In the fast-paced world of retail, having an online presence can make or break your business. It’s essential to tailor your digital platform to meet the needs of your audience, enabling you to generate sales and ensure long-term success. To stay ahead in the market, you must equip yourself with the right tools that not only differentiate your business but also streamline the purchasing process for your customers.  

How can I attract new customers while simplifying my operations? The answer lies in Odoo.  

You may be wondering: what’s the solution? How can I attract new customers while simplifying my operations? The answer lies in Odoo. If you’re not familiar, Odoo is a comprehensive open-source business management software that seamlessly integrates various business processes into a single platform. Its e-commerce module is significant, especially for the problem that you want to solve. The e-commerce module offers tools designed to streamline online sales, enhance customer engagement, improve sales analytics, and so much more! 

In this blog, we’ll explore the capabilities of Odoo’s e-commerce module and how it can transform your business for the better! Our purpose is to inform and empower you and other retailers to integrate Odoo into your daily workflow. Whether you’re a pro in the retail industry or just starting out, und​erstanding these features will provide you with insights on how to improve your business with the help of Odoo and Pragmatic. Let’s dive in. 

One of your roles in managing your business is to retain your customers and to attract them with a user-interface that makes online shopping easy. It shouldn’t just be another transaction but a journey that your customers want to continue on. Below are the key features that Odoo provides you with to keep your e-commerce site stunning and user-friendly.  

Customizable Themes:   Odoo is committed to a great user-experience, and this is a prominent feature. You have the ability to use Odoo’s customizable themes to allow for a unique online presence. When using the Website Configurator, you can easily design web pages by entering the preferred theme, product offerings, and focus areas. Once you’ve modified the theme for your website, you can choose and press “favorite” for future reference.  You can select a color palette that matches what your brand is, add pages for features like News, Events, Shops, and Store Locators.  

Page Editor: For those who want to create their website from scratch, Odoo gives you the option to either select a pre-built theme or create your site from a blank page. The page editor is intuitive and makes the process of building your site without pre-built themes, easy and hassle-free. 

Mobile Editing Capabilities: Transitioning from a desktop design to a mobile design can be difficult but Odoo makes it easy. Especially in this day and age, it’s probably the mobile view that is more essential. You can adjust the number of columns displayed, remove heavy elements like videos, or add features that you didn’t include in the desktop version. This dual view flexibility ensures that the UI and UX of your dreams for your site is for everybody in any setting.  

AI-powered Content: When writing blogs or adding text blocks to your website, you can use the ChatGPT/AI feature to generate content based on your initial descriptions. This significantly speeds up the process of creating extensive information. Additionally, you can easily customize text and backgrounds, ensuring that your site accurately reflects your brand. 

Streamlined Product Descriptions: You can create detailed, formatted product descriptions that include images, links, and building blocks. Additionally, you can integrate ratings to help build trust with your customers. 

Product Tags: Odoo allows you to add informative labels to your products using product tags. These tags not only help customers discover new products but also enable them to filter items based on their interests and needs. To customize tags, you can use colors or images to capture your customers’ attention and enhance engagement. 

With tags, it is beneficial for both parties, the customer and the administrator. For customers, their search journey leads to a smoother shopping experience that reduces frustration and is time saving. For administrators, the ability to create custom filters and tags provides greater control over product management and visibility.  

Attribute Values: Customers can use images as attribute values, providing an intuitive way to select products. This feature highlights variations such as colors and styles, making the shopping experience faster and easier. Additionally, to help capture and retain customers, Odoo allows you to configure and manage various promotional tools. You can create promotions, offer coupons, implement loyalty cards, and manage gift cards and eWallets. These features combined incentivize repeat purchases and customer engagement.  

Checkout Process: If the checkout step in the shopping process isn’t smooth and streamlined, it can lead to a higher rate of cart abandonment. Odoo’s checkout redesign focuses on minimalist design and speed. Action buttons are displayed on the right side of the screen for easy navigation, and customers can update quantities on a product directly from the cart. 

