Forum OpenACS Q&A: User tracking on E-commerce

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1: User tracking on E-commerce
Posted by Iuri Sampaio on 08/31/08 01:24 AM
Hi all,

I am doing a research about the necessity of having user registration on shopping cart systems and i would like to hear good ideas and insights from OACS community.

The goal of the system is simply sells products. I am not considering any requirements, specifications or models of the client's perspective.

My initial thoughts converge to some knowledge fields such as security, data research, marketing, tracking, and data accessibility, which i would not be able to control without an obligatory user registration before the purchasing process.

I consider those subjects very important to compose the system in order to properly achieve the money reducing risks and planning well the costs.

I would be glad to hear from you guys.

cheers,

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2: Re: User tracking on E-commerce (response to 1)
Posted by Torben Brosten on 08/31/08 12:52 PM
Hi Iuri,

The ecommerce package requires a user to register before checkout.

Sometimes, buyers do not want to register as a user in order to buy something.

Shoppers want an accurate shipping quote while browsing.

The ecommerce shopping cart associates shopping basket contents with an ecommerce sesssion_id, which is kept for the entire transaction. ec_user_sessions stores page views and searches for each session.

Is this the kind of information you are wanting?

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3: Re: User tracking on E-commerce (response to 2)
Posted by Iuri Sampaio on 08/31/08 05:10 PM
Hi torben,

I wasn;t exactly what i have in mind, but you indeed gave me a enlightened answer, which i haven't thought about it.

"The ecommerce shopping cart associates shopping basket contents with an ecommerce sesssion_id, which is kept for the entire transaction. ec_user_sessions stores page views and searches for each session."

You just showed me how the whole transaction is held by session_id and ec_user_sessions. It means that those APIs, (and a few more i believe), are used to take care of the user navigaton through the whole purchasing process without the need of user registration.
So, depending of the company goals such as:
1. simplify the buying process to the buyers - we can handle the entire transaction only until the purchasing process is finished and the shipping/billing information is properly treated.

or
2. personalized purchasing process - we can hold all the information we want from the client, to build a strategic, secure and focused marketing plan.

Please, tell me if i am wrong on this perspective, or if you have more to add. Including about the insight you had...

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4: Re: User tracking on E-commerce (response to 1)
Posted by Torben Brosten on 08/31/08 11:07 PM
Yes, those can be done.

For example, there are checks in the continuity of the "workflow" during the purchase process, and redirects to various pages depending on the state of the process.

ecommerce has an inkling of an individualized presentation plan. One feature can track and present shoppers with links to products others bought when looking at a specific item.

Another feature presents custom price based on the user's class membership.

A feature could be added that maps presentation routes or suggestions based on session history and whether certain flags are set.

The whole presentation process might best be handled by creating templates in XoWiki http://dekka.com/p2/xowiki/online-catalog

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5: Re: User tracking on E-commerce (response to 4)
Posted by Iuri Sampaio on 09/01/08 01:26 PM
Great!

I am going to install ecommerce package here to get a picture of your comments. I will give you a report on that soon.