Roku Developer Program

[BestDeveloper]

Hi guys. Wondering if BrightScript and Roku can be used to build an ecommerce app? I am envisioning something where people can browse for items, possibly in a 3d fashion, and pay directly through Roku. Is that technically feasible? Would the programming language and the hardware support that?

[joetesta]

> Would the programming language and the hardware support that?
Yes - although "3d fashion" would require loading a bunch of stills or a video.  no animated gifs.

> pay directly through Roku
I assume you mean pay through their roku device with the click of a button on their remote.  Yes, assuming you've somehow got their payment info linked up in advance, this is possible. 

If you mean "pay through roku" meaning the user would pay through the Roku commerce system then you face challenge in configuring your various products in Roku's backend to be payable codes that your channel obtains.  Then users could use their pre-registered Roku account and credit card and you'd theoretically eventually get paid out by Roku for payments your users made.
If you've already got billing system in place then you probably want to do the former because it will be easier to configure with an existing system already running without having to tie into Roku's back end, and you'll get to keep more of your money and probably receive it faster.

[destruk]

Per the current certification checklist --
https://sdkdocs.roku.com/download/attac ... 691&api=v2

"Channels with transactional content (SVOD, TVOD) are integrated with Roku Billing services" -- REQUIRED

For subscriptions and other options to pay you will need to work that out with Roku before publishing or distribute as a private channel.

[joetesta]

well that's annoying.  But good to know - thanks destruk!
wonder why they don't publish the cert checklist as a webpage instead of this clunky method in a year as late as 2018

[destruk]

I agree Joe.  Although Roku wants to make their 20% off each in-app purchase as opposed to Stripe's and Paypal's 2.9% + $0.30 for the same charge.  I think there would still be some leeway if you sold prepaid credits on your website or offered subscriptions on other platforms that would port to Roku's app.

[JDP1]

Hi there - My firm is an investor in Roku and researching the idea of a future Roku as an e-commerce platform. Any updated thoughts from a technical-only perspective?  

[joetesta]

Looking back at this thread, Roku has certainly improved since that time.  (The cert checklist has been a web page for quite some time now.)
Technically there are some challenges with Rokupay; such as handling backend interactions from Roku -> your server and vice versa, and room for confusion.  And to destruk's point, it is still expensive relative to other processing platforms.
But Roku is continuing to improve in all areas.  Hey, I'm an investor too

[JDP1]

Thanks for the feedback, it would be great to connect directly since you are an investor in the stock as well.

[CheyPNTV]

I'd like to discuss with you. We have developed an integration with Magento e-commerce into Roku

[CheyPNTV]

We have developed an integration with Magento and Roku