Hybris, a multichannel commerce-software vendor, has announced the release of its hybris 4.2 Multichannel Suite. This latest version of the software is designed to make it easier for companies in both B2C and B2B markets to offer their customers a truly integrated cross-channel buying experience, according to the company. The new Suite gives companies the ability to harness the latest technology in mobile commerce, as well as integration into physical stores and customer service channels.

The 4.2 Suite incorporates features that enable companies to provide personalized marketing to customers, as well as an overview across the different channels to monitor performance sales and customer buying patterns. This will allow companies to properly manage and implement cross-channel operations and ensure that their customers have the buying power that they need to enjoy their shopping experience. 4.2 also makes it possible for consumers using mobile devices to find their nearest store, see what is in stock, and get product pricing and details to decide if they want to buy online or in-store.

Features on the hybris Multichannel Suite include:

• Customer Service Module helps address pain-points faced by e-commerce professionals such as poor service and integration between the website and customer support. It also helps service managers by providing comprehensive customer information and the ability to see website promotions and content used or seen by a consumer.
• Mobile Module helps e-commerce professionals manage online and mobile websites in one system, and includes a device detection function that allows for optimized display of content depending on the mobile device being used by the consumer. It also offers a mobile store locator function and a barcode recognition feature to link online and offline shopping (e.g. product look-up, couponing and product information).
• Store Locator Module provides a real connection between the offline and online channels and helps address issues such as shrinking offline sales by bringing physical stores and outlets firming back into the shopping mix. It also offers retailers a tool that can help support "channel hopping" by consumers to better manage their buying patterns for the benefit of the retailer.
• Advanced Personalization Module provides a visual user-friendly segmentation tool and allows targeting and profiling of consumers based on buying habits and behavior. This module can also be integrated across all channels and offers easy integration with other third party applications.
• Import Cockpit addresses the issues of poor supplier integration, a heavy dependence on the IT department for publishing data and information, and the high maintenance of e-commerce and multichannel commerce systems. It achieves this by offering an intuitive and easy to use interface for importing data and supporting ad hoc imports. It also has a drag-and-drop feature for mapping object types and attributes.
• Reporting Module helps aggregate key technical and business data for measuring the performance of an online store (e.g. total sales, average order value, order volume, sales per country, sales per region, sales per category, revenue by segment, total revenue, number of orders, visitors, top selling products, conversion rates, etc.). It is fully customizable since users can decide which charts and tables should be shown and can place widgets within pre-configured layouts to get the information they are interested in.

Hybris 4.2 is available immediately with further update releases planned for September and November 2010.