An Ecommerce Integration Solution Revolutionizing Brand-Influencer Relationships

Client

a US-based ecommerce startup

Industry

Ecommerce, Entertainment

Services

product development, staff augmentation

Tech

Amazon Web Services, MySQL, Laravel, Vue.js, JQuery, Strapi

Challenge

A US-based startup sought to bridge the gap between creators and businesses in the ecommerce landscape by developing a web platform that would integrate with Shopify. The platform would allow creators to set up their own online shops and — due to the integration with Shopify — “import” and sell products produced by the brands creators are collaborating with. Creators with dedicated audiences would curate and promote products to their followers, while ecommerce businesses would enjoy increased sales sparked by the influencers. To bring this vision to life, the customer had developed a proof-of-concept of the ecommerce integration solution using PHP. Conceptually promising, the application was plagued by bugs, prompting the need for a partner to enhance and stabilize the system. The startup turned to ITRex ecommerce company to guide them on this journey.

Our primary objectives were as follows:

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Design and implement an intuitive storefront for creators to establish their virtual shops. This included importing products from Shopify's brand partners and facilitating order tracking and commission management

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Design and implement a comprehensive payment flow, covering the entire journey from order creation to commission disbursement

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Overhaul the existing ecommerce integration solution transitioning from CronJobs to webhooks to enable continuous updates and efficient communication between Shopify and the platform

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Integrate Stripe into the payment flow to provide a secure and reliable payment solution to the platform users

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Stabilize the application, addressing defects and refining the existing workflows

Solution

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The ecommerce integration solution, which relied on CronJobs for data synchronization, posed limitations in terms of real-time updates and efficiency. The ITRex web development team skilled in designing ecommerce integration solutions implemented the new webhook-based system, enabling seamless communication and providing creators, brands, and users with up-to-the-minute insights into orders, payments, and other crucial events.

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The ITRex experts reimagined and reengineered the payment flow within the platform. This involved designing a streamlined process that encompassed every step, from order creation to commission disbursement. The team seamlessly integrated Stripe, a reliable and secure payment gateway, to facilitate transactions. The implementation included generating invoices for merchants, tracking payments, calculating commissions, and ensuring accurate and timely disbursement.

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To provide users with a seamless and visually appealing experience, the ITRex UI/UX designer and development team collaborated to create an intuitive and engaging storefront. This web interface allowed users to explore and purchase curated products from creators, enhancing the overall ecommerce experience. Our experts focused on designing an intuitive user interface, optimizing product displays, and ensuring smooth navigation. By leveraging Strapi, an efficient content management system, we crafted APIs for each database entry, enabling dynamic content updates and ensuring that users could easily discover and engage with products.

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ITRex embarked on a bug-fixing and stabilization process to address the issues and shortcomings of the customer’s existing PHP-based application. Our team meticulously reviewed the codebase, identified problematic areas, and implemented necessary fixes and improvements. By debugging and optimizing the code, we ensured that the ecommerce integration solution achieved a stable and reliable performance, significantly enhancing the overall user experience.