Sitecore Symposium 2018 session on the advancements in the e-commerce space. The presentation covered the existing functionality in Sitecore Commerce, as well as modules and plugins that may help achieve similar features and functionality to Amazon.com, as well as take it beyond with the use of voice commerce, blogging, chat bots, and blockchain. The source code for the Ethereum plugins, Xamarin mobile app, and the Chrome browser extension built for the presentation can be found at https://github.com/vasiliyfomichev

1. #SitecoreSYM 1#SitecoreSYM 1© 2001-2018 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. Sitecore® and Own the Experience® are registered trademarks
of Sitecore Corporation A/S. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.
The Road to
Amazon and
Beyond
Vasiliy Fomichev
Srikanth Kondapally

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Speakers
© 2001-2018 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. Sitecore® and Own the Experience® are registered trademarks
of Sitecore Corporation A/S. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.
Vasiliy Fomichev
TECHNICALDIRECTOR,
SITECORECOMMERCE
• SitecoreMVP
• Over10yearsofSitecoreimplementations
• Technologyand Marketingenthusiast– Azure,
AIandBlockchain
SrikanthKondapally
ARCHITECT,SITECORE
COMMERCE
• SitecoreMVP
• Over8yearsofSitecoreimplementations
• Azure,AIand VoiceCommerce

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Introduction
MovingtowardsAmazonandbeyond:
 “Let’sdo it like Amazon!” ormost frequentlyrequestedfeatures
 SitecoreCommerce OOTB Coverage
Beyond
 Personalization
• Geo IP
• Datamining
• Machine Learning
 AzureMachineLearning
 ChatBots
 XBlog
 Blockchain
 SitecorexConnect
Q& A
Overview
© 2001-2018 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. Sitecore® and Own the Experience® are registered trademarks
of Sitecore Corporation A/S. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.

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Most frequently requested features –
 Today’sDeals
 HotPicks
 Today’sSale
 Facetedproductlistingpagesandsearch
 Bundles
 Crossandupsellproductdisplay (manuallyselectedrelatedproducts)
 Personalizedemails
 Geo locationpersonalization(partialOOTBsupport)
 Recentlyvieweditems
 One-Clickcheckout
 Reviewsandratings
 Productrecommendations (customerwhoboughtthisalsobought,personalrecommendations,frequentlyboughttogether)
Let’s do it like Amazon!

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These items arenot included OOTB,however, canbeeasily built byvendors -
 Recentlyvieweditems
 One-ClickCheckout
• 09/2017Amazon’spatenton one-clickbuying expiredleavingthedooropenforretailerstostreamlinethepurchasingprocess
 Reviewsandratings
Let’s do it like Amazon! -

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“Machinelearningisan applicationofartificialintelligence(AI) that providessystemsthe abilityto automaticallylearnand improvefrom experiencewithoutbeing explicitly
programmed.Machinelearningfocusesonthe developmentofcomputerprogramsthatcanaccessdata anduseitlearnfor themselves.”
“Retailershave lessthan eightsecondsto engageauser ontheirwebsiteorapp.(Microsoft,2015)”
“35percentofwhat consumerspurchaseonAmazonand75 percentofwhat theywatchonNetflixcomefromproductrecommendationsbasedonsuchalgorithms”(McKinsey & Company)
How can Sitecore Commerce take advantages ofMachine Learning?
 Improved conversions via product recommendations
• Related products
• Customers who bought this also bought…
• Items frequently bought together
 More accurate automated personalization
• SitecoreCortexwill providerecommendationsbasedonthexDB datastartingwith version9.1.
Let’s Do it like Amazon > AI Product Recommendations

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Let’s Do it like Amazon > Data Mining with xConnect
“xConnect is the service layerthat sits inbetween the xDB and any trusted client, device, or interface
that wants to read, write, or search xDBdata.”
Amazongathersdatafrom multiplesourcesto useinitsanalytics,reportingandpersonalization -
• A9 searchengine
• WholeFoods
• AmazonBookstores
• …etc.
Themore we knowthe more accuratelywe can personalizeandpredict.
How can xConnect take Sitecore Commerceto the next level?
 SyndicationofxDB dataintointernalplatformsor3rd partysystems
 DataUpdatesby External Systems:MobileApps, Resellers,Vendors…etc.
 Reporting - OOTB Integrationwith reportingtools(example, PowerBI)

