HalpaHalli

The challenge: The goal is a high-quality customer experience, regardless of the channel

The main idea in HalpaHalli’s omnichannel model is that the consumer gets the same high-quality customer experience regardless of the transaction channel. In addition to responding to the changing needs of existing customers, HalpaHalli’s goal is to become a significant player in eCommerce. Similarly, by developing its digital services, the company is also responding to the competition brought about by international online stores. The goal is to be present where the customer wants HalpaHalli to be, be it a brick-and-mortar or a digital environment. An omnichannel concept with eCommerce creates excellent premises for this.

The solution: Magento 2 as the eCommerce platform

In addition to the technical implementation of the online store, Pinja has also designed the layout of HalpaHalli’s online store in accordance with the brand of the company. The look of the online store follows the familiar corporate look of HalpaHalli’s brick-and-mortars and print media, with its colors and fonts. The eCommerce is based on a modern, state-of-the-art platform, the latest version of the world’s most popular platform, Magento 2. Zendesk, one of the most popular systems in its class in the world, serves as a customer service tool.

Pinja has also implemented all Magento 2 add-ons for payment and logistics. Payment options include Maksuturva’s bank and card payments, as well as HalpaHalli Invoice and HalpaHalli Wallet, provided by Arvato Finance. At this stage, HalpaHalli Wallet is a payment method used in the eCommerce, which allows customers to pay for a month’s purchases with a single invoice delivered by email. In accordance with the omnichannel model, the HalpaHalli Wallet will also be available in brick-and-mortars in the near future.

The customer is also given options for the delivery of eCommerce purchases. In addition to the most common mail parcel services and the Matkahuolto Lähellä delivery, all 38 HalpaHalli stores operate as pick-up points for online purchases. The online store thus also contributes to supporting the selection and customer base of the chain’s smaller stores.

Integrations add more functionality

Pinja has also brought its expertise to the project in the form of integrations. HalpaHalli’s eCommerce project has included several integrations with different back offices. Using Magento’s interfaces, integrations have been implemented with the Akeneo PIM product information management system and the Progress ERP system, among others.

The online service visible to customers is a combination of the Magento eCommerce platform and the WordPress publishing system, seamlessly integrated into a single suite. The publishing system serves more information about the company, stores and lunch lists for cafeterias, for example. Again, the key is a natural user experience: the transition between systems is imperceptible to the customer. The interplay between the two systems is also supported by Klevu search, which searches for the most suitable search results from both systems. This way, the customer does not have to worry about whether he is retrieving information related to the eCommerce or information about summer jobs, for example.

The role of an eCommerce supplier in a critical project for HalpaHalli’s business development is of course important, and we at Pinja are convinced that our long experience with Magento and our strong expertise in integrations, combined with our flexible and customer-oriented work style, seal the choice of supplier. The release of the eCommerce is just the beginning of a long collaboration, and we look forward to further developing HalpaHalli’s eCommerce and customer experience!