In the age of immersive experience and personalized shopping, an ordinary website is like a flat tire on a road trip. It may (a BIG may) get the job done, but the journey won’t be memorable! For companies looking to transform their operations and customer experiences in today’s evolving e-commerce landscape, integrating state-of-the-art digital solutions is not a matter of IF but WHEN.
AirGlobal, the global frontrunner in the inhalation industry, was quick to realize that a cluttered e-commerce store can leave customers feeling breathless and displeased. So, they wanted a dynamic and innovative solution for their e-commerce brand, Ooka.
Enter Codilar, the e-commerce wizard that turned Ooka from a regular online store to a robust e-commerce brand, offering uninterrupted and personalized customer experience.
Thanks to a smooth AEM and Adobe Commerce (Magento) integration, AirGlobal enhanced Ooka’s digital presence, turning the store into hookah lovers’ go-to destination.
How did it happen? Let’s find out…
But First, a Bit About AirGlobal
AirGlobal brings together innovation and science to deliver emotional, physical, and mental well-being through a superior inhalation experience. Having their labs and factories set up in the UK, the US, and the UAE, AirGlobal is on a mission to redefine sensory exploration and recreation by innovating new ways of inhalation that blend well with the modern lifestyle.
To visualize their goal, the company launched Ooka, a revolutionary alternative to the conventional shisha that operates without charcoal to deliver a clean inhalation experience to hookah aficionados. The Ooka device, along with the pods, flavors, and kits, was launched also under the brand name, Ooka.
Why did AirGlobal Connect with Codilar?
Ooka was operating through its existing e-commerce site built on Adobe Commerce (Magento). However, that wasn’t enough to cater to the diverse needs of the modern-day shoppers. Moreover, AirGlobal didn’t want just to sell products, they wanted to create a community, elevating the art of inhalation. For that, they needed better content management, personalization, and value proposition.
Recognizing the unrelenting challenges, AirGlobal sought a comprehensive solution to transform its e-commerce game. That’s when Codilar came along!
With multiple prestigious awards and accolades, we already established ourselves as the leader in delivering cutting-edge digital experience solutions. After a detailed discussion with AirGlobal, we decided to take up the challenge!
The Problems Were Critical
The dynamic hookah industry needed more than selling some innovative products. To transform from a business into a brand, Ooka needed a complete solution to overcome the bottlenecks.
1. Complex Content Management: Ooka’s marketing took a step back as the page builder on Adobe Commerce (Magento) displayed some serious limitations in terms of content management and version control.
- No support for maintaining multiple versions of the same page, meaning seasonal variations or A/B testing can go out of the window.
- No built-in functionality to roll back to the previous version of a page, leading to huge operational time and cost for reversing even the tiniest changes.
2. Managing Product Variants: With a wide range of products, managing the data for up to ten product variants was simply too hard to handle for the existing platform. It affected the user experience while taking a toll on product grouping and navigation. Moreover, inefficient order management led to inaccuracy in inventory.
3. Weak Product Subscription Model: AirGlobal faced significant challenges managing repeated customer requests and handling customer databases as a result of a weak product subscription model. It led to a compromised payment system that left shoppers feeling unsure about purchasing from Ooka.
4. No Multiple Discount Options: While customer engagement is the talk of the commerce town, Ooka failed to deliver convenience. The platform only allowed one discount at a time whereas applying multiple discounts for a single purchase is the new standard. This failure in their commitment to affordability added to increased cart abandonment and decreased sales.
The Solution: Adobe Experience Manager
Popularly addressed as an advanced and effortless content management system (CMS), Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is a lot more capable. It’s also a digital asset management (DAM) system that allows users to create, manage, and deliver personalized customer experience across multiple channels.
Easy content management and personalization being two of the primary areas AirGlobal was struggling with, AEM and Magento integration was the natural solution.
Our AEM and Adobe Commerce (Magento) Integration Process
To integrate AEM into Ooka’s existing Magento platform and bring the perfect balance between content and commerce, Codilar’s AEM experts decided upon a hybrid approach. We aimed for a headless commerce system where Magento powered the backend and Adobe Experience Manager provided seamless personalization and omnichannel content delivery.
1. Strategic Planning
Identifying the business bottlenecks, marketing challenges, and AirGlobal’s vision was the first stepping stone. It offered us with a strategic roadmap for an efficient integration between AEM and Adobe Commerce. We set clear milestones and deadlines to deliver a flawless transition.
2. Execution
Once we had a clear strategy, it was time to jump into the real action!
- AEM and AC Connection: We connected AEM and Magento through GraphQL, ensuring both systems efficiently exchanged data while keeping the data flow efficient and real-time updates possible.
- URL Management: Using the server rewrite and redirect rules, we connected AEM’s publish instance URL with the frontend URL to ensure clean, dynamic URLs throughout the website. These URLs lead to better brand consistency and improved security (with hidden internal AEM path structure).
