Final exam
Business Management
Master 1
May 13, 2016
Antoine HARFOUCHE
Duration: 1h30
No document, no calculator
e-Business & m-Ap
Mr Harfouche
Questions:
- Explain Karmaloop’s multichannel strategy? (2/20)
- Can we say that Karmaloop is a digital company? Why? (2/20)
- What was the impact of the web and the mobile application on the business model of Karmaloop? (6/20)
- What were the design considerations ofthe Karmaloop mobile application? (3/20)
- Is there a coherent mix between Karmaloop’s e-strategy and the way they are getting their products to the market (4/20)?
- Propose new m-campaigns for Karmaloop? (3/20)
The rise of usage in smartphones, the new release of mobile OS, the evolution in Mobile Internet speed, the continuous implementation of device specific capabilities into mobile applications and the availability of variety of apps for download from multiple app-stores are driving more consumers to go mobile. Every industry is realizing the need for a mobile solution and building a robust mobile ecosystem. Retailers are making large investments in mobility, due to increasing consumer demand. In fact, by 2015, mobile commerce grew to total revenue of $31 billion. Mobile commerce will continue to grow rapidly and we see many companies investing and spending to build shopping applications, which includes mobile. The area that most companies are facing challenges is to build a robust and secure mobile ecosystem. Nevertheless, many brands are moving towards a mobile first and desktop second option to promote their products.
Karmaloop.com: A revolution?
Karmaloop is the world's largest online retailer of street-wear including Obey, Jeffrey Campbell, LRG, 10 Deep, Crooks & Castles, Diamond Supply Co. and more brands. It sells clothes and accessories online and has over 200$ million in sales. Karmaloop was looking to increase their online presence and wanted to reach out to wide audience by exploring new channels for promoting their brand and selling their products online.
Selkoe, the founder and CEO, started Karmaloop out of his parents’ Boston area basement in 1999. His idea was to sell cool clothes online to cool kids who didn’t have a cool boutique in their town. At the time, the idea of buying clothes on the Internet was preposterous. As “The Karmaloop Story” on karmaloop.com facetiously tells it, Selkoe got into business to combat the “evil forces of McFashion”- the Aeropostales, Banana Republics and Abercrombies—that “spread a dastardly agenda throughout the universe,” otherwise known as selling wack clothes. The mall brands were the Evil Empire. The rebel force was Karmaloop. And it successfully navigated the potholes of the early aughts to carve out more than just a niche in the e-commerce industry. “It was bigger than just selling clothes,” said Selkoe. “It was about a culture.” Selkoe realized the gear and brands Karmaloop featured had stories to tell, so the site posted interviews with designers and brand owners, and stories about up-and-coming artists, then hip-hop. Karmaloop was about clothes but became as much about content that introduced Kid Cudi, A$AP Rocky, and Kendrick Lamar to a new audience.
Culturally speaking, Karmaloop was completely different than anything else in preppy, buttoned-down Beantown. It was the cool place to work and those lucky enough to score a job there felt like they had won the lottery. Employees could wear whatever they wanted; dogs roamed the office; music played; the company encouraged employees to explore other artistic interests outside of work. For many of Boston’s young creative set, it was the perfect place to work. “If you proved yourself, you were able to move up in a department you wanted to move up in,” said Jeni Ni, a buyer at Karmaloop.
Back in the early days, if you didn’t know Karmaloop for its clothes, you knew Karmaloop for its parties. “It was part of the image and marketing that we projected with the company,” said Selkoe. “It helped us get tight with a lot of these artists that were up-and-coming.” Partying or retailing- it was a toss-up which Karmaloop did better. But in the same time, employees were expected to take care of business-drinking on the job or getting high was not tolerated.
From e-commerce to m-commerce
Karmaloop rolled out a mobile commerce application for their consumers, to shop from anywhere, anytime. The mobile app offers Karmaloop’s entire amazing mix of over 500 brands for men and women. The application lets consumers browse through the products (clothing, accessories, footwear etc.) and purchase products online via Mobile Web, iPhone App and Android App. This application is available for free on iTunes and Google Play Store. The Mobile Web version is built using HTML5 and is platform agnostic.
