A online company store is an online platform created by the company for its employees. Literally, an eCommerce website where your staff can buy goods and services under special conditions or at a discount. This type of store is often referred to as an employee discount program or employee perks program, along with other benefits \u2014 including those arranged through a broker like\u00a0Ignition Benefits<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 such as a\u00a0phantom stock plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft Company Store applies just the same principle, providing their employees with the opportunity to buy software, gadgets, accessories and subscriptions to cloud services at a discount. This is a typical case. Today, we will talk about another option for a corporate shop, which is gaining popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are talking about stores where employees purchase branded souvenirs, gym memberships, and tours, paying for them with points or corporate \u201ccurrency\u201d. This internal \u201cmoney\u201d can be earned for participating in activities that are meaningful for business: speaking at exhibitions and conferences, organizing a holiday, mentoring support for newcomers etc. There can be a lot of options here. The main thing is that these activities should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The development of company online stores for employees is becoming a common practice among corporations, manufacturing enterprises, factories, and IT companies. A well-known example of a online company store for employees is the Google Merchandise Store. Google has an online store specifically for its employees, offering a variety of branded merchandise, including apparel, accessories, and tech gadgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google Merchandise Store<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, we also launched a corporate web shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Such websites are fundamentally different from traditional\u00a0online stores\u00a0or\u00a0marketplaces\u00a0because they have their own specifics. Let\u2019s name a few:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cbuyers\u201d here are the employees, the \u201cseller\u201d is the employer, whose goal is not to make a profit, but to involve the team in corporate life, strengthen\u00a0trust<\/a>\u00a0with them, and motivate their growth. Just as motivation tools must align with the size and structure of a company, so too must IT infrastructure decisions. For example, understanding\u00a0SD-WAN pricing<\/a>\u00a0is crucial for businesses planning network upgrades, especially when trying to balance scalability, performance, and cost efficiency across multiple locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most often, companies launching a store for employees come up with their own \u201ccurrencies\u201d or use combined payment options for goods and services. For example, you can pay for your purchase in coins, and if you don\u2019t have enough for the desired souvenir, you can pay the difference in a regular currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only company employees can use the corporate store. However, if necessary, the website can be available to external audiences. For example, some brands use company stores to raise funds for charitable causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organizers of the event invite their colleagues to make a purchase and donate the profits from the sale of souvenirs to those in need. To attract more participants and\u00a0increase the donation amount<\/a>, organizations can involve other target audiences in the campaign. For example, clients or the media. This is a great way of free advertising, by the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Company online store design is created in accordance with the company\u2019s brand book. The store displays corporate colors, shapes, and images. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When purchasing goods on Amazon, we pick them up at the point of delivery. The employee will receive a souvenir from the corporate online store in the HR department. For remote staff, merchandise is sent by mail or with courier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayrat, HR Director:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u30fc Online store for employees is not just a convenient space for purchasing corporate products. This is a way to improve the employer\u2019s image. We reward specialists for their activity, thereby increasing their satisfaction with their place of work (eNPS, Employee Net Promoter Score), and this is the key to long-term strong cooperation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Using your company online store, you can also increase brand awareness. If employees really like the merchandise they receive from the employee online store, they will use it in their daily lives. For example, employees in our company love branded backpacks \u2013 they are high quality and stylish. Not only friends and acquaintances, but also passers-by on the street pay attention to a fashionable bag with an unfamiliar logo. Perhaps, when they get home, these people will look for information about the company on the Internet. They might want to work here in the future or become a client. This is how employees become not only experts, but also real ambassadors (\u201cadvocates\u201d) of the brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from the above-mentioned features a corporate web shops should provide the following functionality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other functionality of the company online store depends on the goals and business processes of the customer. When developing such projects, most of the team\u2019s time is spent discussing site options and working out the logic of its operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CS-Cart analysts help managers responsible for developing the store for employees to systematize the requirements of stakeholders, because there are quite a lot of them in large companies. After that, requirements can see their implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alex, Development Team Lead :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u30fc We developed a company online store at the request of our HR specialists, who wanted to have a simple and understandable tool for motivating staff (ed. note: for this reason, such sites are also called \u201cHR online store\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Corporate Merch Market\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before development began, my colleagues and I designed the site architecture and database schema. We divided the project into blocks, discussed the order in which we would do them, and got to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Features of the company online store<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/mldi5dmmdvnt.i.optimole.com\/cb:sOwt.3b410\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-shop.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Features of company online store for employees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
How We developed Our Corporate Merch Market<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"Store](\"https:\/\/mldi5dmmdvnt.i.optimole.com\/cb:sOwt.3b410\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CS-Cart-store-for-employes.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![\"coins\"](\"https:\/\/mldi5dmmdvnt.i.optimole.com\/cb:sOwt.3b410\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/tasks-in-employee-store.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Benefits\"](\"https:\/\/mldi5dmmdvnt.i.optimole.com\/cb:sOwt.3b410\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/benefits-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n