Composable Commerce in Grocery: Building Agility and Personalization at Scale
The New Imperative for Grocery Retailers
Grocery retail has undergone a seismic transformation in recent years. The pandemic accelerated digital adoption, pushing grocers to rapidly implement new fulfillment models like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store), curbside pickup, and home delivery. At the same time, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and shifting consumer expectations have made operational complexity the new normal. In this environment, agility and personalization are no longer nice-to-haves—they are essential for survival and growth.
Composable commerce has emerged as the answer for grocery retailers seeking to future-proof their business. By moving away from rigid, monolithic platforms and embracing modular, best-of-breed solutions, grocers can innovate faster, personalize at scale, and deliver seamless omnichannel experiences that keep pace with evolving customer needs.
What Is Composable Commerce?
Composable commerce is a modular approach to building digital commerce platforms. Instead of relying on a single, all-in-one system, grocers can assemble their technology stack from independent, API-connected components—such as product catalog, checkout, promotions, search, loyalty, and content management. This architecture, often described as MACH (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless), enables:
- Rapid integration of new features and channels (e.g., social commerce, voice, mobile apps)
- Seamless support for multiple fulfillment models (BOPIS, curbside, delivery, in-store)
- Personalization at every touchpoint
- Lower total cost of ownership by reducing reliance on custom development and legacy systems
- Continuous innovation without the risk and cost of full re-platforming
Why Grocers Need Composable Commerce Now
1. Supply Chain Complexity and Agility
Grocery supply chains are among the most complex in retail, with thousands of SKUs, perishable goods, and fluctuating demand. Composable commerce allows grocers to integrate real-time inventory, optimize fulfillment, and quickly adapt to disruptions—whether it’s a supply shortage, a new regulatory requirement, or a shift in consumer behavior. For example, leading grocers are leveraging composable architectures to:
- Connect supply chain data with digital storefronts, ensuring accurate product availability
- Orchestrate last-mile delivery and curbside pickup with dynamic routing and real-time updates
- Rapidly onboard new suppliers or local products to meet demand spikes
2. Omnichannel Experiences: Meeting Customers Anywhere
Today’s grocery shoppers expect to move fluidly between digital and physical channels. They want to browse online, build shopping lists, check inventory, and choose from a range of fulfillment options. Composable commerce makes it possible to:
- Unify customer data across web, mobile, and in-store touchpoints
- Enable seamless transitions between channels (e.g., start an order online, finish in-store)
- Support emerging channels like social commerce, voice assistants, and digital signage
3. Personalization at Scale
Personalization is a key driver of loyalty and basket size in grocery. With composable commerce, grocers can:
- Leverage unified customer profiles to deliver tailored offers, recipes, and promotions
- Integrate advanced analytics and AI to recommend products based on dietary preferences, past purchases, or local trends
- Test and iterate on new personalization strategies without disrupting core operations
4. Speed to Market and Innovation
The grocery sector is highly competitive, with new entrants and digital-native players raising the bar for convenience and experience. Composable commerce empowers grocers to:
- Launch new features, brands, or fulfillment models in weeks—not months
- Experiment with microservices or third-party solutions (e.g., loyalty, payments, delivery partners)
- Scale successful pilots rapidly across regions or banners
Real-World Examples: Composable Commerce in Action
- Loblaw (Canada’s largest grocer) strategically rolled out express click-and-collect, putting 75% of Canadians within 10 minutes of a pickup location. By leveraging modular technology, Loblaw was able to rapidly expand its digital footprint and adapt to surging demand for online grocery.
- Falabella (South America) unified customer and supply chain data lakes, enabling real-time personalization and optimized last-mile fulfillment. This composable data ecosystem allowed Falabella to tailor offers and improve operational efficiency across multiple countries and channels.
- Leading UK grocers have piloted cashierless stores and next-generation POS systems, integrating them with their digital platforms to support frictionless checkout, loyalty integration, and real-time inventory—demonstrating the flexibility of composable architectures to support both digital and physical innovation.
Integrating Emerging Channels: Social, Voice, and Beyond
Grocery is no longer just about the store or the website. Shoppers are discovering products on social media, asking voice assistants for recipes, and engaging with digital signage in-store. Composable commerce enables grocers to:
- Quickly connect new channels via APIs
- Deliver consistent, personalized experiences wherever customers engage
- Monetize data and traffic through retail media networks and partnerships
Roadmap for Grocers: How to Get Started with Composable Commerce
- Define Your Business Objectives
- Prioritize agility, speed to market, and personalization as core outcomes
- Identify the channels, fulfillment models, and experiences you want to enable
- Assess Your Data and Technology Foundation
- Invest in unified customer and product data platforms
- Ensure your architecture supports API-first, cloud-native integration
- Adopt a Modular, MACH-Compliant Approach
- Select best-of-breed solutions for key commerce functions (search, checkout, loyalty, etc.)
- Ensure interoperability and avoid vendor lock-in
- Pilot and Iterate
- Start with high-impact use cases (e.g., BOPIS, personalized offers, new fulfillment options)
- Test, learn, and scale successful pilots across the business
- Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Break down silos between IT, marketing, supply chain, and store operations
- Empower business users to control content, promotions, and customer journeys
- Plan for Continuous Evolution
- Monitor emerging channels and consumer trends
- Build a culture of experimentation and rapid iteration
The Business Impact: Agility, Loyalty, and Growth
Grocers embracing composable commerce are seeing measurable results:
- Faster time to market for new features and channels
- Increased customer loyalty through personalized, omnichannel experiences
- Improved operational efficiency and supply chain resilience
- New revenue streams from data monetization and retail media
Future-Proof Your Grocery Business
Composable commerce is not just a technology upgrade—it’s a strategic enabler for grocery retailers to thrive in a dynamic, digital-first world. By building agility and personalization at scale, grocers can meet the demands of today’s shoppers, adapt to tomorrow’s disruptions, and unlock new growth opportunities.
Ready to accelerate your composable commerce journey? Connect with Publicis Sapient to learn how we help grocers design, implement, and scale future-ready commerce platforms.