Composable commerce is a modular approach to digital commerce using composable technology architecture. It employs MACH (microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native SaaS, and headless) technology solutions for individual, distinct business needs, rather than relying on a single, all-encompassing technology vendor or software.
Composable commerce allows retailers to easily create new online buying channels and experiences based on constantly changing consumer needs. Businesses can use a composable commerce strategy to create distinctive digital experiences by fusing different technologies that match the objectives and mission of their organization. Marketers can pick and choose new business capabilities through purposeful prioritization. Composable commerce adapts to ever-changing market dynamics, rather than using a rigid, one-size-fits-all e-commerce functionality.
MACH stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless.
Experience orchestration is achieved through APIs, connecting CMS, search, payments, DAM, commerce, and web services.
You may have heard the term "headless commerce" used to describe a flexible approach to technology architecture. Although headless commerce and composable commerce are often used interchangeably, there are significant differences between the two.
Composable Commerce involves a modular architecture where the storefront, front-end, and APIs connect to best-of-breed services such as search, content management, commerce, and merchandising. Each component can be selected and integrated based on business needs.
Headless Commerce decouples the front-end from the back-end, allowing for flexibility in customer data platforms, content management, merchandising, geolocation, marketing, personalization, SEO, AI-based dynamic ranking, and more, all connected via APIs. However, it may not offer the same level of modularity and business-centric customization as composable commerce.
Gartner predicts firms that adopt composable commerce will outperform competition on implementation speed by 80%. But what else can composable commerce help solve in the retail industry?
Retailers that adopt composable commerce, powered by MACH technology, find they can be more agile in an increasingly competitive e-commerce environment.
An e-commerce company wishes to launch a subscription service. Best-of-breed automated recurring billing, sophisticated invoicing, and other functions required to run a subscription business can’t be added to their existing monolithic technology stack. If this company utilized a composable technology strategy, they could pick and choose several best-of-breed microservices to create a unique subscription service PBC (Packaged Business Capability) for their customers. The company could maintain and scale the service by assembling an agile pod team around the new PBC.
The legacy, monolithic architecture of many retailers has reached a stage where it is prohibitively expensive to add new features or even upgrade existing software. A composable commerce platform allows retailers to integrate and configure new services.
Decoupling the front-end architecture enables headless commerce, giving the business the flexibility to deliver personalized customer experiences at scale across multiple touchpoints through new technology.
With a composable commerce architecture, the back-end capabilities are also decoupled from core commerce, which allows PBCs to be supported through third-party vendor solutions integrated through MACH technologies.
Not only does composable commerce help retailers differentiate their offerings from competitors, it benefits consumers and key team members across the end-to-end retail experience.
To transition from a monolithic commerce practice to composable commerce, companies must evaluate their immediate needs. For certain brands, their transition may require a “full replacement” strategy that involves a total commerce re-platform and global digital re-launch. Others may take a more gradual, progressive approach to composable commerce. There are key advantages and disadvantages to each method.
With this method, companies disassemble the entire system and start over from scratch. Full replacement is perfect for companies experiencing significant consequences where the drawbacks can no longer be ignored. This method costs more upfront but becomes more efficient and economically viable over time.
Consumers are interacting with retailers more than ever before, and they expect their favorite companies to engage with them in new and exciting ways. To deliver personalized e-commerce experiences at scale, retailers need to embrace flexibility, and that starts with the underlying technology.
Before implementing composable commerce, companies should understand their business requirements, internal and external development capabilities, and the potential risks and rewards for their technology stack.
Learn how Publicis Sapient helps top global retailers transition to composable commerce.
Raj Khandelwal
raj.khandelwal@publicissapient.com
Publicis Sapient is a digital transformation partner helping established organizations get to their future, digitally-enabled state, both in the way they work and the way they serve their customers. We help unlock value through a startup mindset and modern methods, fusing strategy, consulting, and customer experience with agile engineering and problem-solving creativity. A digital pioneer with 20,000 people and 53 offices around the globe, our experience spanning technology, data sciences, consulting, and customer obsession—combined with our culture of curiosity and relentlessness—enables us to accelerate our clients’ businesses through designing the products and services their customers truly value. Publicis Sapient is the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe. For more information, visit publicissapient.com.