For decades, a well-known greeting card brand has played a role in helping people recognize life’s most meaningful moments. From birthdays to anniversaries, its products have long been a way for people to stay connected.
As mobile became central to how people communicate, the brand saw an opportunity to rethink how those moments could be celebrated in a digital-first context. While the company continued to evolve its digital commerce capabilities, functional barriers in the greeting card shopping process remained. At the same time, younger consumers found it harder to connect with the card category as a whole.
The brand believed a purpose-built mobile application could address both challenges. By leveraging native capabilities across iOS and Android, the app could offer a simpler, more intuitive way to shop for cards while supporting emotionally resonant interactions.
To bring this vision to life, the team needed to design and build an entirely new platform and required a partner who could move quickly while providing architectural guidance, development expertise, and delivery oversight. That partner was Concord.
With a clear vision in place, the brand’s first priority was not to launch a full application, but to reduce risk and build confidence. Before committing to a multi-platform investment, the team wanted to validate several key assumptions:
Concord started with a focused proof of concept (PoC). This approach allowed the brand to explore what a native card shopping platform could be while grounding decisions in real technical and user constraints.
Concord collaborated closely with internal stakeholders to provide architectural guidance, development support, and project oversight for the PoC. The work focused on an iOS application integrated with Salesforce Commerce Cloud to maintain alignment with the company’s existing commerce ecosystem.
Rather than attempting to address every feature at once, the team focused on a defined set of core flows: browsing, search, account access, and purchasing. This approach allowed the team to observe how customers navigated the platform while leaving room for future expansion.
The PoC also established patterns for how native capabilities could simplify the shopping journey and make interactions more intuitive. By the end of the engagement, the brand had more than a prototype. They had a validated foundation for the broader application build, with clear infrastructure and alignment across business and technology teams.
With the PoC complete, the focus shifted from validation to execution. Concord remained the delivery partner, supporting the design and development of a production-ready iOS application while staying closely coordinated with the broader commerce roadmap.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud continued to support the experience as the system of record for products, content, and transactions. Concord worked within this environment, enhancing capabilities where needed to support mobile-specific use cases while keeping existing processes running smoothly.
Throughout development, Concord provided hands-on project management and technical leadership, including:
This approach kept development moving quickly without sacrificing stability, while allowing the platform to adapt as business needs evolved. The resulting app made card shopping easier and opened opportunities for more engaging interactions. It complemented existing channels, meeting customers where they already spent their time: on their phones.
Following launch, Concord continued to support the application and the underlying commerce environment as the platform matured.
Adobe Analytics played a central role during this phase. By integrating analytics across the app, the brand gained clearer visibility into:
These insights informed ongoing enhancements and shifted decision-making from assumptions to evidence.
Concord also continued to support Salesforce Commerce Cloud, managing enhancements, defect resolution, and platform updates as needed. This continuity helped ensure the mobile app evolved in step with the broader ecosystem.
Additionally, Concord delivered documentation and process guidance covering technical design, testing practices, and future infrastructure considerations. This gave internal teams confidence to manage and grow the platform over time.
What began as an exploration of possibilities became a lasting foundation for how the brand could connect with customers in a mobile-first world. By addressing functional barriers and creating room to explore emotional relevance, the application positioned the brand to deepen engagement, particularly with younger audiences.
The work delivered several lasting outcomes:
Throughout the project, Concord served as a strategic partner rather than just a delivery team. From architectural guidance and development to analytics integration, support, and documentation, the collaboration transformed ambitious ideas into a practical, scalable solution. Above all, the work demonstrated how thoughtful technology choices can help people engage more naturally with the moments that matter.
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