Digital Commerce Beyond Retail: How Energy, Travel, Health and Consumer Brands Are Rewriting the Customer Experience

When executives hear “commerce,” many still picture a retail cart and checkout flow. But that view is now too narrow. Across energy, travel, health and consumer brands, digital commerce has become a broader engine for growth, customer engagement and operational efficiency. It is the transactional and experience foundation that connects discovery, self-service, content, personalization, payments, fulfillment and loyalty into one seamless journey.

That shift matters because customer expectations no longer stay confined to one industry. People expect the same convenience, transparency and relevance from an energy provider, airline, healthcare brand or nutrition company that they get from the world’s best digital retailers. They want easier search, better self-service, faster issue resolution, more relevant offers, frictionless payments and connected experiences across channels. For organizations in non-retail sectors, commerce is no longer a back-office function or a narrow sales channel. It is increasingly central to how value is created and how relationships are built.

At Publicis Sapient, we help organizations respond to that shift through an end-to-end approach that spans strategy, experience, technology, engineering and data. Our SPEED framework brings that approach to life:

The power of this model is that it works across very different business models. The product may change. The customer journey may change. The role of loyalty, fulfillment or service may change. But the transformation pattern is remarkably consistent.

Commerce in energy: from service friction to self-service value

In energy and home services, commerce is often about simplifying complex customer needs rather than pushing one-time purchases. Customers want to understand usage, manage accounts, switch plans, pay bills and book service appointments without friction.

That was the opportunity with British Gas. Facing pressure from digital-native competitors and a tariff cap, the business needed to make it dramatically easier for customers to order services, book appointments and make payments. The resulting mobile experience gave customers visibility into energy usage, digital payment options, tariff switching, appointment booking and rewards management in one place. The impact was significant: 2 million downloads, digital interactions rising to 55 percent and a 15 percent drop in call volume.

This is digital commerce beyond retail in action. The “basket” is not the story. The story is lower cost to serve, stronger self-service adoption and a better customer relationship built through convenience and transparency.

Commerce in travel: inspiration, loyalty and booking working together

In travel and hospitality, commerce often starts long before a booking. Discovery, aspiration and loyalty are not separate from the transaction; they are part of it.

Delta Air Lines recognized that emotional engagement could drive bookings more effectively than a purely functional trip-planning experience. To deepen engagement with SkyMiles members, Publicis Sapient helped create a social commerce experience built around destination discovery. User-generated travel content was curated, tagged and connected to bookable destinations through a search experience designed to inspire action. In just the first few months, the experience generated $2 million in ticket revenue, while SkyMiles members redeemed 40 million miles of award travel through the site.

For travel leaders, the lesson is clear: commerce is not limited to the last click. It includes the content, community, loyalty design and digital pathways that move customers from inspiration to conversion.

Commerce in health: optimizing the digital shelf and reducing lost demand

In health, commerce increasingly plays out across marketplaces and digital shelves where product visibility, content quality and availability directly shape performance. In these environments, organizations need more than strong brands. They need data-driven precision.

That was the case with Bayer’s Consumer Health division. With a large portfolio and a mature presence on Amazon, the challenge was not whether to participate, but where to focus for greater impact. By using traffic and conversion data to identify underperforming opportunities, Publicis Sapient helped Bayer improve content, imagery and copy for specific products and uncover assortment issues tied to out-of-stock conditions. The results included a 68 percent increase in Amazon sales and market share gains in five of six product categories.

For health organizations, this expands the meaning of commerce transformation. It can include digital shelf optimization, marketplace analytics, content strategy and profitability improvement just as much as it includes a brand-owned storefront.

Commerce in consumer brands: always-on engagement, not one-off transactions

Consumer brands are also redefining commerce by moving beyond campaigns and toward always-on digital ecosystems. That means building direct relationships, connecting content to conversion and designing experiences that are as valuable before purchase as they are at the point of sale.

Nestlé Lab is a strong example. In response to changing parenting behaviors, Nestlé needed to engage consumers directly rather than rely on traditional intermediaries. Publicis Sapient helped establish a digital organization built around communications, health, digital and media capabilities, enabling always-on content and new partnerships designed for continuous engagement. The transformation improved brand perception and delivered measurable growth, including 20 percent overall sales growth in the first 12 months and 70 percent growth in e-commerce sales.

This is why commerce should be understood as a full-funnel business model. Content, trust, education and direct engagement are not adjacent to commerce; they are part of modern commerce.

What non-retail industries can learn from retail without becoming retailers

Executives outside retail do not need to imitate retail business models. But they do need to recognize that customers now compare every digital interaction to the best one they had anywhere.

Publicis Sapient’s digital commerce work reflects this broader reality. Our offerings span commerce strategy and experience, platforms and marketplace services, third-party commerce optimization, and supply chain and fulfillment integration. We help organizations modernize legacy environments, reduce fragmentation between content and commerce, connect data across touchpoints and prepare for more AI-driven experiences ahead.

Why this moment is different

Digital commerce is expanding because expectations have expanded. Customers want organizations in every sector to be easier to do business with. They expect simpler booking, smoother service ordering, better digital support, more relevant recommendations and clearer visibility into what happens next. At the same time, organizations are under pressure to grow revenue, reduce cost to serve and modernize without disrupting critical operations.

That combination makes commerce transformation especially powerful in non-retail sectors. Done well, it improves both the customer journey and the operating model behind it.

From transactions to transformation

The opportunity for leaders in energy, travel, health and consumer brands is not to ask whether they are “in commerce.” They already are. The more important question is whether their digital model matches the expectations their customers bring to every interaction.

Publicis Sapient helps answer that question with a practical, scalable approach that connects vision to execution. Across sectors, the aim is the same: create seamless, personalized and efficient experiences that unlock measurable value fast.

Because commerce today is not just about selling more. It is about serving better, engaging smarter and building the digital relationships that define growth.