Successful Ecommerce Replatforming (Webinar)

Successful Ecommerce
Replatforming
May 24, 2012

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Today’s Speakers

Brian Walker Eric Miller
Vice President, Principal Analyst Director of Product Management
Forrester Research Monetate

Introduction by

Alexis Henderson
Director of eLearning
Retail Online Integration

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Keys to Successful eCommerce Replatforming

Brian K. Walker
VP, Principal Analyst
Forrester Research
May 24, 2012

5 © 2012 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
© 2009 Forrester

Survey details and demographics
 150 US online survey respondents
– Industry: distribution across all major verticals, but emphasizing retail, CPG, & travel
– Company size: Distribution across mid-market and enterprise in both geographies
– Small: 12
– Midmarket: 18
– Enterprise: 29
– Roles: Manager level and above; with responsibility within eCommerce
– IT: 36
– eCommerce/eBusiness/Marketing: 16
– Line of Business: 4
– Supply Chain: 3


Current State

© 2009 Forrester

eCommerce solutions are largely in-house today
“Which of the following best describes your current “Which of the following best describes the technology
eCommerce solution?” operational model for your
current eCommerce solution?”

Homegrown solution
developed internally by our IT 37% Supported and hosted in-
59%
group house by our IT group

Commercial, licensed
application (e.g. ATG/Oracle, 31% Supported and hosted by
IBM) a 3rd party (e.g. systems
26%
integrator or interactive
agency)
Open source ecommerce
platform (e.g. Magento, 10%
OSCommerce)
Supported and hosted by
8%
the product vendor
Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
commerce platform (e.g. 17%
Demandware)

Outsourced full service (e.g. Other 8%
GSI Commerce, One-stop, 5%
Speed FC)

Base: 59 US eBusiness decision makers Base: 59 US eBusiness decision makers

Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Monetate, May 2012

And on-premise solutions are used across the
capability set needed for eCommerce today
“What operational model do you currently employ for each of the following technologies?”

Don't use Licensed / On premise SaaS

Contact Center Support Management Solution 8% 66% 25%

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 5% 63% 32%

Web Content Management (WCM) 2% 75% 24%

Order Management (OM) 5% 68% 27%

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 12% 61% 25%

Product Information Management (PIM) 7% 68% 24%

Product Content Management (PCM) 10% 61% 24%

Digital Asset Management (DAM) 20% 51% 22%

Base: 59 US eBusiness decision makers


…As well as many marketing services
“How do you currently support the following eCommerce services?”

Site search 24% 42% 32%

Payment processing 27% 36% 36%

Email marketing 22% 42% 32%

Web analytics 19% 44% 34%

Tax calculation 22% 47% 24%

Customer ratings & reviews 27% 27% 34% Using homegrown solution

Segmentation/Targeting 32% 37% 20%
Using on-premise licensed
Rich media (rotating images, solution
24% 39% 24%
video etc) Using SaaS solution
Mobile or Tablet Apps 22% 41% 22%

Fraud detection 22% 39% 25%

Product recommendations 24% 41% 20%

Mobile Websites 22% 39% 20%

Live chat 22% 34% 20%
A/B & Multi-variant testing / site
20% 32% 24%
optimization


Perceived ROI is the leading reason features are
migrated, but other less quantified reasons also lead
“What process or criteria was used to prioritize the migration of existing and new features into the new platform?”

Based on perceived ROI impact 63%

Based on executive wish list 54%

Based on competitive pressures 51%

Multi-functional team consensus 41%

Complexity and resource required to
22%
implement and maintain

Based on out-of-the-box platform
22%
capabilities



Average delay for replatforming projects is 4.2 mo...

“How long was your replatforming project delayed?”

Delayed 1-3 months 58%


Delayed 9-12 moths 17%


Delayed a year or more %




… And project scope is a typical casualty

“Reflecting on your previous eCommerce platform replacement (migration) project, how
would your characterize the results?”

Our project was way over budget and
3%
delayed

Our project was somewhat delayed and
17%
over budget, but to an acceptable level

We launched on time, but were over
8%
budget

We had to reduce the scope of the project
36%
to keep it on time and on budget

The project was on time and on budget 36%



Despite how these projects are pitched, KPIs
typically take a dip after redesign & replatforming
“How long after the launch did it take for KPI’s (including conversion, average order value, load
time) to return to pre-launch levels?”

Didn't take any time 12%

1-3 months 44%

3-6 months 20%

6-9 months 14%

9-12 months 8%

Greater than 1 year 2%



Conversion and load times are typically effected
“Specifically, what KPI’s (key performance indicators) were negatively affected post launch of the
new platform?”

Conversion 39%

Load time 44%

New customer acquisition 31%

Time on site 22%

Average order value 25%

Revenue per session 20%



Few respondents feel A/B & MV testing is a strength,
but two thirds see it as a „must have‟.
As you think about all the areas you need to be successful in marketing to and transacting directly with your customers online, what areas do
you feel you are a leader in or have room for improvement in order to meet customer expectations and compete effectively to deliver value to
your company?

