Creating a "Next Generation" e-Commerce ExperienceJean-Yves Martineau - FounderCactus Commerce

Scott Cairney - VP of Product ManagementCactus Commerce

Outline

Who are we

Trends to watch

Cross-channel strategyNew channelsKey inflection points in cross-channelWhere to begin for a sound strategy

User experience & e-commerceWhy UX is so importantWhere we are in the hype cycle

Commerce Server 2009 – platform enablingIntroducing Commerce Server 2009

Q&A

"This announcement from Microsoft is a breath of fresh air into Commerce Server's image," says Gartner research VP Gene Alvarez. “

InformationWeek, August 8, 2007

We Understand the Flow of Goods

Marketing/Brand

Management

Technology Dev

Marketing & Brand

Agencies

The Future of e-Commerce

Trends to Watch

Driver of Change: Abundance

In the 1950’s, everyone dreamed of owning a car and a home…

Today:2 out of 3 Americans own their own home13 percent of homes purchased are 2nd homesNumber of cars exceeds drivers

Self-storage$17B+ business

U.S. spends more on trash bags than 90 other countries spend on everything

Gross commoditization makes process optimization woefully insufficient

“A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has helped many organizations weather the downturn, but this approach will ultimately render them obsolete. Only the constant pursuit of innovation can ensure long-term success.”

- Daniel Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business, Univ. of British Columbia

AccelerationA Brief History of Economics

Source: Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

Agricultural Age

Industrial Age

Information Age

Conceptual Age

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

- General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

“UPS used to be a trucking company with technology. Now it’s a technology company with trucks.” - Forbes

The "Infolust" Trend

Looking at the “always-on” generation

Also known as the click-to-knowsUsing search engines everyday to get instant information on everything including your people and your products

Instant gratification

Proliferation of smart devices

Ubiquitous high bandwidth access

The clash with the “real world”…

New Channels

Augmented reality

Wearable tech

Ultra-mobile computers

Digital signage

Etc.

Multi-player Mobile Game

Engage consumers with a multi-player game controlled through their mobile phones

Interactive Windows

Interact with the audience 24/7 – outside or inside the store

Browse a catalog 24/7 – outside or inside the store

Mobile Augmented Reality

Use mobile devices to augment reality and interact with customers

User generated tagging of the physical world

The FutureAugmented Reality to Guide Consumers Through Complex Tasks

Replacing car parts

Renovation projects

Assemble IKEA furniture

The Future of e-Commerce

How to Engage and Improve Customer Satisfaction

Mobile Becomes Ubiquitous

Apple iPhone, 3 SkypePhone, Amazon Kindle, Google Android, Windows Mobile…

3G+ = 10% of 3.2B global mobile subscribers in C2007E –

21% (critical mass inflection point) of 3.9B in C2009E(iSuppli)

91% of mobile users keep phone within 1 meter reach 24x7 (China Mobile 50K survey)

15-20% of mobiles have GPS, 50% within 5 years(Morgan Stanley Research)

Watch for new generation of Internet leaders to capitalize on growing access to fast Internet access on mobiles

Incumbent carriers + handset manufacturers still desire to control markets – financial dislocations / costs / opportunities may be substantive as wireless industry evolves over next 2-5 years

ATT CQ1 – Wireless data revenue up 57% Y/Y to 22% of wireless service revenue vs. 16% Y/Y. ~13% of devices are 3G and carry 20% higher ARPU than 2G base + iPhoneARPU 2x AT&T average

B2B Companies Using Web 2.0

web 2.0 reality in B2B

tier description exampleshyped butseldom used

Immersive online experiences that require a high degree of socialization or specific technologies to make the most out of features and functions.

+ wikis+ mobile+ viral video+ social networks+ virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life)

emerging Integrated tools that add new media functionality; especially focused on the infusion of motion, sound and elective participation.

