We have launched a modern sales platform for the Kontigo brand

What was our task?

Growing demands of beauty industry customers regarding the appearance and operation of e-shops. Increasing sales by modernizing the store and creating a positive shopping experience for customers. Improving the operation of the store and adapting the platform to the original idea of stationary Kontigo stores
The Kontigo brand belongs to the beauty industry, so it faces the task of overcoming strong competition and developing a specific method of communication to reach customers with specific, high expectations.

Even more so in times of pandemic, when online stores bring much greater profits than stationary stores. When building a new sales platform, which successfully went live on August 3, 2020, we took into account that the appearance and operation of the online store is one, although indirect, way of communicating with consumers. We created a store based on Magento Enterprise – a platform that is coupled with e-commerce activities. How?

Initial goals

1. The store was to be more modern and reflect the main idea of the Kontigo brand, and at the same time comply with the demanding brandbook. Our goal was to combine two worlds – offline and online – in one layout.
2. Based on the functionalities implemented in the existing Magento 1-based store, we were to implement a Magento 2-based store, extending its functionalities with additional integrations.
3. We wanted our client’s platform to be flexible and enable him to independently service as many areas as possible. We have planned to eliminate all file-based integrations and divide the product catalog into appropriate categories based on a well-thought-out system of product attributes, enabling the best possible definition of filters in individual categories. We also took into account the currently important mobile first approach to ensure that our client’s online store also functions well on mobile devices. We have planned to make the fullest possible use of the Page Builder and Content Staging functions in Magento Enterprise to create the possibility of planning communication with clients, planning promotions, the option of independently creating pages for specific brands, and editing the entire home page. We wanted to give the client as much freedom as possible to shape the content in his own store.

Problem

The previously operating Kontigo e-store fulfilled its function, but the dynamics of changes in e-commerce and the beauty industry gave rise to the need to further improve the platform.

1. What required work was the layout, which the client wanted to make a strong differentiator, a characteristic element that would give customers the feeling of reflecting the stationary store on the online platform.
2. The store operated on Magento 1, for which official Adobe support has already ended.
3. We had to focus on the product catalog, which was not unified and organized, because products and prices were uploaded directly from files, which was sometimes unreliable because it did not eliminate the factor of human error. The result was a problem with setting appropriate filtering in the store to make shopping easier for customers.

How did we manage to achieve this?

1. We created all the graphics from scratch that were to influence the final, modern look of the e-store. The new Kontigo store is very colorful and feminine, and thanks to its original concept, it reflects the atmosphere of stationary stores. Navigating it is intuitive, and the platform implements mobile first assumptions, imitating an application thanks to a convenient menu at the bottom of the page.
2. We moved the platform to Magento 2, using the Enterprise version, which offered functionalities more useful to our client. We integrated Magento with SAP and the loyalty program and set the function of displaying three different prices, which is typical of Kontigo’s pro-customer approach. We have implemented a number of promotion types, including two custom promotion types.
3. In order to organize the product catalog, we implemented PIM Akeneo in the Community version, which was integrated with Magento. Products with master data from SAP come to Akeneo via an interface, are then enriched here and go to Magento via the interface again.

Moreover, thanks to the attribute system defined in Akeneo, we were able to use virtual categories. This is functionality from the next module we added, SMILE. This allows you to define product category assignments based on rules, so changes to product data automatically assign or remove a product from a category.

Thanks to this, the customer can save time because once defined rules in virtual categories organize the product catalog. Moreover, a well-defined attribute system together with the SMILE module allow for good filter setting, which makes shopping easier for customers. Uploading products and prices from files and automatic assignment of products to categories has been eliminated.

In addition to taking full advantage of the Page Builder functions, we have expanded it with additional modules, which means that the client can define and change most of the content on his own from the admin panel. Using the Magefan module for the first time, Kontigo obtained its own blog as an additional form of product promotion and communication with customers.

Development?

At Fast White Cat, we work to ensure that our Partners’ stores not only constantly improve their capabilities, but also stay ahead of the competition. Check how we will cope with your challenge!

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