On our blog we’ve discussed headless commerce and how this approach to eCommerce website development differs from composable commerce. Headless commerce is an approach to eCommerce development that involves separating the back end from the front end architecture of an eCommerce platform, providing increased customization and flexibility, achieved using APIs to allow for seamless integration and exchange of data.
Composable commerce is an evolution of the concept of headless commerce and takes this modern approach to eCommerce a step further.
What is Composable Commerce?
Monolithic commerce suites like Oracle and IBM were once the gold standard, offering a single software system that could perform a wide variety of eCommerce related functions and integrate with other digital commerce elements. This included content management systems, customer relationship management, or warehouse management systems to provide a platform that could do it all.
These massive and complex legacy suites have been challenged by the composable commerce approach, as eCommerce retailers began looking for an alternative that provided more flexibility and control.
Composable commerce is a modular approach to eCommerce, where every element of your site is customizable, creating a unique, versatile, and flexible environment perfect for those looking for complete control over their tech stack. With composable commerce, brands can select and integrate components of their choice to create a custom solution to fit their needs, allowing them to select the best-of-breed vendors for each individual component of the platform.
Benefits of Composable Commerce
Greater Flexibility
With composable commerce, the customer-facing front end of your eCommerce store is completely separated from the back end of the platform. As every element of the store is a modular component, retailers can pick and choose independent features and functionalities referred to as packaged business capabilities (PBCs) including promotions, payment, content management, product search, marketing automation and more. This allows greater flexibility and gives retailers the freedom to replace individual aspects of the platform quickly, without starting from scratch.
Greater Scalability
Since you can swap out modules according to your needs, composable commerce allows for infinite scalability. As your business grows, you will need a platform that can grow with you and continue to support high traffic and increased volume of orders.
Cost Efficiency
Retailers can select only the components they plan to use and leave out the ones they don’t need, resulting in a lower total cost of ownership. Rather than paying for one platform with a set selection of built-in features, retailers can pick and choose what works best for their business.
Challenges of Composable Commerce
Connectivity
One of the main challenges with composable commerce is that independent services are not always designed to seamlessly connect with one another, and they all tend to have their own APIs, data structures, and contracts that prevent them from doing so easily. With a composable commerce approach, you may run the risk of a disjointed back-office, where certain pieces of the tech stack can’t communicate, and custom integrations will need to be built to manage this challenge.
Complexity
Adding multiple vendors into the equation also means managing multiple PBCs, microservices and providers, working with multiple support teams if something goes wrong, and relying on multiple technologies for upkeep and performance. Unless you have a large team with years of experience, these may be challenges you aren’t equipped to handle. You also will have to pay for each individual service, resulting in added costs.
Time
With composable commerce, your eCommerce store relies on your vendor’s availability, so it can take much longer to get your store ready to launch. When relying on multiple vendors for your eCommerce solution, you also relinquish a large amount of control. This means that when something goes wrong, you will have to reach out to the individual vendor for support, and waiting for their response can mean leaving money on the table.
Choosing the Solution that’s Right for Your Business
SaaS Platform
For smaller retailers with low-order volume or limited SKU’s, a SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform like Shopify or BigCommerce can be a cost-effective option for retailers looking to get up and running quickly. These platforms involves a monthly subscription that provides access to the software and fundamental services needed to maintain a basic storefront. A SaaS platform is a great option for small teams and limited budgets, but as your business grows, your needs will become more complex and you may require a solution that provides more control and scalability.
Single-Source Commerce
Virid’s single-source platform marketAgility offers all the flexibility of a composable commerce approach without the extra effort. Our team handles all additional customizations and integrations, leaving the complexity of juggling PBCs and microservices to us so your team can focus on providing value to your customers. With our single-source solution, retailers can select best-of-breed vendors just like with a composable solution, but without the extra challenges and lack of support.
With this model, you get the flexibility and customization of headless or composable commerce, but the support and technical expertise of a dedicated team. Similar to a SaaS model, you get everything you need at one set price, rather than paying separately for each individual component, giving you more control over your total cost of ownership.
Virid can do both. You don’t have to sacrifice flexibility or control; our platform provides a totally customizable environment, tailored to your needs. You can choose a solution that’s right for you at your current state, but feel confident that as your business evolves, we will adapt and grow with you.