The Emarsys Salesforce B2C Commerce plug-in was certified by Salesforce in August 2021. The integration and documentation are available on Salesforce Marketplace.
Summary
Founded in 2000, the Emarsys platform integrates customer intelligence, personalization, predictive recommendations and automation across channels. Emarsys serves more than 1,200 clients in 140 countries or regions. Among its clients are eBay, ToysRUs, Yahoo 7, Sky and Volvo.
Retailers need to maximize customer engagement and conversion rates by providing highly customized customer experience and recommendations. By implementing the Emarsys solutions to their eCommerce platform, merchants will be able to collect data from the end-user interaction with the Platform, gain insights into their behavior and reach customers through email campaigns and tailored recommendations.
The cartridge offers merchants the ability to use the powerful Emarsys capabilities on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud storefronts to increase conversion rates.
Further reading:
Component overview
Functional overview
The integration cartridges use the default locale - EN. The Emarsys integration cartridges will allow the merchant to:
- Use the Emarsys Business Manager module extension to make the necessary configurations for the following:
- Newsletter subscription methods (global footer subscription, checkout process subscription and my account subscription):
- Define the opt-in strategy for each newsletter subscription method (please see the details regarding the opt-in strategies below)
- Configure external events to be triggered once the end-user has subscribed
- Transactional emails (order and shipping confirmation emails):
- Define and map the fields that will be added to the transactional emails
- Configure the external event that will trigger the transactional email
- Catalog configuration (Product data feed):
- Define and map the fields that will be added to the product export feed
- Choose the type of catalog product export :
- Export only main product
- Export product variations
- SmartInsight configuration (Order export feed):
- Define and map the fields that will be added to the order export feed
- Initial database load:
- Define the mapping between B2C Commerce and Emarsys fields - this mapping will be used to create the auto-import profile (calling an Emarsys endpoint) and to send data directly to Emarsys using the API.
- Newsletter subscription methods (global footer subscription, checkout process subscription and my account subscription):
- Allow end-users to subscribe to newsletters from the website storefront using the subscription methods:
- Global footer newsletter subscription
- Newsletter subscription during the checkout process
- Newsletter subscription from the My account section for registered users
- Allow registered end-users to unsubscribe from newsletters
As stated above, the merchant has the option to set the desired opt-in strategy for each one of the three storefront subscription methods. The available values for the opt-in strategy are the following:
- Single opt-in: the customer records get the system field opt-in in the Emarsys Platform set to true immediately.
- Double opt-in: the customer (end-user) needs to click a link in a confirmation email in order to get the system field opt-in in the Emarsys Platform set to true.
External events: an external event is an Emarsys instance. Every external event has an ID that can be used to run some programs or send emails using the Emarsys API. External events are used not only to subscribe customers to newsletters. There are also some other cases where external events are triggered:
- On the Contact Us page after a form is submitted
- In the Emarsys-OrderStatusСhangeNotification job to notify Emarsys about shipped and canceled orders
- On the Login page (SFRA) / My Account Login page (SG) when a customer sends email to reset password
- On the Login page (SFRA) / Create Account page (SG) when a new customer account is created (registration form submitted)
The JavaScript tracking code was embedded in Phase 2 of the Emarsys code. The analysis generates product recommendations and maps personal interests of users based on browsing information collected from website (product views, searches, conversions). The information is collected by a set of JavaScript snippets that were embedded into website page templates.
These JavaScript commands are pushed to Emarsys Predict:
-
cart: on the page where the cart is shown -
category: on pages which lists products in a category -
purchase: on the order confirmation page -
setCustomerId: on every page as soon as thecustomeridis known -
setEmail: on every page as soon as the email address is known -
view: on every product detail page -
searchTerm: on the search results page
Use cases (SFRA)
You can find the use cases for the Emarsys cartridge integration in the following sections.
Global footer newsletter subscription
The end-user can enter their email address directly into the newsletter registration field in a standard RefArch.
If the end-user enters their e-mail address and clicks the Subscribe button, based on the opt-in strategy set by the merchant for this subscription method, one of the following scenarios will be followed:
- if the merchant has decided to use the Single Opt-in strategy, the end-user is led to the thank you page.
