THIS IS A TEST INSTANCE. ALL YOUR CHANGES WILL BE LOST!!!!
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Purpose
The purpose of this document is to describe the standard eCommerce feature set. So that it can be used as a reference document while developing an eCommerce solution. It will force us to be specific about what to achieve. It will also help to get everyone on the same page when a team is working on the implementation.
Introduction
Here we are focussed on Business-to-Consumer (B2C) commerce, where consumers visit the website/mobile apps, select/search the catalog, avail offers, select shipping/pickup options, do the payment, and places the order. For a smooth experience, the consumer can create an account, manage profile (password, contact information, shipping defaults, payment information), participate in surveys, and enjoy loyalty programs benefits.
Consumers having an account can log in and can see order history, can track the order and modify/cancel the order to a certain extent before it’s processing gets started.
Vision
This eCommerce feature set can be used to define the scope while developing headless commerce APIs.
Features
Customer
Registration
It is always easy to provide a unified shopping experience, deliver seamless transactions, and personalized experiences if the shoppers have registered themselves and created an account on the eCommerce site. The Registered account gives customers an interactive experience. So while having guest checkout (used majorly by the first time users) feature to register(it should be voluntary) a user in an encouraging way helps.
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Moreover describe the benefits of registration if possible to encourage the account creation e.g. loyalty program, order history, coupons, wishlist/shopping list, reviews, easier ordering for returning customers, etc. An email should be sent on successful registration.
Login
This feature allows a registered user to log on to the website. After the login user can be able to see his profile detail, order history can change the password and many more.
- Log in via username and password - User registered on the website can use the username and password (set during registration) to log in. Allowing login from both registered email and mobile number will ease the process.
- OTP login - Where OTP will be sent to the entered/registered email or phone number to continue login.
- Social Login - It helps to sign-up on a third-party platform using their existing login information from social media networks like Facebook, hence avoiding the need to create a new account.
Logout
It enables the user to log out of the website. No user-specific detail should appear now.
Reset Password
If somehow the user forgot his password then there should be a way by which the user can reset the password on its own without contacting the customer support team.
To reset the password user should be asked to provide his registered email and in the process, a reset password mail should be sent to that email with a link to reset the password. When the user clicks that link from his mailbox he should be redirected back to the website to proceed ahead with the reset password. The reset password link should be valid for a particular time period to avoid any issues.
Profile
For the registered user, there should be one page where he can see his account information along with other activities. The following information can be included on the profile page -
Change Password
The users should be able to change the password from his profile page after logging into the website. He should be simply asked to enter the current password and new password with the password hint to change the password. An email should be sent to the user on the successful operation to intimate the customer about the password change.
Personal Information
The user's personal information should be displayed on the profile page. Personal information should include name, gender, birthdate, etc. Users should also be allowed to update this information.
Contact Information And Defaults
The user's contact information should be displayed on the profile page. User contact information includes postal addresses, phones, and emails for different purposes. All the previously added postal addresses (shipping, billing, etc), phone(primary, shipping, billing, etc), and email should be displayed.
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Email Address
The user should be able to add the new email addresses and can also be able to remove/expire any email.
Payment Method Information
User's previously used/saved payment methods should be included here. Users should be able to manage payment methods. Users can add new payment methods, can remove/expire payment methods, and can also mark as default.
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EFT Account
The user should be able to add/save a valid EFT account along with the billing address. The user should be able to mark the EFT account as default.
Shipment Method Defaults
To further ease out the checkout process for the registered user default shipping methods can also be set based on the default shipping address. The default shipping address and default shipping method should come selected in the checkout process to make the process easier and fast.
Loyalty Programs
To increase customer retention, purchase frequency, and engagement of the existing customer Reward/Loyalty programs on an eCommerce platform are becoming very popular. Information on all such programs specific to the logged-in users should be listed on the user profile. The user should know their rewards earned so far. Show a clear path to higher tiers and rewards. How to redeem/use rewards etc. When these earned points/rewards are going to expire if not redeemed will also be included.
Subscriptions
The user should be able to see their subscriptions if they subscribed to any newsletters. There can be different newsletters e.g. new product arrivals, product tips newsletter. There should also be an option to unsubscribe.
Surveys
To improve the services and shopping experience user's feedback is very important. All modern eCommerce systems are now more focused in this direction. They are conducting quick surveys and also connect with different other ways to get feedback. Generally, these survey links are sent on the registered email. The User should be able to see these surveys and can also participate in the surveys which are intended for him from the profile page as well.