RapidValue, a specialized firm, implemented the Mobile Web App and Native Application for Karmaloop. The aim of RapidValue was to allow to Karmaloop customers to browse product catalog and purchase products online using their mobile devices at any time, from anywhere.
Karmaloop wanted to implement a Mobile Commerce Application for their consumers. Some of the key objectives were to:
– Ensure wider reach to customer base and target through new channels of sales and marketing,
– Provide rich consumer experience with an user-friendly ap,
– Enable secure user authentication through unique user login,
– Integrate back-end servers to third-party payment system, ad platforms and social media networks,
– Analyze and assess customer preferences and behavior on products showcased,
– Cost-effective solution and quick time-tomarket.
Shop on Mobile – Browse, Add to Cart and Purchase
The mobile application allows Karmaloop customers to shop in just 3 simple steps. In addition, consumers can create their own account, search products, sort based on category, color or by brand.Consumers can select the product and add to their wish list to shop later. Shoppers can also choose the required clothes size, zoom the picture with multiple zoom factors – front view, side view, back view and check out with several payment options such as PayPal, credit card or debit card. The mobile commerce application developed for Karmaloop users consists of compelling features and functionality such as detailed product display with a zoom, ability to locate a product with minimal effort using a search, ease of use in identifying the products in stock, adding products to cart and single page checkout.
Challenges
Karmaloop wanted to add a new mobile channel for their consumers. To meet Karmaloop’s requirements RapidValue had to first identify the optimum solution (Responsive Web Design vs. Mobile Web App). The main requirements were – a cost effective solution, fast implementation time, on-going maintenance and support, and a high-quality user experience. Karmaloop already had an existing website and native applications supported for few mobile OS. They wanted to expand their reach by enabling the application across various mobile devices and by improving the existing native application.
For Karmaloop, it was important to select the Mobile Web App option instead of the Responsive Web Design, for the following reasons:
-RapidValue implemented a Mobile Web based m-Commerce solution and native application for Android users (since usage of Android devices by consumers is high).
-they also made enhancements to their existing iOS native app by fixing all the critical bugs and by improving the user experience. This allows consumers to now shop online via mobile devices conveniently. RapidValue designed the complete user interface, developed and deployed the mobile application, all within 3 months and a half.
-To reach the largest number of consumers while providing service across multiple device types
-Converting the existing website to Responsive Web would take more time and effort.
RapidValue implemented an end-to-end Mobile Commerce solution for consumers to browse, review and purchase products online. The main services for this application include – User Experience Design, Mobile application development, Mobile testing – manual and backend system integration through APIs with .Net MVC (re-using existing client code base with alternate mobile views to have seamless transition). RapidValue also provide on-going support and maintenance which include – periodic and seamless feature updates to application users.
Some of the key features and functionality include:
– User authentication – Unique login for each user
– Product catalog – with product photos, price, details and review
– Search and browse products - based on categories such as Men, Women, Clothing, Footwear, Accessories
– Add product to Shopping Cart and Check out (via PayPal)
– Integration with social media networks – Share link via Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter andPinterest
– Push notification and Mobile Alerts – Send information related to latest product offers/ promotions
– Integration with Google Analytics – To analyze consumer preference and behavior based on searchpatterns, demographics, product purchases etc.
– Integration with third-party Ad platforms – Facebook Ads and Distimo.
The implementation of mobile solution was beneficial to Karmaloop. The following results were achieved for the client: Due to successful implementation of this Mobile Commerce application, we have a long-term relationship with the customer and have developed Mobile Commerce Solution for other Karmaloop’s properties too, which is accessible across multiple mobile devices.
Results
Karmaloop, partnered with RapidValue Solutions to deliver a series of mobile solutions. The application delivered thus far includes several Android Apps, a Mobile website, and new features for an iPhone App. «This partnership has yielded high revenue generating mobile solutions developed on a cost effective budget.» said Gary Marcos, Director of Karmaloop.
– Over 30% of the revenue is through the mobile channel
– Built an end-to-end mobile web based solution in a record time-frame of 3and a half months
– Developed customized UI which is enriching, user friendly, focused on usability. This drove consumer to use the application more frequently, leading to higher product purchases
– Better analysis of consumer preference and user behavior helped push the right content to consumers
– Secure and seamless integration with third-party systems, ensuring continuity in workflow.