Demandware launches endless aisles technology on its platform, while Capgemini and Oracle aim to streamline customer interactions

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Retailers will soon be able to offer their online stock for sale in the store without the need to develop their own software, following a new technology launch.

Demandware is unveiling endless aisles functionality in its new Digital Store Solution. The cloud commerce technology provider says this is the first time such functionality, which rests on achieving a single view of the product and of the consumer, has been available as part of an ecommerce platform, rather than built to order or developed in-house.


Traders will be able to tap into the new system through in-store tablets, enabling sales assistants to offer a clientelling customer experience and to search stock for in-store customers, whether that stock is in the store, a warehouse, or elsewhere. Shoppers will be able to pay through web-based payment methods from the store. The single view of the product that is enabled through the new software also allows for greater personalisation in the process, when allied to the single view of the customer.

The new system is unveiled today and will be available as part of the upgrade programme to the Demandware platform in the first quarter of 2014. It is currently being piloted with a small number of retailers.

“Consumers don’t think in terms of channels; they just want to shop,” said Tom Ebling, chief executive of Demandware. “However channel siloes can frustrate shoppers and result in walked sales. Our new Digital Store solution will give store associates one unified view of the customer and inventory so they can offer customers the best possible shopping experience. It’s a fast easy way for our clients to leverage the power of digital in their stores.”

Jamus Driscoll, senior vice president and general manager EMEA at Demandware, said the new solution made it very achieveable for retailers to fill the store gap in their digital commerce solutions.

Commenting on the launch, Adam Silverman, principal analyst for ebusiness and channel strategy at Forrester Research, said: “Although Demandware’s Digital Store application doesn’t break new ground from a functionality perspective, it does signal Demandware’s desire to bridge the physical and digital channels together into a singular commerce application. Customers now expect a seamless experience from retailers in all touch points, and having a common commerce application across the enterprise is a key foundational element. This shift puts into question the role of the stand-alone in-store POS.”

Meanwhile, Capgemini and Oracle announced they had teamed up to develop a new omnichannel solution, OCommerce in order to improve the customer experience. OCommerce is designed to help streamline customer interactions across all channels.

“By using Oracle’s cutting-edge technology solutions and Capgemini’s experience in process improvement and technology implementation, OCommerce provides customers with an ideal offering designed to transform their customer engagement,” said Brian Girouard, vice president and leader of Capgemini North America consumer products and retail sector. “We are utilising OCommerce’s cutting edge functionality to help retailers create a faster and more seamless customer experience.”

The solution has already been put into use by fashion company Desigual, which used it to develop a new relationship channel between its headquarters and its worldwide sales network.

Jordi Alex Moreno, IT Director at Desigual said the solution had enabled the company to “develop an attractive and efficient channel for collaborating with our sales network within a very short time. We see the potential of expanding this concept to better enhance our customer experience initiatives across all channels.”

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