Sokolin
Elevating Ecommerce Innovation with the Synergy of Flutter, Magento, and Hyva
About
Sokolin
Sokolin was founded in 1934 when the original owner, David Sokolin, received one of the first liquor licenses issued by New York State after Prohibition was repealed. They are currently celebrating their 89th year as a premier wine retailer.
Today, Sokolin is run by his grandson Dave Sokolin and is an internationally renowned luxury retailer specializing in fine wines from long-established wine-producing regions, as well as emerging viticultural areas.
Services Provided
- Mobile Apps for Android and iOS
- Newly Designed Website UI
- Hyva Theme Implementation
Platform
- Magento
- Flutter
- Magento SDK by Klizer
- Hyva Theme
Website
Challenges
Sokolin sought to revamp its mobile apps and website with a modern and newly crafted user interface and to switch its app from a native platform to a hybrid app framework to expedite development while maintaining cost-efficiency.
Here are some of the challenges/problems they wanted to overcome:
- Outdated UI: The existing website and app featured an outdated user interface, necessitating a modern and sleek redesign.
- Theme Transition: The Porto theme in their current site had performance issues. Transitioning to a new and improved theme was essential to enhance performance and functionality.
- Mobile App Platform Transition: The native platform used for development consumed a significant amount of time and proved to be less cost-effective.
- Payment Integration: Integrating Quick Checkout with Apple Pay and Google Pay into the app was a requirement.
- Remote Configuration Implementation: The previous app had server information and credentials hardcoded. This was inconvenient as it made it necessary to rebuild the app whenever there was a need to switch servers or update credentials for testing in different development or staging Magento instances. The goal was to introduce remote configuration capabilities to enable seamless server switching and credential updates without the need for app rebuilds.
- Implementing Notification Support: Notifications are a crucial part of any mobile app, and the previous app could not deliver them.
- Dynamic Inclusion of CMS Pages and Blogs: The previous app faced limitations as it couldn’t dynamically incorporate CMS pages and blogs from Magento.
- App Performance Monitoring: The existing app could not monitor user events, assess app performance, or detect crashes.
Solutions
Klizer undertook an overhaul of Sokolin’s website and mobile application by implementing the following:
- Revamped User Interface: We designed a new and modern UI that harmonized the website and app and looked across various platforms
- Theme Transition: Switched to Hyva Theme for better performance, Hyva is known for its emphasis on performance optimization, which can lead to faster-loading websites and improved user experiences.
- Mobile App Platform Transition: We recommended Flutter for the new mobile application. Flutter’s single codebase for Android and iOS apps, combined with its high-performance architecture and hot reload feature, allows for faster development and quicker time-to-market. Its strong community support further enhances its appeal for cross-platform mobile app development.
- Elevated mobile experience: The new mobile app upgrades the shopping experience by offering a convenient and efficient way to explore an extensive range of wine categories. With user-friendly search, filter, and sorting options, finding their desired bottle of wine is a breeze, whether they’re looking for a specific vintage, region, price range, or rating. The app also simplifies the purchasing process with its quick checkout feature, ensuring users can complete transactions swiftly and effortlessly.
- App Performance Monitoring: To monitor app performance and effectively track events, we integrated analytics tools like GA, GTM, and Crashlytics using Firebase, providing valuable insights and performance optimization capabilities.
- Payment Integration: Integrating Stripe with Apple Pay and Google Pay for a seamless and secure payment process, providing users with quick and hassle-free checkout options while enhancing payment security and convenience.
- Remote Configuration Implementation: By harnessing Firebase’s remote configuration capabilities, we stored server information and credentials, streamlining the process of server switching and credential updates without the need for app rebuilding. This enhancement significantly improved application flexibility and security.
- Implementing Notification Support: Implementing mobile and web notifications through Firebase Cloud Messaging, enabling real-time, cross-platform communication with users and enhancing their engagement with the application.
- Dynamic Inclusion of CMS Pages and Blogs: We developed a Magento SDK that effortlessly synchronized data between Magento and mobile apps, encompassing not only products and checkout but also CMS pages and blogs. This comprehensive synchronization ensured real-time and consistent updates across a diverse array of content and functionality.
Outcome
The combined work of Sokolin and Klizer led to an extensive overhaul of the ecommerce landscape. The key outcomes include:
- User Experience: Achieving a seamless and modern user experience across various platforms and devices
- Data Integrity: Ensuring data integrity was crucial for maintaining accurate and reliable information across platforms
- Improved customer experience:The primary goal was to enhance the customer experience, resulting in improved satisfaction and loyalty.Customers are informed and engaged through real-time notifications, ensuring they never miss out on the latest updates, promotions, or personalized recommendations.
- Connecting customers with a personal wine concierge:This live chat feature offers expert guidance, wine pairings, and answers to any inquiries, making wine selection an interactive and enjoyable process.
- App Performance Monitoring:The integration of analytics tools like GA, GTM, and Crashlytics through Firebase provided valuable insights and performance optimization capabilities, leading to a more robust and effective app performance monitoring system.
Impact
The collaboration between Sokolin and Klizer resulted in a significant ecommerce transformation, bringing about several noteworthy impacts:
Enhanced User Experience:
Modernizing the website and mobile apps improved user satisfaction.
Data Integrity:
Data synchronization ensured accurate information and streamlined content management.
Improved Customer Experience:
New features boosted customer satisfaction and loyalty.
App Performance Monitoring:
Integrated analytics enhanced app performance and issue resolution.