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Your eCommerce or B2C (Business to Consumer) Website is where customers are sent when they click the Buy Tickets link on your organization's website. The eCommerce site is white labeled meaning it uses the header and top navigation links that mirror the look and feel of your website, so customers go back and forth without realizing they're leaving your site!
It is important that ACME has access to your webmaster so that we can easily make the changes needed to keep the eCommerce site in sync. While your webmaster is responsible for making changes to your organization's site, ACME personnel may occasionally suggest changes that better align it with the ACME Back Office.
About White Label Websites
As a white label site, your eCommerce website will be run by ACME, but includes a number of features that identify it as part of your organization. These usually include:
- Your header
- Your logo
- Top-level navigation links
- Text that guides customer though the site
- Last minute reminders (non-refundable, no large bags, etc.)
You are able to configure the specific language and appearance of your eCommerce site with the variables configured in the Theme section in the ACME Back Office. If you would ever like to change the text, navigation links, or styles of your eCommerce site (because you have changed some of them on your organization's site, for example), you are able to update your ACME Theme configuration to match.
Controlling the Display Order of Events
By default, the ACME eCommerce site will display events with web sales turned on in alphabetical order, with member only templates displayed below "standard" events available for anyone to purchase. If you prefer, you can specify the order in which published Events are displayed on your eCommerce site. This means that you can have Events display according to popularity, price, or any way you’d like.
To enable this, go to Settings → Administration in ACME Back Office. Under the “B2C” tab, toggle “Honor event template display order in list view" to YES.
To change the display order, in the Back Office, go to Events → Event Templates. Next to “Create Template” in the upper right there will be a down arrow. Click that, then choose “Edit Display Order”. You will be brought to a page on which you can drag Templates into a new order, or use the up and down arrows next to each Template to give each one a number that will determine its place. ("1" will display first, "2" will display second, and so on.) To save this new order, click “Save Changes” at the top of the page.
Once this setting is activated, you will be prompted to assign a display order when you click publish on new or existing event templates. New templates will default to being displayed first, unless a different sort order is assigned at that time.
Purchase Experiences
Your eCommerce site utilizes dynamic URLs. These pull the information from the Back Office (information about your Events) into your eCommerce website.
There are four different ways that information may appear on your eCommerce site. Depending on the location of the "Buy Tickets" button on your site, the button will direct visitors to one of these four Purchase Experiences.
Calendar URL
The Calendar view shows visitors a calendar where they can see the offerings for each day. This can be used in two ways:
|  |
Event List
| The Event List shows all current offerings. Clicking "Tickets" takes visitors to a calendar that shows all days that Event is offered. This list displays Events' short descriptions (from their Event Template). Visitors can click the "Learn More" link to view more information and images about the event (this will take them to the Event Details page). The order of event listings on the Events List page is managed in the Back Office. |  |
Event Details Page
| The Event Details view brings the visitor to the Event's full page. Clicking "Tickets" takes visitors to a calendar that shows all days that Event is offered. This view shows Events' full descriptions (from their Event Template). |  |
Ticket Select
| The Ticket Select link brings visitors to a schedule instance with a specific date and time. The visitor selects their ticket quantity from this page and check out directly. This page can also be configured to display up-sell items including:
This link is often used when an Event has only one date. |  |
Placing an Order
Once the customer has found the Event Instance (day/time), they select the number and type of tickets they need. They may also select any add-ons, make a charitable contribution, and any other Events that are also offered on that specific date (these will appear at the bottom of the page). Once they have made their selection, they will click the "Place Order" button at the bottom of the page.
Checkout is designed to be easy and quick. The visitor can see their selected items and price total, and will be prompted to enter the following:
- First Name, Last Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Email Address
- Credit Card Information
They can also enter a coupon code if they have one.
Customer ID
After receiving this information, the system will check if there is a Customer ID that matches the customer's information. If so, it will attach the order to the Customer ID number. If not, a Customer ID number will be created. This process happens in the background without the visitor needing to actively create an account or set/remember a password. Once a Customer ID is set it will be referenced for any future orders placed by this visitor through any ACME sales channel.
Order Confirmation
Upon submission, the visitor consents to the policies and the ACME Terms of Service. After submission, the client is directed to the Order Confirmation page. Here they will see:
- Details of their order
- An Order number
- A reminder that they will receive an email with their order details and tickets (if event is not set-up as will-call)
- Links back to the home page of the client site and/or the client's FAQ page.