- if the merchant has decided to use the Double-Opt-in strategy, the end-user will be directed to a Data Submitted Page.
If the end-user clicks the Subscribe button without entering their email address, they will be redirected to the sign-up page.
Newsletter subscription during the checkout process
Using this method, the end-user can subscribe to newsletters during the checkout process, directly from the checkout page.
The email field is a required field on the checkout page in the standard RefArch functionality. You need to add a subscription checkbox to the billing address, the default subscription is false. If the user enters their email address and selects the Please add me to Salesforce Commerce Cloud's email list checkbox, based on the opt-in strategy set by the merchant in the Business Manager for this subscription method, the user record will be created in the Emarsys side and the opt-in field will be set directly to true (Single Opt-in strategy) or after the customer clicks a link in a confirmation email (Double Opt-in strategy).
If the user does not opt-in with adding them in the E-Mail list, all customer data are transferred to Emarsys, so that Emarsys can create this user in the database. Even though the user is created in Emarsys, the status for E-Mail sign-up (Opt-in field) is still inactive.
Newsletter subscription from the My account section
There is also the option for a registered customer to subscribe to a newsletter from the My account section in the Salesforce storefront, but it must be added. Just like for the previous two subscription methods, the My account subscription process will consider the configuration for the Opt-in strategy (Single Opt-in or Double Opt-in). Also, the registered user has the option of unsubscribing from a newsletter by clicking a button within their account.
Transactional emails
There are two types of transactional emails:
- Order confirmation email
- Shipping confirmation email
Order confirmation email - as soon as an end-user finishes a transaction, the order data is transmitted to the Emarsys Platform and the corresponding external event is triggered so that the confirmation email is sent. When triggering the external event, transactional information is transferred with the API call. The transactional information sent to Emarsys is based on the configuration made by the merchant for order emails.
Shipping confirmation email - as soon as a shipment to an end-user is finished, a shipping confirmation email is sent. The approach is similar to the one used for order confirmation emails.
Emarsys Predict JavaScript Recommendations
Emarsys Predict is being used to recommend products based on a self-learning algorithm. Recommended products can be rendered within shop pages and within emails. Emarsys has its own system called ScarabResearch that renders the recommendations.
The user's browsing data is pushed into Emarsys on the following pages:
- Cart page: list of items in the visitor's shopping cart
- Category page: category currently browsed by the visitor
- Order Confirmation Page: list of items purchased by the customer
- Search Page: push search term entered by the visitor
- Product Page: push the unique ID of the product being browsed
While browsing the site the user should be able to see the recommendations on the following pages:
- Product detail page
- Home page
- Cart page
- Search results page
- Category page
- Order confirmation page
Recommendations are displayed based on previous user actions from the recommendation catalog exported to Emarsys.
Use Case:
- The user enters the site.
- The customer visits a product detail page of a product.
- The customer adds a product to their cart.
- The customer goes to the cart page.
- The list of products recommended by Emarsys Scarabresearch are displayed.
Initial database load
Other than the newsletter subscription and transactional email functionality, the cartridge offers the merchant the option of loading the existing Salesforce Commerce Cloud customers into the Emarsys Platform. Using the Database load configuration extension, the merchant defines the customer data that will be sent. Once the configuration is saved, the merchant needs to run the Initialize Emarsys Database Job schedule to send data directly to Emarsys using the API.
Use cases (SG)
Please find the use cases for the Emarsys cartridge integration in the following sections.
Global footer newsletter subscription
The end-user can enter their email address directly into the newsletter registration field in a standard SiteGenesis.
If the end-user enters their email address and clicks the button, based on the opt-in strategy set by the merchant for this subscription method, one of the following scenarios will be followed:
- If the merchant has decided to use the Single Opt-in strategy, the end-user is led to the thank you page.
- If the merchant has decided to use the Double-Opt-in strategy, the end-user will be directed to a Data Submitted Page.
If the end-user clicks the submit button without entering their email address, they will be redirected to the sign-up page.
Newsletter subscription during the checkout process
By using this method, the end-user can subscribe to newsletters during the checkout process, directly from the billing page.