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The Beyond…

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What do future technologies bring?
• Increasedconversionrate
• Improvedrelationshipwithsuppliers
• Improvedrelationshipwithcustomers
• Strongerloyalty
• Moreaccuratedatamining
• Incentive
• Customerincentives
• Supplierincentives
• Convenience
• Personalizedcontent
• Accessibility
• Speed
• Trust
• Trustedservices
• Name recognition
• Expertisein thefield
• VerifiedReviewsandratings

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Showthatyouusetheservices peoplehavelearned totrust
TRUST: Beyond > Plugins

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Source: https://www.reliablesoft.net/ecommerce-blogging/

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“Blogging module for Sitecore. XBlog has built in SEO-friendly features allowing content creation and syndication.”
TRUST: Beyond > XBlog
Connecting Sitecore Commerce and Content:
• Lead Generation
• SEO value
• Website visitor interest, trust and loyalty

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Sitecore Geo IP service allows location information detection for website visitors. It is closely integrated with theSitecore rules engine, allowing out of the box
personalization. Localization of commerceexperience can be requiredfor legal compliance and allows delivering more personalized experiences.
WhyGeoIP?
 Better personalization by pointing to a more relevant material
• Seasonality
• Current events
 Legal compliance
• Regulated industry compliance
• GDPR (May25th) for EU
Beyond > Geo IP Locator

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“A computer program designed to simulate conversation with humanusers, especially over the Internet.”
Public Tableau suggests that 30%of customer service positions inthe UScould be automated throughchatbots, saving an estimated $23billion inannual
salaries.
How can Sitecore Commerceuse chat bots?
 CustomerServiceFAQs
 After-hoursCustomerService
Types
 Q&Abots– providingusefulinformation
 Proactivebots- usernotification
 Formbots- datacollection
Beyond > Conversational Commerce > Chat Bots

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“TheInternet of Things is a rapidly growing networkon devices capable of communicatingwith each other.”
“Voice shopping sales could reach $40billion by 2022”(USAToday, 2018)
WhyIoT?
 Betterpurchaseexperienceforcustomers
 Availability
 ImprovedPersonalization
AmazonAlexa
 A virtual digitalassistantdevelopedbyAmazon
 Over 30,000skills(integrations)
 Estimated8.2 millionusersof AmazonEcho
 Echo ownersmake purchases6%more often
 Echo ownersspend10%more onAmazon
Beyond > Conversational Commerce > Alexa

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“A secure digital ledger capable of storing data and runningoperations that are recordedand verified chronologicallyand publicly.”
Digit“[TheBlockchain is]the most important invention since the internet itself.” - Founder ofNetscape MarcAndreessen
What is blockchain?
 al ledger
 Smart contracts
 Decentralizedeconomy - tokenomics
How can blockchain take Sitecore Commerce tothe next level?
 Security
 Payments(Bitcoin,Litecoin…etc.)
 SecuredEntitlementsand verification(licenses,digitalrights, warranties…etc.)
 Smart contract integration(lowcostcontract execution& micro payments)
 Supplychainmanagement
 Identityverification(customer profiles)
Beyond > Expansion > Blockchain

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• Decentralized storage andavailability
• Security
• Datais protectedfrom beingmodifiedby hashingalgorithms
• Anychangesto the blockchainwouldrequiremore than50%of compute powerof the blockchain
• Traceability andaudit
• Theledgertransactionsarepermanentallowingto easilytrace andauditactivity
• Microtransactions
• Supply chain andIoT
• Reduced fraud
• Tokenomics –new business model
• Removing the middleman with token basedbusinessmodel,pricereduction
• Microtransactions
Beyond > Blockchain >Why should I care?

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Ethereum is an turing complete blockchainVirtual Machine which can be used for value transfer, running code and storage.
1. Supply chain
 Display product-specific logistic and sourcing information on the site to give more insight for customers
 Customer can view product’s lifecycle using serial numbers
2. Identity ownership and store
 Customers own their personal information
 Customers receive micropayments or other benefit for access to their information
3. Rights ownership
 Ownership and purchase history is stored on the blockchain identity
 Digital assets are released by owners vs shops
4. Microtransactions
1. Real-time payouts
5. Smart contracts
 Loyalties – direct micropayments in store-specific tokens
 Rewards – direct micropayments in altcoins
 Royalties – direct royalty distribution based on blockchain identity and ownership rights
Expansion > Blockchain > Ethereum for e-Commerce

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Questions
© 2001-2018 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. Sitecore® and Own the Experience® are registered trademarks
of Sitecore Corporation A/S. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.
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Let’s continue the conversation
/in/srikanthkondapally/in/vasiliyfomichev
@vasiliyfomichev @kondapallysk
cmsbestpractices.com