The checkout process consists of three steps: Review Order , Shipping , and Payment . The user interface displays which step you are on, eliminating confusion and allowing customers to take a step back and change or update necessary information, such as their address or credit card details. 

​ Intelligent Address Detection:   Odoo’s checkout can automatically detect shipping and billing addresses. This feature saves customers time by eliminating the need to fill in that information manually. However, users still have the option to enter their details manually, giving them full control. 

Put yourself in your customers' shoes. When searching for a product, you want to find it quickly and explore all available options to discover the perfect item. Odoo’s advanced search functionality transforms how customers and administrators interact with product listings, ensuring that users can easily locate what they need. Below, we will discuss the various ways Odoo enhances search functionality. 

Search Algorithms and Filtering Options: This feature provides users with a more effective and intuitive way to discover products. The search algorithms enable faster and more accurate results by displaying the most relevant items based on a user’s search query. This means your customers will spend less time scrolling through unrelated products. 

Customizable Searches and Filters: Odoo has the ability to let you edit existing searches and create custom filters. Customers can modify these filters to find exactly what they’re looking for. These filters search through records, like product attributes, rather than just plain text descriptions. As a result, the search process becomes precise and effective, yielding results based on specific data criteria. 

Configurable Pricing and Separate Stores: Odoo lets you customize the “Display Product Prices” setting independently from one website to another.  Customizing the “Display Product Prices” enables you to adjust pricing visibility for each site, tailoring the pricing to suit different audiences. Additionally, you can configure different pricelists for your shop based on specific needs, such as setting prices per country, customer, or product. These customization features provide flexibility for businesses operating in B2B and B2C markets. 

Whether someone is shopping from the comfort of their homes or if they’re on-the-go with their mobile devices, they all deserve a flexible, secure, and convenient payment process. Odoo’s payment options help simplify the checkout experience, making it easier for customers to pay that is most suitable for them. In this section, we will delve into topics such as direct payments with Stripe, diverse payment methods, and payment captures with Adyen. 

Payment Forms: Customers are able to choose their preferred payment methods by linking each payment provider to a list of payment methods displayed on the forms.  

Odoo’s Integration with Stripe: Strip is a leading online payment processing platform that allows businesses to accept payments over the internet. Odoo’s integration with Stripe can help customers complete their transactions directly within the payment form. The customer does not need to redirect customers to the Stripe website, which is convenient and reduces cart abandonment rates. Stripe supports payment options such as credit/debit cards and digital wallets (Google pay or Apple pay) while working with multiple currencies.  

Odoo’s Integration with Adyen: Similar to how Odoo integrates with Stripe, Odoo uses Adyen to allow businesses to accept and process various payment methods. One of its key features is the partial payment capture, which is useful when businesses want to 'capture' a portion of the transaction amount upfront while leaving the rest for a later date. 

Public User Payment with Tokens: Create a better shopping experience for leads and customers by taking advantage of tokens. A token is a digital asset that is used to facilitate transactions or authenticate users without exposing their data. A customer's sensitive data will not be shown but hidden with a unique identifier of a token and then the actual payment method will be stored by a payment provider like Stripe. This feature aids the checkout process for those who do not wish to log in to their accounts while making a purchase. This feature focuses on convenience for the users, and security by protecting their information.  

Recurring Payments and Subscriptions: If you’re a business that offers subscription services, this feature is for you! You may integrate with Stripe to help you manage recurring payments. Stripe offers tools such as subscription management where you can create multiple subscription plans with different pricing, billing intervals, etc. Additionally, Odoo generates invoices for subscriptions using Stripe while Stripe handles the recurring payments, allowing customers to be charged automatically on specified intervals.  