The email field is a required field on the billing page in the standard SiteGenesis functionality. If the user enters their email address and selects the Please add me to the Demandware email list. Demandware does not share or sell personal info. checkbox, based on the opt-in strategy set by the merchant in the Business Manager for this subscription method, the user record will be created in the Emarsys side and the opt-in field will be set directly to true (Single Opt-in strategy) or after the customer clicks a link in a confirmation email (Double Opt-in strategy).
If the user does not opt in to add them in the Email list, then all customer data are transferred to Emarsys, so that Emarsys can create the user in the database. Even though the user is created in Emarsys, the status for Email sign-up (Opt-in field) is still inactive.
Newsletter subscription from My account section
There is also the option for a registered customer to subscribe to newsletters from the My account section in the Salesforce storefront, but it must be added. Just like for the previous two subscription methods, the My account subscription process will consider the configuration for the Opt-in strategy (Single Opt-in / Double Opt-in). Also, the registered user has the option of unsubscribing from newsletters by clicking a button within their account.
Transactional emails
There are two types of transactional emails:
- Order confirmation email
- Shipping confirmation email
Order confirmation emails - as soon as an end-user finishes a transaction, the order data is transmitted to the Emarsys Platform and the corresponding external event is triggered so that the confirmation email is sent. When triggering the external event, transactional information is transferred with an API call. The transactional information sent to Emarsys is based on the configuration made by the merchant for order emails.
Shipping confirmation email - as soon as a shipment to an end-user is finished, a shipping confirmation email is sent. The approach is similar to the one used for order confirmation emails.
Emarsys Predict JavaScript Recommendations
Emarsys Predict is used for recommending products based on a self-learning algorithm. Recommended products can be rendered within shop pages and within emails. Emarsys has its own system called ScarabResearch that renders the recommendations.
The user's browsing data is pushed to Emarsys on the following pages:
- Cart page: list of items in the visitor's shopping cart
- Category page: category currently browsed by visitor
- Order Confirmation Page: list of items purchased by the customer
- Search Page: push search term entered by visitor
- Product Page: push the unique ID of the product being browsed
While browsing the site the user should be able to see the recommendations on the following pages:
- Product detail page
- Home page
- Cart page
- Search results page
- Category page
- Order confirmation page
Recommendations are displayed based on previous user actions from the recommendation catalog exported to Emarsys.
Use case:
- User enters the site
- Customer visits the product detail page of a product
- Customer adds a product to the cart
- Customer goes to the cart page
- The list of recommendations recommended by Emarsys Scarabresearch is displayed
Initial database load
Other than the newsletter subscription and transactional email functionality, the cartridge offers the merchant the option of loading the existing B2C Commerce customers into the Emarsys Platform. Using the Database load configuration extension, the merchant defines the customer data that will be sent. Once the configuration is saved, the merchant needs to run the Initialize Emarsys Database Job schedule to send data directly to Emarsys using the API.
Compatibility
Integration is tested against Compatibility Mode 21.2. Cartridges work with SFRA versions v6.0.0 and v5.3.0, and also with SG v105.2.1.
Limitations and constraints
- In order to avoid Salesforce Commerce Cloud quota violations, the initial database load feature will load the existing customers into the Emarsys Platform in bulks of configurable sizes. By default, the size of a bulk is set to 10.000 customers. However, this setting can be overwritten by navigating to Administration > Operations > Jobs > Emarsys-InitDatabase > ExportCustomerInfo and setting the value for the Profiles export threshold field. Please note that setting a value higher than 20.000 will cause a script failure. Also, trying to export a high number of profiles at a time might affect the performance, so be very careful when updating this custom field.
- Managing multiple currencies and localization is out of scope for the current version of the cartridge.
- DW does not have built-in OMS, so we suggest including returned items in a feed generated by the external OMS.
Privacy and payment
The cartridge uses the customer profile and transfers it to the Emarsys Platform. All data is transferred over a secure HTTPS connection. The integration does not process any customer credit card data.
For Phase 2 customer, order and product information are passed to the Emarsys Platform via SFTP server connection.
Known issues
There are no known issues.