THIS IS A TEST INSTANCE. ALL YOUR CHANGES WILL BE LOST!!!!
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.
There should be a feature for the shopper registration. The registration form should have as minimal fields as possible and they should be logically grouped. The registration should be voluntary. The shopper should have the option to the anonymous/guest checkout. If the registration process is combined with the checkout process then break up the process in the clearly labeled steps.
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.
Postal Address
The user should be able to add the new postal addresses and can also be able to remove/expire any postal address. For the shipping destination address, the user can be able to mark the default address if there is more than one shipping destination address.
There should be a way to record address line 1, address line 2, zip/postal code, city, state, country, and purpose(billing, shipping, etc) while adding a new postal address.
Phone Number
The user should be able to add the new phone numbers and can also be able to remove/expire any phone number. There should be a way to record country code, area code, contact number, extension, and purpose separately while adding new phone numbers.
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.
Credit card
One of the most common payment methods used is the Credit card. The user should be able to add/save valid credit cards along with the billing address. This will ease the checkout process where users can select previously used/saved credit cards for the payment. The user can add, remove/expire, and update credit cards. The user should be able to mark credit cards as default (if there is more than one) that should come selected in the checkout process.
Gift Card
The user can add, remove/expire, and update gift cards. The User should be able to mark the gift card as default.
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.