RETAIL & B2C
Background
Background
Retail & B2C businesses need flexible platforms and customer experiences to be competitive in the marketplace.
Retail and B2C businesses are focused on:
- Secure platforms for storing and leveraging customer information.
- Integrating ecommerce and brick-and-mortar operational systems for automation and inventory control purposes.
- Enabling personalization to deliver better, seamless customer experiences, while upselling and cross-selling in the process.
- Developing scalable strategies that need to be backed by a flexible digital solution.
Our work with Cannabis Yukon highlights the level of security and customization that a Drupal-backed solution can provide along with the flexibility for exquisite customer journeys to match the in-store experience. The end customer shouldn’t have to sacrifice the user journey or experience due to a regulated product or industry. Providing a guided buying experience is key to allowing customers to research and purchase along the way without interruption.
Background
Cannabis sales online require strict security and privacy controls and a flexible ecommerce platform that integrates with brick and mortar systems.
The legalization of cannabis in Canada required provincial governments across the country to provide their residents with access to cannabis products through an online store, in addition to physical stores.
Considering the nature of this business and being that it is government-run, security and privacy for their customers were of the utmost importance. The Government of Yukon required a solution that allowed full control of their customer data and a flexible ecommerce platform that seamlessly integrates with third-party vendors while following strict restrictions and regulations enforced by the Federal Government.
With the pressure to launch on legalization day, and their determination to not be constrained by costly SaaS platforms, and avoid revenue sharing with the platforms available, the Government of Yukon proceeded with an open-source ecommerce solution to take control of both their customer’s data and their profits.
Objective
Objective
Objective
The Government of Yukon had very specific digital objectives.
The importance of this ecommerce solution was heightened as the majority of their customers live in remote locations with no access to a physical store. The government-run online store would be the only option for those customers wishing to purchase cannabis products.
Government of Yukon required:
- A dedicated development team in order to successfully launch on legalization day.
- A service provider who knows open source development, ecommerce, and all the intricacies that come along with both.
- A secure, agile and flexible platform they could customize and adapt within a potentially changing regulatory framework.
- Full control of their customer data and orders to respect and safeguard their privacy.
- Integration with the federally regulated shipping provider, Canada Post.
- Custom functionality to meet maximum purchase regulations, age restrictions, and advertising restrictions enforced by the federal government.
- A cost-effective solution to ensure tax-payer money was being spent effectively.
The challenge was designing a solution that provided a world-class ecommerce experience that met the strict regulations and restrictions presented by the federal government.
Solution
Solution
Solution
Cooperatively design a state-of-the-art open source ecommerce solution through Acro Media’s Agile development team.
We’re big fans of transparency and accountability, which is why we think it’s important to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure they get a feel for what we do and how we actually do it.
This process involves:
- Uncovering and accommodating the requirements of all stakeholders.
- Visually diagraming the digital workflow and server architecture.
- Identifying the purpose of individual modules: which would be used, which needed to be custom-built.
- Providing a detailed UX and technical blueprint.
- Quality assurance and functionality checks by internal and external teams.
To build the complete solution that the Yukon government needed, we used the following functionality in the Drupal Commerce platform:
- Adhere to the Cannabis Act: Introduce a data security solution that is PCI and PII compliant.
- Allow anonymous checkout features to respect Canadians' right to privacy.
- “Age-gate” implementation to deny access and restrict exposure for individuals under the age of 19.
To improve the existing functionality, we also installed the following modules:
- Commerce Canada Post: API integration with Canada Post providing real-time shipping quotes, tracking, information, etc.
- Custom Commerce Equivalency Weight module: created to follow the federally imposed restriction limits for the amount of cannabis that can be purchased by an individual.
- For orders over the legal purchase threshold of 30 grams, checkout becomes disabled and various elements (both visual and message-based) are used to let the customers know why.
Outcome
Outcome
Outcome
Open-source ecommerce provided an effective, secure, responsive and flexible system that created a seamless user experience that met government standards and was delivered on time.
This open-source commerce solution gave the Government of Yukon:
- A thoughtfully designed customer experience from search to purchase.
- Full control of their customer data and purchases.
- Security and privacy controls that meet or exceed federally regulated mandates.
- Cost-effective solution for their constituents.
Quote
Quote
Online sales of a controlled substance requires a level of security and judiciously implemented fail-safes to prevent misuse and under-age sales.
The online sale of cannabis requires federally mandated PCI and PII compliance as well as strict security and data control.
An open source commerce platform made adhering to these standards possible, while still providing a carefully curated customer experience that generates sales and is maximized for conversion.
Project Features
Project Features
Project statistics
As launch day approached this open-source architecture was put to the test:
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