Payment Link Generation: This is the process of creating a unique URL that customers can use when purchasing goods or services online. This is a game-changer for businesses that rely on direct transactions through social media, invoices, or emails. Businesses can share links directly to a customer’s WhatsApp, email, or social media for convenience. 

Just like any relationship, building trust and confidence is essential. Your customers expect updates on their orders, and as a business, you must meet and exceed those expectations. With Odoo, you can surpass their expectations by using software that provides real-time shipping updates. This approach enhances the customer shopping experience and boosts operational efficiency. 

Real-Time Shipping Updates: Customers can receive instant updates on when their order will arrive and its’ status. This ensures that customers are informed and prepared for their package to arrive. 

Shipping Methods Without the Inventory App: Just like the E-commerce app in Odoo, the Inventory app is one of many in Odoo that is designed to help businesses manage their stocks and inventory operations. Odoo now lets you adjust and use various shipping methods without the need to install the Inventory app. If you’re a person that values simplicity for your dashboard with minimal applications, Odoo is perfect for you. This flexibility allows businesses to tailor their shipping methods to their needs without the need for multiple applications.  

Click & Collect: This is a brand-new feature that just got released, is practical and elevates the in-store shopping experience, rather than the online-shopping experience. This feature allows customers to check in-store stock and pick up their orders at a store of their choice. Customers will be gravitating to this feature because of its convenience. They are able to shop online and skip the wait for the delivery, ensuring they get their products when they want them. Furthermore, customers can avoid shipping fees, making this an attractive option for budget-conscious shoppers. 

Let data be your most valuable asset. Your data can help you combat your competition by providing answers to market changes and customer needs. Odoo empowers businesses with tools designed to facilitate data-driven decision-making, allowing you to uncover valuable trends and patterns from previous strategies. In this section, let’s explore how analytics and reporting tools can transform the way you run your business, enabling you to make informed decisions that drive growth. Whether you’re trying to improve sales, monitor expenses, or gain insights into customer behavior, Odoo can set you apart from the rest of your competition. 

The Advanced Dashboard: Recently, Odoo has revamped the analytics dashboard to become more intuitive and to allow administrators to view key metrics at a glance. The top 3 key features of the Advanced Dashboard are Create Blank Dashboards, Sharing Capabilities, and Year-to-Date (YTD) Filtering.  

• Create Blank Dashboards: Users can create blank dashboards from the dashboard configuration. With a clean slate, businesses can customize their analytics environment to focus on the metrics that matter most. 
• Sharing Capabilities: Within the Dashboards app, you can share dashboards, promoting collaboration in a team setting. This ensures that everyone has access to the same data and insights, leading to more informed meetings and strategic planning. 
• Year-to-Date (YTD) Filtering: "Users can analyze performance from the beginning of the current year to the present day by filtering the data to Year-to-Date (YTD). This enables an assessment of sales trends, expense tracking, and overall business health within the context of the year. 

Customizable Reports: Reports help stakeholders make informed decisions by presenting relevant information in a clear and concise manner. Although sometimes, reports can present unnecessary data that can hinder the goal you’re trying to achieve. Odoo’s customizable reports feature lets you focus on the insights that are relevant to your operations rather than digging through generic data. Some examples of valuable insights are sales performances, expense analysis, and customer insights.  

Although this blog might have been alot to take in, it gives you the run-down on the most important features that Odoo’s e-commerce application can offer. If you’re in the retail industry, Odoo is more than just a software solution; it is an ally that can transform your business. It equips you with tools that can transform your online presence, improve operational efficiency and increase business growth. Odoo addresses all the critical areas that make a business run effectively, including marketing tools, payment and shipping options, analytics and reporting, and a beautifully designed user interface to launch your e-commerce venture.  

At Pragmatic, we make digital transformation of our clients possible by helping you integrate Odoo into your business. We understand it can be overwhelming, so we will handle the work for you! Contact us today at 904-831-1444 for a consultation on how we can take your business to the next level!