Engineering Transformation in Retail: Modernizing Platforms for Omnichannel Success

In today’s retail environment, the pressure to deliver seamless, personalized, and scalable omnichannel experiences has never been greater. As consumer expectations evolve and digital-native competitors set new standards for convenience and innovation, retailers must modernize both their technology platforms and organizational structures to stay ahead. Engineering transformation is at the heart of this journey—enabling speed, agility, and the ability to continuously innovate across every retail touchpoint.

Retailers across sectors—whether gaming, apparel, or grocery—face a common set of challenges:

• Legacy systems that hinder innovation and slow time-to-market
• Siloed data and fragmented customer journeys
• The need for real-time inventory visibility and agile fulfillment
• Rising expectations for personalized, unified experiences across digital and physical channels

Incremental change is no longer enough. True omnichannel success requires a holistic approach to engineering transformation, encompassing platform modernization, cloud adoption, microservices, and agile team structures.

Legacy commerce platforms often lack the flexibility and scalability required for today’s retail demands. Modernizing these platforms is essential to:

• Enable real-time, enterprise-wide inventory management
• Support new business models and revenue streams
• Integrate seamlessly with digital, in-store, and third-party channels

For example, a leading global apparel retailer partnered with Publicis Sapient to overhaul its fragmented business model. By building a robust e-commerce platform integrated with supply chain operations, the retailer achieved real-time inventory visibility and efficient fulfillment. This modernization not only unified the brand experience but also enabled the rapid launch of new loyalty features across web, mobile, and in-store kiosks—driving a significant rise in customer engagement and loyalty.

Cloud transformation is foundational to modern retail engineering. Migrating legacy workloads to the cloud delivers:

• Scalability and resilience to handle peak demand
• Cost efficiency and reduced operational complexity
• The ability to rapidly deploy new features and services

A major sports retailer, for instance, moved its commerce platform to Google Cloud, leveraging a headless architecture and microservices. This shift enabled the retailer to process orders 170% faster during peak periods, with zero downtime and improved system integration across inventory and fulfillment. The adoption of microservices and API-driven architectures further empowered agile development, allowing for at-will updates and experimentation—cutting turnaround time for enhancements from five weeks to one.

Technology alone is not enough. Organizational transformation is critical to unlocking the full potential of modern platforms. Leading retailers are:

• Shifting to product engineering approaches, blending cross-functional teams of engineering, product, and business experts
• Embracing agile methodologies to deliver high-value outcomes with speed and efficiency
• Upskilling internal teams to foster a culture of continuous improvement

A global grocery and general merchandise retailer exemplified this shift by adopting an engineering-first mindset. Lean, agile teams enabled the rapid scaling of online grocery operations, including the ability to double online orders and delivery slots in less than a week during the COVID-19 pandemic. This organizational agility translated into measurable business impact: $1B in annual revenue from general merchandising, $500M from international grocery e-commerce, and a 35% improvement in order picking rates.

Gaming: A top gaming retailer reinvented its business as a true omnichannel ecosystem, launching a peer-to-peer marketplace, member community, and eSports platform. Enhanced web and mobile experiences, powered by cloud and microservices, enabled rapid product releases and an 800% year-over-year revenue increase.

Apparel: Platform modernization and loyalty integration allowed a global apparel brand to unify digital and physical experiences, driving one of the top-performing loyalty programs in the organization and positioning the brand as a leader in affordable fashion.

Grocery: International grocers leveraged agile engineering and cloud-native architectures to optimize supply chain, scale online grocery, and deliver personalized, data-driven experiences—achieving millions of transactions per week and significant improvements in operational efficiency.

Across these sectors, several best practices have emerged:

1. Align technology investments with business objectives to ensure every initiative drives measurable value.
2. Break down silos and foster cross-functional collaboration—agile squads deliver faster, higher-quality outcomes.
3. Modernize platforms incrementally, prioritizing high-impact areas for cloud migration, microservices, and automation.
4. Embrace a data-first mindset to personalize experiences and optimize operations.
5. Invest in continuous improvement, measuring and iterating based on real customer feedback and operational data.

Publicis Sapient is recognized as a leader in retail engineering transformation, with a proven track record of delivering measurable results for global retailers. Our SPEED methodology—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI—ensures every engagement is holistic, outcome-driven, and tailored to the realities of modern retail. Deep partnerships with leading cloud providers and a global delivery model empower us to help retailers modernize, innovate, and lead.

Ready to unlock growth through engineering transformation? Connect with Publicis Sapient’s experts and discover how agile teams and modern platforms can future-proof your retail business for omnichannel success.

Relevant Links

• How One Gaming Retailer Leveled Up Its Omnichannel Gaming Ecosystem
• Omnichannel Transformation in Specialty Retail: Lessons from Jewelry, Sports, and Gaming
• Transformation omnicanale dans le retail spécialisé : Leçons pour l’Europe (Europe)
• Transformación Omnicanal en el Retail Especializado: Lecciones para Ejecutivos Latinoamericanos (LATAM)
• How One Gaming Retailer Leveled Up Its Omnichannel Gaming Ecosystem