Powering Optical 88's E-commerce Success with Magento 2 Development and Integration
Hong Kong
Optical Retail
70 Stores
5 Countries
About Optical 88
Optical 88 is one of the largest and most respected eyewear chains in Hong Kong, boasting nearly 70 stores across the country. Known for their classic and timeless designs, Optical 88 offers a wide range of stylish and functional glasses and lens types. Their presence extends beyond Hong Kong, with stores in China, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Committed to a customer-oriented approach and the pursuit of the highest quality, Optical 88 has continuously enhanced their product offerings and expanded their services. They provide comprehensive visual and auditory care, including eye exams, child myopia control, progressive lens experiences, and hearing examinations.
Additionally, Optical 88 offers an exclusive selection of limited-edition eyewear packages tailored to address various vision needs, from basic single vision correction to advanced solutions like anti-blue light, progressive lenses, and children’s myopia control.
The Rise of Digital Demands: Why Optical 88 Needed a Change
As their business boomed, the existing system simply couldn’t handle the growth. Imagine the challenge: a rapidly expanding customer base, eager to browse a diverse selection of eyeglasses, contact lenses, and healthcare products online, yet restricted by limitations in scalability. The platform couldn’t accommodate the growing demand for “anytime, anywhere” convenience that Optical 88 craved for their customers.
Optical 88’s success wasn’t just about physical stores. They envisioned a thriving online presence that offered the same exceptional customer service and vast product range to both their loyal clientele and new customers seeking convenient access to eyewear and healthcare products. Their existing e-commerce platform, however, became a roadblock to achieving this goal.
This presented a critical decision point for Optical 88. Their old platform couldn’t fulfill their vision of a comprehensive online store offering appointments, special offers, and a full range of vision and health products. They needed a platform that could not only accommodate their extensive product range but also integrate more powerful features for an enhanced user experience.
Why Optical 88 Chose BSS Commerce for Their E-commerce Journey?
Faced with the urgency of the situation, Optical 88 embarked on a critical search for a trusted partner – a company with a proven track record, capable of not only re-platforming their website efficiently but also ensuring a smooth transition with minimal downtime to maintain customer satisfaction.
Having collaborated with BSS Commerce since 2019, Optical 88 had already experienced the exceptional service quality and support that BSS provides. Their previous Magento web development project with BSS Commerce had been a success, cementing their confidence in BSS’s expertise. The decision to re-engage BSS Commerce for this crucial project was driven by the need for a partner who could deliver under tight timelines without compromising on the site’s performance.
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The process and the quality of the service that BSS Commerce provided were what stood out the most for us!
eCommerce Manager at Optical 88
This trust and satisfaction made BSS Commerce the natural choice to tackle the significant challenge of re-platforming Optical 88’s e-commerce site, ensuring a seamless transition and paving the way for an enhanced online presence.
Building a Shared Vision: Optical 88's E-commerce Goals
Optical 88 approached BSS Commerce with a well-defined vision for their online store. Their primary goal was to create a user-friendly e-commerce platform that would empower customers to conveniently purchase a diverse range of eyewear – eyeglasses, contact lenses, and potentially other healthcare products – anytime, anywhere. The company provided BSS Commerce with a detailed brief and a flowchart outlining their desired user experience and functionality, including a seamless online appointment booking system for eye examinations and other services.
Another critical requirement for Optical 88 was the seamless integration of their online and offline sales systems. With nearly 70 physical stores in Hong Kong, it was essential that the new e-commerce platform could efficiently sync with their brick-and-mortar operations. This integration was crucial to provide a cohesive shopping experience for customers, whether they chose to shop online or in-store. Optical 88 needed a robust, well-integrated, and secure website capable of handling the scale and performance demands of their expanding business.
Project's Challenges
While Optical 88’s vision was ambitious, the project presented some unique hurdles. The sheer scale of the online store, coupled with the need to integrate their complex point-of-sale (POS) system, demanded meticulous planning and execution.
Meticulously integrated the unique and intricate POS system of Optical 88
The unique and intricate POS system of Optical 88 posed a significant challenge, necessitating custom code integration into the Magento 2 site without relying on any existing modules. This complexity extended to the loyalty program, which also required bespoke customization to function seamlessly across both online and offline platforms.
Open communication and a collaborative spirit prevailed throughout the project
BSS Commerce proactively clarified any scope changes with Optical 88, ensuring that priorities remained aligned and deadlines were met. While tight deadlines occasionally necessitated additional effort, the BSS Commerce team readily adjusted its approach, including extending working hours when necessary. This flexibility and dedication ensured the project stayed on track.
Overcoming Challenges, Delivering Results: BSS Commerce's Solutions
To address the challenges faced by Optical 88, BSS Commerce implemented a comprehensive and strategic approach. The project kicked off in October 2020, following detailed discussions and planning sessions with Optical 88’s E-commerce Manager. BSS Commerce’s team provided a suite of services, including e-commerce consulting, UX/UI design, Magento 2 website development and customization, system integration, testing by ISTQB-certified QAs, and ongoing support and optimization. Here’s how BSS Commerce tackled the key challenges:
Solution #1: E-commerce Consulting
BSS Commece’s specialists advised Optical 88 on selecting the appropriate server to handle the expected high traffic volumes, ensuring the hosting provider was aware of peak hours to maintain optimal performance.