+ blogs+ rss feeds+ podcasts+ video-on-demand+ distributed services

everywhere Established web tools entrenched in the day-to-day functions and communications of companies.

+ proprietary web sites+ email marketing+ online advertising+ search engine optimization+ search engine marketing+ webinars

Source: 2007 Survey of National Advertisers and BtoBOnlinecom

Multi/Cross Channel

Forrester - February 2008 “B2B CMO Investment Priorities For 2008”

Linked

An Example

The Imperatives

•Business imperativesBottom up functionalitySimplicity, more practicalityImproves efficiency and speed

User imperatives Web basedEasy to useInherently social

Brand imperativesConsistent and compelling application of voiceCredible brand behaviorClear connection to promise

So Why Is UX So Important?

There’s so much out there on the Internet and there’s no sign of anything slowing down

Technology alone doesn't give you a competitive advantage anymore

Wide bandwidth availability ubiquitously provides a vehicle for richer content; if you don't use it, your competitors will

User Experience

Business Logic

DATA

User Experience

MAGIC

Key Inflection Points

The various channels and devices should be designed to work together, complimentarily, not in silos

The experience itself must be consistent with itself throughout the devices

Moving from text intensive to visual cues and motion to communicate brand and emotion

The digital world’s influence on the “real world”

Key Inflection Points

Not all actions that are possible on one channel are suitable on other channels

Don’t underestimate the importance of meta-data and semantics in your design

Next generation design strategies: inclusive design patterns that cross cultural bounds

Where To Begin?

Build your differentiation through innovation:Don’t focus on the technology first, focus on the end game – what’s the resulting experience?

Gaining cross team alignment is key

Take time to structure the underlying meta-data you will need to represent your experience well

Use interactive story boards to gain early feedback and make cheap adjustments before you put in the “guts” to make it all real

How do you go about innovating, anyway?

Concepts Applied

Visual tools introduced into CS2009, a mainstream Microsoft e-commerce product

Enables a broader set of less sophisticated users govern a production quality set of channels

Uses existing habits in the Microsoft-user world to lower the barrier to entry

Enables a more streamlined experience between marketing and technology

Commerce Server 2009

introducing

What’s New In CS2009?

For site designersStandards-based design with new design tools

Standardized creation and editing of site designsNew tools and technologyPre-built components for rapid site creation

For developers and architectsNew multi-channel unified foundation, web parts, new extensibility model

Out-of-the-box site functionality: web partsUnified programming modelClear separation between business and presentation layersNew extensibility pointsAdditional.NET 3.5-based shopping features built-in

What ‘s New In CS2009?

For your shoppers and purchasersBetter experience

Contemporary out-of-the-box e-commerce site

For merchandisers & marketersWebsite-based information and presentation management

On-the-site product information editingCS2009 templates for presentation managementWeb set up of different “channels”

For IT professionalsUnified interaction surface for different integrated business systems

Unified surface to interact with all your product systems

New SharePoint Commerce Services and Web Parts

MarketingAdvertisements and DiscountsVirtual Earth Store LocatorReviews and Ratings (2 web parts)

SearchSearch BoxSearch Results and Paging (2 web parts)

ProfilesAddress ListAddress DetailCredit Card ListCredit Card DetailMy ProfileRegistration WizardChange, Forgot Password (2 web parts)Live ID*

CatalogProduct QueryProduct Detail DisplayImages ViewerSite Map

OrdersAdd to CartShopping CartMini-cartCheckoutOrder DetailsOrder HistoryMy ListsMy List Details

ManagementChannel Configuration*Property List SelectionProduct ProviderInline Product Editing**

* These items are technically not Web Parts, but they use SharePoint controls and are available in the Default site or can be integrated into other sites.

