EXCLUSIVE: Real,- launches social sign-on
By Retail Technology | Wednesday October 30 2013
New web platform supported by social login and sharing capabilities will help make shopping as convenient as possible for customers of German hypermarket giant real,-
Real,- has launched a new online platform, www.real.de, with social login and social sharing features powered by social web user management technology provider, Janrain.
The German hypermarket giant and part of the Metro Group is using Janrain’s federated access technology, including social login, to manage user registration. The technology allows customers to log in using their preferred social media profile, in order to make the online shopping experience as convenient and relevant as possible.
Acknowledging social media influence
Philipp Blome, head of e-marketing, customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing projects for Real.de, commented: “There is a recognition within real,- that social media is becoming increasingly important as a means for brands to communicate effectively with their customer base. In today’s online environment, where it is so easy for consumers to move away from your website to a competitor, the user experience is absolutely critical.”
He added: “We wanted to make the online experience as convenient for our shoppers as possible and social login is key to enabling this improved online experience.”
Real,- previously operated unique websites for its various business divisions, but wanted to integrate all its services and create a single customer account, without having to ask its existing customers to re-register.
Capitalising on single sign-on boost
Single sign-on (SSO) – whereby a customer, once logged on to one of the websites would automatically be able to move between the different corporate sites – presented the retailer with the solution it needed, while working on the new website in the background.
“We needed a provider that could enable social features on multiple levels,” continued Blome. “Janrain offered us both an immediate and a long-term solution that provided us with the technology solution we needed, would ease the customers’ login process and improve the overall user experience.”
In recent research, Janrain found 85% of UK consumers would like social login to be offered as an alternative when registering for sites over the standard web registration process. And a 2013 Gartner report has suggested that by 2015 half of retail customer logins will be made via social networks.
