Composable Commerce in Retail: How Leading Brands Like Pandora Are Future-Proofing Customer Experience

The New Retail Imperative: Composable Commerce

In today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape, brands are under increasing pressure to deliver seamless, personalized, and unified experiences across every channel. Traditional monolithic commerce platforms, while once sufficient, now struggle to keep pace with shifting consumer expectations, emerging technologies, and the need for operational agility. Enter composable commerce—a modular, API-driven approach that empowers retailers to assemble best-of-breed solutions tailored to their unique business needs, enabling rapid innovation and future-proofing customer experience.

What Is Composable Commerce?

Composable commerce is a modern architectural paradigm that allows retailers to select and integrate independent, interchangeable components—such as product information management, order orchestration, personalization engines, and customer data platforms—into a unified commerce ecosystem. Unlike legacy platforms, composable commerce is built on MACH principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless), giving brands the flexibility to adapt, scale, and innovate at speed.

Why Composable Commerce Matters for Modern Retailers

The retail environment is more complex than ever. Consumers expect to shop, engage, and receive service on their terms—whether online, in-store, or via social channels. Composable commerce enables:

Unified Customer Profiles: By consolidating data from every touchpoint, retailers gain a 360-degree view of each customer, powering hyper-personalized journeys and consistent experiences.
Personalized Journeys: Modular architecture allows for the rapid deployment of new features, targeted offers, and tailored content, meeting customers where they are and anticipating their needs.
Operational Agility: Retailers can quickly swap, upgrade, or add new capabilities without disrupting the entire ecosystem, reducing time-to-market and total cost of ownership.
Scalability and Resilience: Cloud-native, API-driven solutions ensure that commerce platforms can scale globally, support peak demand, and remain resilient in the face of change.

Pandora: A Case Study in Composable Commerce Transformation

Pandora, the world’s largest jewelry brand, exemplifies how composable commerce can drive retail innovation and growth. Facing fragmented e-commerce systems and rising consumer expectations across more than 100 countries, Pandora partnered with Publicis Sapient and Salesforce to embark on a multi-year digital transformation journey.

The Challenge

Pandora’s global operations were hindered by siloed systems, inconsistent customer experiences, and slow release cycles. In the APAC region, for example, outdated commerce platforms with unique customizations made updates costly and time-consuming. The brand needed a unified, agile foundation to deliver consistent, personalized experiences at scale.

The Solution: Agile, Modular, and Unified

Publicis Sapient worked closely with Pandora to:

Modernize Commerce Platforms: Migrating to a composable, headless Salesforce Commerce Cloud architecture, Pandora established a common codebase and storefront implementation across regions. This slashed migration time in half and accelerated release velocity from months to weeks, with no additional downtime.
Unify Customer Data: Leveraging Salesforce Data Cloud, Pandora consolidated customer profiles across digital, retail, and mobile touchpoints, enabling seamless, personalized journeys and actionable insights for sales and service teams.
Enable Omnichannel Fulfillment: By integrating cloud-based order management, Pandora achieved real-time inventory visibility, optimized returns, and introduced services like Click-and-Collect and Store Fulfillment—delivering on the promise of unified commerce.
Drive Continuous Innovation: Agile methodologies and cross-functional teams empowered Pandora to rapidly pilot and scale new experiences, from virtual queuing and in-store appointments to personalized promotions and loyalty programs.

Measurable Outcomes

Release Velocity: New features and updates now deploy in weeks, not months, supporting rapid response to market trends.
Operational Efficiency: Redundant code and manual processes were eliminated, reducing maintenance costs and freeing teams to focus on innovation.
Customer Engagement: Unified profiles and personalized journeys have driven higher engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty across channels.
Scalability: The composable architecture supports Pandora’s growth ambitions, enabling quick expansion into new markets and channels.

Best Practices for Retailers Embracing Composable Commerce

Start with the Customer: Map the end-to-end customer journey and identify pain points that modular solutions can address.
Adopt Agile, Cross-Functional Teams: Foster collaboration between business, technology, and experience teams to accelerate delivery and continuous improvement.
Prioritize Data Unification: Invest in platforms that consolidate customer data, enabling real-time insights and personalization.
Leverage Cloud-Native, API-First Solutions: Ensure your technology stack is flexible, scalable, and future-ready.
Iterate and Scale: Pilot new capabilities in select markets or channels, measure impact, and scale successful innovations rapidly.

Technology Enablers: Publicis Sapient and Salesforce

Publicis Sapient, in partnership with Salesforce, brings deep expertise in composable commerce, digital engineering, and experience transformation. Key technology enablers include:

Salesforce Commerce Cloud: A flexible, headless platform supporting composable architecture and rapid deployment.
Salesforce Data Cloud: Unifies customer data for actionable insights and personalized engagement.
Agentforce and AI Solutions: Reduce non-selling activities, empower sales and service teams, and drive engagement with intelligent automation.
Omnichannel Integration: Seamlessly connects digital, physical, and social channels for a consistent brand experience.

The Path Forward: Future-Proofing Retail

Composable commerce is not just a technology shift—it’s a strategic imperative for retailers seeking to thrive in a world of constant change. By embracing modular, API-driven platforms and a culture of agility, brands like Pandora are setting new standards for customer experience, operational efficiency, and business growth.

Ready to future-proof your retail business? Connect with Publicis Sapient’s experts to explore how composable commerce can unlock your next wave of innovation and growth.