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“Mobile” Template

Commerce Server Core SystemsCatalog, Orders, Profiles, Marketing, Analytics,

Staging, Web Services, BizTalk Adaptors

Commerce Server Business

Management Tools

Catalog Manager, Marketing Manager, Customer & Order

Manager

* SharePoint installation required

Commerce Server 2009 SharePoint

Commerce Services*

Site ManagementChannel Mgmt

Presentation MgmtInformation Mgmt

Workflow

Commerce Server 2009 Multi-Channel Commerce Foundation

Unified run-time calling model, meta dataMulti-Channel Awareness

Core e-Commerce Shopping Features

Commerce Server 2009 Web Parts

E.g.: Shopping, Checkout, Profile, …

Commerce Server 2009Default Web Site*

Live!Service

s

Commerce Server IT Pro and Designer

Tools

“Color-Neutral” TemplateSite

Templates

Contemporary

Template

Custom UX: Customize Web Parts

OR Direct to CS2009

Commerce Foundation

Custom

Logic

Commerce Server 2009 Schematic

Commerce Foundation

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Commerce Foundation: Extensibility points

Commerce EntitiesEncapsulates a single business concept such as a product or a catalogEncapsulates both properties and relationshipsCan be extended to include new properties and new relationshipsSupported by meta data that provides descriptive information about the Commerce Entity that can be retrieved via the API.

OperationsProvides CRUD capabilities on Commerce EntitiesConsists of one or more Operation SequencesMay be extendedThe response of the operation may be extended

Operation SequencesOperation Sequences can be plugged/unplugged on a per-channel basisOut-of-the-box Operation Sequences can be replaced by custom onesOperation Sequences are reusable components that can be created and reused on other projectsThird parties may create new operations that may be purchased rather than custom built

Operation

Message Flow

Opera

tion

Sequence

Opera

tion

Sequence

Opera

tion

Sequence

Opera

tion

Sequence

Web Browser

Mobile Application

Etc...

Public API

Broker

CSSub

Systems

SQL Server

Presentation

Application

Data

Presentation Tools

Presentation Tools

Cloud Services

var productQuery = new Query<CommerceEntity>(“Product”); productQuery.Properties.Add(“Id”);productQuery.Properties.Add(“DisplayName”); productQuery.SearchCriteria.Model.Properties.Add(“Id”, “1243”);productQuery.SearchCriteria.Model.Properties.Add(“CatalogId”,”Adventure Works Catalog”); Response response = OperationServiceAgent.ProcessRequest(requestContext, productQuery.ToRequest())

Commerce Entities Overview

Commerce Server 2009 exposes a single generic class which represents all Commerce Server entities called a “CommerceEntity”

Commerce Server 2009 exposes a single generic class which represents all Commerce Server entities called a “CommerceEntity”

Different types of Commerce Entities are distinguished by the “ModelName” property

Example query:

Operation-Based Programming Model

Operations span all Commerce Server sub systems:CatalogOrdersProfilesMarketing

New operations can be created that communicate with other non-Commerce Server services:

Other Microsoft productsNon-Microsoft products Cloud-based services

Multi-Channel Commerce FoundationScott Cairney

demo

Web Parts: SharePoint Integration

UI Components built as ASP.NET 3.5 Web Parts, providing a number of significant advantages:

Web part connections can be used to marshal requests to Commerce Server

Web parts may be made aware of the zone on a page in which they can reside

Web parts may be personalized by an end user

Web parts can be arranged on a page by a business user in the browser using Windows SharePoint Services or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

XSLT Templat

e

Product XML

Web Parts:Customization – XSL Transforms

XSL transforms stored in a template

Templates may be managed in a document library when the web part is used with SharePoint

Allows multiple templates to be built, tested and applied by a business user

Multi-Channel

Foundation

SharePoint Site

HTM

L

Query

Resu

lts

Query

Pro

pert

ies

HTM

L

Template Document Library

Product Query Web Part

Commerce Server Contemporary Site PreviewScott Cairney

demo

Business User ExperienceJean-Yves Martineau

demo

© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after

the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after

the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.