Solution #2: UX/UI Design
BSS Commerce crafted an intuitive and user-friendly interface to enhance the online shopping experience for Optical 88’s customers, making it easy to navigate and find products.
Solution #3: Magento 2 Website Development & Customization
The project demanded a robust and scalable e-commerce platform to handle the anticipated high traffic volume for Optical 88. To ensure smooth operation during peak hours, this solution involved a two-step process.
First, collaboration between BSS Commerce and Optical 88 led to the selection of an appropriate server infrastructure. This critical step ensured the hosting provider was fully aware of peak usage periods, allowing them to optimize performance during these times.
Next, BSS Commerce leveraged the latest version of Magento 2 Open Source to meticulously customize the e-commerce website according to Optical 88’s specific needs. This resulted in a scalable platform equipped to support future growth and deliver a seamless online experience for their customers.
Solution #4: System Integration
A crucial aspect of the project was integrating various third-party systems into the website to streamline management and e-commerce processes:
- ShipAny Integration: BSS Commerce developed custom code to integrate ShipAny, a comprehensive logistics gateway, ensuring seamless logistics services without relying on third-party modules.
- SIS Integration: SIS, Optical 88’s Point-of-Sales system and inventory software, was also integrated using self-built code. This integration was vital for managing sales and inventory efficiently across their large retail network.
Solution #5: Ongoing Support & Optimization
Post-launch, BSS Commerce continued to provide support and optimization services, ensuring the website remained efficient and up-to-date.
Highlighted Functionalities:
- Self-customized Loyalty Program: BSS Commerce created a bespoke loyalty program tailored to Optical 88’s requirements, enabling them to reward both online and offline customers.
- Bespoke Customization: BSS team provided extensive customizations to ensure the website met all of Optical 88’s unique business needs and enhanced user experience.
- Testing and Quality Assurance: ISTQB-certified QAs rigorously tested the website to ensure it was secure, functional, and ready to handle high traffic volumes.
Through close collaboration and continuous communication, BSS Commerce successfully delivered a robust e-commerce platform that seamlessly integrated with Optical 88’s offline systems, meeting all their business requirements and exceeding their expectations.
Overcoming Challenges, Delivering Results: BSS Commerce's Solutions
The collaboration between Optical 88 and BSS Commerce yielded impressive results, fully meeting the challenges and expectations outlined at the project’s inception. By December 2020, BSS Commerce successfully delivered Optical 88’s corporate site, which allowed for appointment bookings and introduced their wide range of services and products. By April 2021, the fully developed online store was launched, featuring three store views in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and English, making it accessible to a broader audience. The e-commerce platform integrated seamlessly with Optical 88’s complex POS system and logistics gateway, thanks to the custom code developed by BSS Commerce.
Key results include:
Enhanced User Experience
The website’s intuitive UX/UI design significantly improved customer navigation and shopping experience, supporting both online purchases and appointment bookings.
Enhanced User Experience
The website’s intuitive UX/UI design significantly improved customer navigation and shopping experience, supporting both online purchases and appointment bookings.
Robust Performance
The website was built to handle high traffic volumes, ensuring a smooth shopping experience even during peak hours.
Customized Loyalty Program
The bespoke loyalty program effectively rewarded both online and offline customers, enhancing customer retention and satisfaction.
Through strategic planning and dedicated effort, BSS Commerce delivered a robust, scalable, and user-friendly e-commerce solution, positioning Optical 88 for continued growth and success in the digital marketplace.
Visit Optical 88 Online Store: Optical 88 Online Store.
A Warm Note From Optical 88
Optical 88’s e-commerce manager expressed their satisfaction with BSS Commerce’s work in a glowing testimonial. We are incredibly grateful for O88’s trust in choosing BSS Commerce as a partner for this project. Their positive feedback is a testament to the successful collaboration we built. We look forward to continuing to improve and deliver exceptional results for our valued clients.
Summary
Optical 88, one of Hong Kong’s largest eyewear chains, partnered with BSS Commerce to address challenges with their outdated e-commerce system, which needed better scalability and integration with their offline operations. BSS Commerce delivered a robust Magento 2 platform that included custom integrations for their POS system and logistics gateway, along with a bespoke loyalty program. The project, which began in October 2020, successfully launched Optical 88’s corporate site by December 2020 and their fully integrated online store by April 2021. This new platform enhanced user experience, handled high traffic efficiently, and supported both online and offline sales, positioning Optical 88 for continued growth.
Inspired by Optical 88's Success? It's Yours Too!
If your business is grappling with outdated Magento systems, sluggish site speeds, poor performance, and more, fret not. At BSS Commerce, we specialize in tailored solutions designed to address your unique challenges. With our commitment to seamless communication and unwavering dedication, we’re here to help you boost conversion rates and accelerate site speeds.
Your success story begins with us – let’s embark on this journey together!