Somewhat of a strength Industry leading % believe it is a must have
Site & System Security Compliance… 25% 37% 78%

Site Design & Usability 24% 32% 88%

Customer Service 25% 41% 92%

Mobile Website 15% 24% 66%

eCommerce Technology 22% 29% 93%

Online Marketing 25% 32% 88%

Payment Processing 25% 31% 88%

Fulfillment 29% 34% 85%

Brand Marketing 25% 32% 90%

Fraud Prevention 22% 31% 85%

Content Production 36% 22% 68%

Back-End Integration 31% 24% 83%

Segmentation/Targeting 34% 22% 71%

A/B & Multi-variant testing 22% 19% 66%

Online Merchandising 39% 22% 71%

Mobile Apps (phone/tablet) 25% 20% 66%

Analytics 25% 29% 78%

Multi-channel Integration 36% 17% 61%

Future State

© 2009 Forrester

Replatforming remains a key initiative for many

“When, if at all, are you planning to change your eCommerce platform technology solution?”

We already have a project underway 10%

Within 12 months 22%

12-18 months 12%

18-24 months 12%

24-36 months 14%

More than 36 months 2%

We are not planning to re-platform in the
29%
foreseeable future



Nearly all those projects bundle a redesign, & include
significant complexity and multiple touchpoints
“What aspects were included in the replatforming project?”

A new website design 71%

A new eCommerce platform 66%

Many new site features 51%

Mobile website optimized for smartphones 49%

A new customer service (call center) solution 41%

Website optimized for tablets 42%

A new order management solution 44%

Mobile apps for smartphones/tablets 42%

A new product search engine 36%

A new A/B, multivariant, or optimization solution 31%

Apps for tablets 34%

A new recommendations solution 32%

A new segmentation/targeting solution 32%

A new metrics solution 36%

New in-store kiosks 24%

APIs for adding partners or new customer touchpoints 17%




Replatforming is driven by conversion and AOV
“What goals did you have for your replatforming project?”

Improved conversion 20%

Improved average order size 19%

Improved site performance 17%

Improved time on the site 15%

Reduced customer contacts for service
7%
needs

Reduced marketing costs 7%

Improved cross channel interactions, such
12%
as traffic to stores or in-store order pickup

Improved site up-time 3%



Complexity of the web environment is increasing
“How many different solutions do you estimate you “How many solutions do you anticipate you will
have integrated to support your website capabilities have integrated into your website 2 years from
today?” now?”

None % None 2%

1-4 10% 1-4 2%

5-9 22% 5-9 20%

10-14 36% 10-14 14%

15-19 12% 15-19 24%

20+ 19% 20+ 36%

Base: 59 US eBusiness decision makers Base: 59 US eBusiness decision makers



SaaS has become an area of high interest for
companies moving forward

“How likely are you to consider a cloud (SaaS) eCommerce platform as a replacement?”

Unlikely
11% 3% 86% Unsure
Likely



Use a cross-functional team to lead replatforming
projects

“Who led the replatforming project?”

The IT team, led by the CIO 47%

A highly integrated , cross-functional, multi-
27%
discipline team

The eCommerce team, led by the
17%
eCommerce leader

The marketing team, led by the CMO 8%



Testing is critical to replatforming success
“If you had to do it over again, how would you rate the following best practices as must-dos?”

Critical Important Nice to have Take it or leave it Not necessary

Architectural review of the technology 29% 42% 22% 5%
2%

Greater due diligence on integrator 17% 46% 31% 3%
3%

Greater due diligence on platform 19% 46% 31% 5%
0%

More focus on integration best practices 15% 49% 25% 10%0%

Proof of concept testing (POC) 25% 34% 32% 5%3%

Rigorous technology testing prior to launch 39% 37% 24% 0%

Scenario based evaluation of the solutions 15% 25% 47% 8% 3%

Soft launch or BETA testing 19% 51% 15% 14% 2%

Usability testing of the current site(s) 32% 44% 12% 7% 5%

Use of independent resources to provide input to decisions 14% 27% 42% 8% 8%

Use of site optimization tools to pre-launch features on our
15% 41% 31% 10% 3%
existing site

User acceptance testing of the business tools 25% 42% 24% 7%2%



Test new platform, design, and functionalities
extensively
“How would you characterize the decision making process that went into the
replatforming project planning?”

We tested the new design, content and features 50%
thoroughly with users before launch 35%

We tested the new design, content and features 39%
in a controlled (BETA) launch before full release 52%

IT
We tested only wireframes and initial design with 6% Non-IT
users 13%

We tested the existing site but not the new 3%
designs 0%

We only tested some of the initial design, but not 0%
the final designs or content we launched 0%

Base: 36 IT professionals
23 Non-IT professionals


11 Things to Do Before You Start Your Project

1. Pick the right model, product, and vendors
2. Plan on a program and not a project… define a roadmap

3. Form a strong cross functional core team
4. Define & communicate success metrics
5. Test your cx design & feature hypothesis before committing to the spec

6. Be clear on the business tools & resources required to be successful
7. Define & share user, business & technical requirements
8. Define and validate the technical specification, including integration

9. Develop a rational project plan
10. Develop an operations plan - post-launch
11. Do not go for the big-bang


Thank you

Brian K. Walker
bwalker@forrester.com
blogs.forrester.com/brian_walker
Twitter: @bwalker
www.forrester.com

© 2009 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

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