- Session Handling: Utilizing Adobe Commerce’s customer token, our developers improved Ooka’s customer sessions. By replacing traditional cookies, these tokens make logins more secure and identify customers across their buying journey.
- Guest Cart Management: Through the AEM and Adobe Commerce (Magento) integration process, we employed Magento’s Cart ID functionality to empower guest users with a flawless shopping experience, eliminating the hassle of registration at the time of purchase.
AEM and Adobe Commerce Did Wonders for Ooka
We knew from the beginning that to build an immersive experience for Ooka and AirGlobal, eliminating the gap between content and commerce was inevitable! And the flawless Magento 2 integration with AEM did wonders for Ooka.
1. Control Over Content Management
- Unified content management to manage content and commerce from a centralized platform.
- Total version control warranted multiple page variant creation, effortless A/B testing, and smooth rollback.
- Streamlined workflows to efficiently update content and products.
- Omnichannel content delivery to reach the highest number of customers.
- Reduced time to market to quickly create content and launch products.
- Advanced content scheduling made campaign rollouts seamless and on time.
- Editable templates guaranteed relief from the regular, cookie-cutter layouts, enabling easy customization of website elements including headers and footers.
2. Hyper-Personalized Shopping Experience
- Personalized product recommendation based on unique customer data for peaked engagement.
- Advanced analytics provided a detailed insight into customer behavior and content performance.
- Secure transactions solidified an ideal shopping experience by giving customers peace of mind over the security of their personal data.
- Multiple discount options to further fortify customer experience as they made the products more affordable for customers.
3. Made for Growth
- High scalability guaranteed adaptability to Ooka’s growing business requirements.
- Cloud-based solutions eliminated the old days of clunky server management, allowing easy access and flexibility for the team.
- Enhanced SEO and page speed were the essential bonuses AirGlobal could benefit from.
Features of the Integrated System
After the Magento and AEM integration, Ooka was on the way to becoming the brand AirGlobal envisioned. While choosing AEM proved to be fruitful for solving Ooka’s existing issues, Codilar effectively incorporated more features that enhanced their user interface.
- Parallax Effect: To serve modern-day hookah lovers, Ooka’s website needed a state-of-the-art interface. We implemented dynamic 3D effects through Parallax that multiplied the visual appeal of the site while ensuring an immersive experience for the users.
- Headless AEM: Combining the power of Magento and the flexibility of AEM, we implemented a headless solution, separating the backend and frontend. It resulted in offering more flexibility and scalability to Ooka.
- Multilingual Support: Leveraging the Multi-Site Manager from AEM, we improved the global reach by enabling localized content. Considering Ooka’s presence in multiple locations across the globe, this feature was crucial for an enriched customer experience.
- Dynamic Bundling: Employing Adobe APIs, we made product grouping and bundling effortless for Ooka. It allowed for personalized product sets and packages, improving the shopping experience by a great margin.
AirGlobal Overcame Every Challenge and More
Codilar, being a reliable AEM development company, addressed the business and marketing challenges faced by AirGlobal. The AEM and Adobe Commerce (Magento) integration led AirGlobal to leverage the full potential of Ooka!
Handling Multiple Product Variants Became Painless
After the Adobe Experience Manager integration, AirGlobal could manage multiple product variants on Ooka with ease, resulting in enhanced user experience, product grouping, and navigation. It further helped the company by streamlining order management.
Product Subscription Model Was Stronger Than Ever
The AEM integration provided an efficient subscription model that made it effortless for Ooka to manage recurring customer requests. Furthermore, it added to more accurate customer data management, leading to a huge spike in customer retention rate.
Enabling Multiple Discounts Led to Customer Satisfaction
With multiple discounts on a single purchase, customers were driven to Ooka due to more affordability. Not only did it bring down cart abandonment, but it became a cornerstone in bettering customer loyalty while driving more sales than ever!
Content Management Became Ooka’s Marketing Arsenal
Due to Magento’s challenging content management, the developers had to engage in a lot of marketing activities including new page creation. This made the whole process more time-consuming, affecting the productivity of both marketing and development teams.
However, with Magento 2 integration with AEM, page building became effortless! Ooka’s marketing team had full control over content management along with A/B testing and rollback features.
The Results Exceeded AirGlobal’s Expectations
The AEM and Adobe Commerce (Magento) integration completely transformed how AirGlobal markets and sells its Ooka products. By turning the existing challenges into effective business opportunities, Codilar helped Ooka become the most well-known brand for harmless hookah!
Here’s a quick video on how Codilar transformed Ooka’s Content + Commerce experience with a seamless AEM-Magento integration.
To learn more about the different integration processes and solutions, you can visit our detailed case study. With enhanced platform capabilities, Ooka multiplied its marketing returns and ROI which speaks a ton about the implementation’s success.
