Utilizing Composable Commerce to Boost Your eCommerce Business

The bottleneck competition in the eCommerce industry is driving businesses to go for technologies that support speed, innovation, scalability, and flexibility. As a result, people are using composable commerce that lets them take a modular approach.

No wonder, 72% of US retailers were already adopting composable commerce by the middle of 2023, and another 21% plan to do so within 2024.  

So, are you ready to embrace composable commerce and up your eCommerce experience? Read on…

What is Composable Commerce?

Composable Commerce offers a unique framework that gives you the liberty to handpick the components of your choice. These components or microservices are purposely built to be remarkably flexible and replaceable. Owing to this flexibility, businesses can instantly adapt to the ever-changing market dynamics and customer preferences. It allows you to stay ahead of the competition.

They can build personalized and memorable shopping experiences for their customers by adding custom components. Whether you want to swap out a complicated payment gateway or add a personalized product recommendation engine, composable commerce helps with it all.

While legacy eCommerce platforms offer a consolidated solution, composable commerce facilitates the development of an application that aligns with all your business requirements. Composable technology lets you switch to different vendor products or services according to your preferences. It enables integration with different modules and provides your eCommerce store access to attractive features through an API connection.

Features of Composable Commerce

Composable commerce comes with the following features:

1. Architecture

Composable commerce embraces a modular approach so that businesses can pick various microservices and assemble them to create their own eCommerce ecosystem.

MACH architecture lies at the heart of composable commerce.

1. Microservices: Monolithic applications do not allow the independent deployment of different capabilities. Microservice-based architecture aids in the creation of PBCs.
2. API-first: The API-first approach refers to the amalgamation of multiple applications or services together as all functionality is exposed through API.
3. Cloud-native: You can utilize the cloud’s full potential, thereby warranting scalability throughout the application and also its flexibility.
4. Headless: As headless applications are decoupled, you can optimize the customer interface. Consequently, it lets you use the application for multiple endpoints like connected devices.

2. Flexibility

It helps in creating a tailored eCommerce solution by utilizing special microservices. For example: You can mix and match different systems for payment processing, personalized recommendations, and inventory management.

3. Customization

Composable commerce lets you create a more adaptable and efficient setup by selecting the best-of-breed features that match your needs. You can customize the eCommerce stack as per your preferences.

4. Content Management

It is easy to change and update your content as composable commerce works with an exclusive CMS for content management.

5. Scalability

According to the evolution of your business, you can add or eliminate different microservices. This makes it a highly scalable option.

6. Speed-to-Market

Pre-built microservices expedite the time-to-market. So, you don’t have to create things from scratch.

Key Players of Composable Commerce Ecosystem

The key players of the composable commerce ecosystem are discussed below:

1. PBC (Packaged Business Capabilities) Providers: PBC providers offer a huge range of PBCs that meet diverse functionalities in the eCommerce system. For instance: Product information management, order management systems, and customer relationship management solutions.
2. Commerce Frameworks: These platforms work as a scaffold on which eCommerce businesses can build their composable architecture.
3. System Integrators: Through these companies, businesses can select, integrate, and manage PBCs within their composable architecture. They facilitate better communication and functionality across the entire system.

Advantages of Composable Commerce

Composable Commerce comes with several advantages as discussed below:

1. Better adaptability: You can address the changing customer needs and adapt to market changes with composable commerce. It allows the seamless integration of innovative technologies. Composable architecture facilitates the introduction of new features and makes suitable adjustments.
2. Enhanced customer experience: Composable commerce will facilitate omnichannel experiences along with boosting customer loyalty and satisfaction. It will allow you to personalize the eCommerce platform to match the customers’ preferences.
3. Competitive pricing: It is difficult to pick affordable elements and solutions for different functions in traditional commerce. That’s why eCommerce business owners are switching to composable commerce.
4. No vendor dependence: As you get the freedom to select the vendor of your choice and switch between different vendors, composable commerce reduces vendor dependence while helping you save money too.
5. Scalability and quicker time-to-market: When your business grows, composable commerce lets you scale the workload and evolve without requiring complicated revamps. The modular components are individually developed and executed. So, you can add new features or products to the market in no time.
6. Competitive edge over other players in the market: Utilizing composable commerce lets your business stay ahead of the competition by adhering to the dynamic eCommerce landscape.

How to Use Composable Commerce to Drive Omnichannel Experiences?

Omnichannel setup refers to the synced usage of sales channels like physical stores, online platforms, social media, and mobile applications to impart a consistent brand experience. Owing to the innate flexibility and modular approach, composable commerce effectively creates omnichannel experiences:

1. Consolidation of customer data: Composable commerce equips eCommerce business owners to streamline customer insights through the consolidation of customer data. It lets you build a unified view of how customers shop throughout the different engagement channels.
2. Personalized customer experiences: With a deep customer data understanding, eCommerce businesses can impart personalized product recommendations across different platforms. It will improve the customer experience too.
3. Effective inventory management: Composable commerce enables the usage of centralized inventory and order management systems. Therefore, you get real-time inventory visibility and expedite order processing, irrespective of the selected purchasing channel.
4. Brand harmonization: Composable commerce lets you accomplish uniform communication and branding throughout different channels. It gives you more control over every component.
5. Responsive to change: With the emergence of new channels and the growth of the existing ones, you get the flexibility of quick integration into the active ecosystem.

How to Employ Composable Commerce?

The prerequisite of choosing composable commerce and implementing it effectively is strategic planning. Here are the steps that will let you use it to its maximum potential.

1. Prepare for the execution: First of all, acquaint your implementation team with the composable commerce concept and how it will be useful for your business. Host insightful training workshops to explain how composable commerce works.
2. Define the business objectives: At the outset, determine the detailed business goals and the ways in which composable commerce can help you in fulfilling them. Whether you wish to enhance customer personalization or accomplish significant financial freedom, define your goals well. Having clear objectives will make the execution a lot simpler.
3. Select the most suitable digital commerce platform: While handpicking the eCommerce platform, look for features like adaptability, vendor support, and scalability. Research well and go through the different vendors that align with your business goals. Doing so will help you make the right decision.
4. Work on seamless integration between PBCs and your active systems: Make sure you utilize experienced system integrators to enable smooth integration and communication between the selected PBCs and existing systems.
5. Optimize your architecture regularly: Continuously optimize the composable architecture by regularly monitoring and resolving any technical glitches that you notice. Analyze customer feedback and adapt your PBCs and architecture to align with the changing market landscape.

Things to Look For While Developing Your Composable Commerce Program:

1. MACH architecture: A digital strategy works best if the technology you have chosen is flexible, scalable, and adaptable. MACH architecture is crucial for developing a complete composable commerce strategy as it comes with a modern decoupled architecture.
2. Properly documented APIs and powerful development tools: As composable commerce is about choosing the best-of-breed vendors and creating a custom technology stack, you must have properly documented APIs. When you combine best-in-class documentation and powerful rapid development tools, your development efforts will be less time-consuming.
3. Support: With extensive and quick support through open forums or Slack communities, cross-functional development and cross-vendor collaboration of applications become a breeze.

Wrapping Up

Composable commerce is the ultimate technology to take your eCommerce business ROI to the next level and gain a competitive edge in the fast-paced eCommerce ecosystem. As it allows you to break free from the limitations of monolithic platforms, it helps in creating memorable customer experiences and integrates best-of-breed solutions while easily adapting to changing trends.

Utilizing composable commerce is a lot akin to building your dream home with the best components, starting from concrete to windows to roofs to door fittings to electrical units. Just make sure you seek help from an experienced professional if you are not familiar with the nitty-gritty of composable commerce.