Communications
This includes all the email/SMS communication sent to the customer. It can be related to order notifications or can be other feedback related notifications. It is always helpful to keep track of these system notifications.
Order History
The user should be able to see order history with the current status. Full detail of any order from history should also be accessible. There should be an option to track the active order with a timeline. There should be an option to cancel the complete order or the partial order(few items) if the order processing is not started yet.
Return
The User should also be able to initiate the partial as well as full return.
Catalog
Product Navigation
Maybe the most significant part of an online store is its navigation system. Users should have the ability to browse among different categories and products quickly through an intuitive navigation system. The categories of the products that are listed on the site should be well organized and give users the ability to swiftly navigate between different product categories.
Searching, Sorting, Filtering
Search
The ability to search an eCommerce website is very important because many online buyers have specific items that they are looking for. The search capabilities enable users to find the desired products quickly from the available catalog. The search should be powered with autocomplete suggestions. Autocomplete suggestions help to narrow down our search, minimize the risk of misspellings, and speed up the entire search process leading to accurate results in less time. It provides accurate and fast suggestions that let the user find a product of their choice instantly. It provides a genuine boost to the conversion rates because people can search and find the exact product they need with minimal effort.
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The better the top products, the greater the site's sales. At the same time, if the products on top of the list do not appeal to users, they will not be willing to see the rest of the products. Product sorting determines what products should be put on top or at the end of the list. Therefore, a default sorting method is necessary for putting the best products on top of the list.
Feature Products
The homepage is the most visited place in an eCommerce system. It's the page where the shoppers start looking at the storefront. There should be an option to feature products on homepage. Featured products drive attention to specific items in your store and assist you to reach so many goals.
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- Best selling products
- Products from different categories to showcase your assortment.
- New Arrivals
- Best Deals
Feature Categories
Similar to featuring products there should be an option to feature the categories on the home page. It drives attention to specific categories in your store.
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- Popular Categories
- Season Specific Categories
- Categories offering discounts
Cross-Selling
There should be a way to cross-sell products on the eCommerce platform.
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- Recommend the accessory required for proper operation or use of the product purchased.
- Bundle related products so the customer doesn't need to look for necessary components or accessories.
- Offer a discounted price on a bundled product offer to encourage immediate purchase with temporary price savings.
Upselling
There should be a way to upsell products. Implementing product upsell in the eCommerce system increases sales and deepens your relationship with your customers.
Upselling is simply the act of offering your customers a better (more expensive) item when they add a product to their cart or reach the checkout page. Upselling is the practice of encouraging customers to purchase a comparable higher-end product than the one in question. Upselling often employs comparison charts to market higher-end products to customers. Showing visitors that other versions or models may better fulfill their needs. So for example, if a customer is buying a laptop and you're using visual prompts on the product page or during checkout to entice her to also purchase a 5-year warranty, that's upselling.
Compare Products
There should be a way to compare products on an eCommerce platform. Many customers want to view products side by side, compare them across multiple data points, and pick the best for their needs.
Category Page
Unless a visitor to your site enters through a specific product page through a search, they will typically come through a product category page first. Every category page should provide whatever information about the products is necessary to entice visitors to click-through to the products themselves. The category page should consist following-
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Add To Compare
The user should be able to add products for the comparison.
Product Detail Page
The product detail page should give complete information about the product and leads toward the checkout. The information should be well structured and should be presented really well to increase the conversion. Information/actions on the product detail page should comprise-
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Buy Now
Users should be able to check out the product directly.
Seller Page
All the products of a particular seller should be accessible to users. Product detail should be similar to the category page. There should be filters to refine the products list offered by a particular seller.
Tag Cloud
Users should be allowed to add tags for a particular product. Efficient search always increases sales and product tags and improves search by providing additional ways to identify products. The process of tagging products consists of assigning keywords or phrases to products that they are easier to find within your e-commerce.
Special Offers
Users should be able to check the available promotions and discounts offered.
Product Referral / Tell a Friend
Users should be able to recommend the product to their friends. There should be a support to send an email/SMS notification with the product detail page link. There can be referral strategies for an eCommerce system. Referral strategy or incentivizing your current customers helps you encourage your satisfied customers to take action and recommend products to friends who might be looking for similar products.