as new customer touch points for browsing the online store, conducting side-by-side product comparisons, receiving marketing messages, promotion codes, store location information, inventory availability, and completing transactions. The mobile store model provides out-of-the-box support for smart phones allowing companies to quickly adopt mobile as a new channel for doing business; while seamlessly leveraging the power of the Cross-Channel Precision Marketing Engine in this new customer touch point.
Key Features
- Ability to get product information, stock availability, and store locations
- Receive marketing messages or coupon codes via Short Message Service
- Buy via mobile device and get order status information
- Store locator
Key Benefits
- Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Improve customer experience with access across multiple touch points
- Open a new revenue channel for businesses
- Leverage the same Web business user tooling to manage Web and mobile marketing campaigns and promotions
- Storefront real estate optimized for mobile
SMS Support
- Order status
- Marketing messages (promotion codes)
Summary of Mobile Optimizations
- Compactness
- functions omitted, images omitted, store flows reorged
- Standards
- W3C Mobile Best Practices
- Passes mobile OK Scheme 1.0 Basic Tests
- Opt in to receive SMS messages (enter phone number)
- Shopping flow optimization
- Shipping method limited to pick up in store
- Payment limited to credit card or pay in store
- Accessibility does not make sense on mobile phone (omitted)
Enabling Mobile Store Pages
- Publish MadisonsMobile.sar add-on store archive
- Adds directory of mobile JSP files
- Adds Struts mappings
Example Mobile Store Pages
- Homepage
- no flash
- images are smaller
- navigation simplified
- e-Spots have “mobile” in the names
- Product availability
- Store locator
- can call store phone # (feature of phone)
- Registration
- Only a few fields: logon id, email, firstname, lastname
Targeted Devices
- Tier-1 smartphones with resolution of 240*320
- IBM testing
- iPhone
- Blackberry
- Windows Mobile 6.1.4
- Nokia
- Android
Mobile Device Simulators
- Limited to vertical scrolling
- Cannot receive SMS messages
- Presentation contains links to simulators
Routing to mobile specific store pages
- Device independent routing
- Device dependent switching to mobile pages
- web module filter checks HTTP header (built-in)
- device matches causes Struts forwarding to specific pages (customization exercise, starter store only supports tier 1 devices)
- Device specific routing
- xml/config/com.ibm.commerce.foundation/wc-devices.xml
- pattern match of HTTP header maps device to internalID (example: -11)
- struts-config-ext.xml
- Forward based on device ID: <forward ….>
- More likely to add new devices to use existing pages than add device specific pages
SMS
- Messages
- Promotions and other marketing messages
- Order status notices
- SMS transport
- JCA adapter
- Outbound only
- Configured in adminconsole
- New transports: SMSHTTP, SMSWS
- message types (templates available, to be customized, optionally add new templates)
- Example: clickatell.com
- Clickatell.com requires CustomParameters: &queue=1&concat=2
- Device format: SMS messages
- Requires SMS gateway provider
- HTTP API – proprietary based on gateway vender (common subset, can add others)
- Parlay X Web services specification 3.0 (consortium)
- List of vendors provided in presentation
- Templates:
- OrderAuthorized (OrderAuthorizedSMS.jsp)
- OrderReceived
- OrderRejected
- OrderCancel
- OrderChanged
- ReleaseShipNotify
- Testing methodology
- Requires
- SMS gateway provider
- Real mobile device
- Requires
Stay tuned for the next topic – Social Commerce
Adding social commerce features to your commerce site can have many advantages. By building a sense of community around your brands, you can enhance customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases.
