Consumers have embraced eCommerce wholeheartedly because it gives them access to far more options than brick-and-mortar stores ever could. Buyers can find an almost limitless number of choices in terms of sizes, colors, configurations and more. Unfortunately, it has taken a bit longer for e-commerce companies themselves to enjoy the same number of possibilities when it comes to building their sites. That’s because for a long time, they’ve been more or less forced to work with off-the-shelf options that didn’t provide them with much in the way of customization. Providers offered their applications in one-size-fits-all setups that required businesses to pay for features they didn’t necessarily need. For example, if they found a fulfillment app that met their needs, chances were they would have to accept the payment app that came bundled with it, even if it wasn’t the best fit.
That’s all starting to change, thanks to the rise of what’s known as composable commerce. This approach to solution design puts the control back into the hands of the retailers, so they can provide their customers with the best overall experience while also potentially saving time and money.
How Composable Commerce Works
At the core of this concept is a modular philosophy to building an e-commerce platform. Companies have the freedom to choose only the elements that they want, without having to pay for what they don’t. The three key traits that make up composable commerce are software that is cloud-native, component-based and tech-agnostic.
Because these software modules live in and are designed for the cloud, there’s no need for complex server infrastructure. Each module is maintained independent of the others, so they can be swapped in and out as dictated by the circumstances. Thanks to the agnostic nature of the technology, users can be sure that each piece of software will work together no matter where they come from, providing a streamlined experience.
This means each touchpoint along the consumer journey can be handled by its own piece of software, with APIs connecting them all. Businesses that adopt this approach gain benefits such as unlimited flexibility, near-infinite scalability, lower operating costs and greater agility. Of course, offering a seamless e-commerce platform also pays dividends in the form of higher customer loyalty and more competitive differentiation.
If you want to learn more about what composable commerce means and what it can do for your operations, take a look at the accompanying resource.
Infographic created by
commercetools, a composable commerce platform company
