By Emilio Oscar Gerbino, Software Architect at intive .- The e-commerce sector continues to grow and It is installed as an increasingly common buying habit among consumers. According to the Annual Study of the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE), e-commerce in Argentina grew during 2022 87% compared to the previous year and recorded a turnover of $2,846,000 million. The outlook for 2023 is also encouraging: 59% of companies believe that e-commerce activity will be better in 2023 compared to 2022.
At the same time, consumer expectations are extremely high. That is why it is especially important to offer them the best possible shopping experience: a holistic shopping experience where they can perceive the purchase holistically across all channels. The key here is an intuitive store layout with as short response and delivery times as possible. The technological stack of online stores must be flexible, thus allowing quick responses to market changes, especially when requirements are constantly evolving.
Change buying patterns
Currently, the main online retailers in Argentina rely on hybrid purchasing models. This broadens the reach of the various channels through which customers can purchase products or interact with the store in general. In addition to websites, web and native apps, digital touchpoints in stores as well as order displays play an important role today. Users expect a consistent, consistent and intuitive shopping experience across all channels: a holistic shopping experience. It means offering personalized content that is easy to understand and guides customers from one channel to another. This represents a challenge for the technological infrastructure of the online store.
composable vs. monolithic
In this context, ‘composable commerce’, understood as the digital commerce approach that uses technological platforms built with components from different IT providers, is gaining importance. Most retailers still use monolithic systems, which inevitably means making compromises. In addition, monolithic systems do not usually scale easily and, as a consequence, under certain load conditions, they can become slow. Although solutions consist of several parts, they are essentially one large piece of software.
In contrast to this is the ‘composable commerce’ approach, a modular system of packaged business capabilities, or more commonly called PBCs due to their English name: Package Business Capability. These are digital capabilities that bring together a set of services related to a clear business purpose and well-defined interfaces.
These digital capabilities fulfill different basic functions, for example, the shopping cart, the payment, the search function, etc. The big advantage is that they can develop, adapt, scale and maintain independently of the rest. In addition, the ‘composable commerce’ approach allows a rapid response to new market requirements, since e-commerce platforms are able to add or change existing functions in almost real time.
Such a modular solution is not only more agile than a monolithic system, but also it is also more resistant to failures. A single bug can bring down the entire solution in a monolithic system, whereas in a composable architecture only part of it will be affected and the rest of the digital capabilities will continue to run independently. That is, you can act on the individual affected components as needed. Also, because the code base is simpler overall and there are fewer dependencies per component, bugs can be found more quickly.
Combined specialized expertise for the best solutions
The foundations of a ‘composable commerce’ approach are based on the MACH architecture, which includes the use of microservices, APIs and cloud-based applications to create next-generation e-commerce solutions. This architecture allows the connection of various microservices, even from different Cloud providers, through the use of APIs. Furthermore, in the case of Headless applications, the front-end is completely decoupled from the back-end, from the sales channel, from the programming language and frameworks used, etc.
Many providers are becoming more and more specialized in different business models or specific areas. They offer similar services, but tailored in detail to particular industries and requirements. These vendors focus on their expertise and benefit from compatibility with third-party solutions. Various software vendors have joined the MACH Alliance thus making their software components compatible with each other, promoting the development of modular systems.
Holistic approach for a holistic experience
The holistic shopping experience is not determined solely by the ‘composable commerce’ or the MACH approach, but is one of the four elements that characterize it. On the technical side, the principle of “Mobile First”. Today it is no longer enough to simply make a responsive website, or transfer the product catalog to an application. Brands need to take a careful look at how their target group performs and adjust their channels accordingly. Another aspect of the holistic shopping experience is optimization and knowledge. This involves continually testing new developments and seeing what works and what doesn’t.
Conclusion
A holistic shopping experience, where customers intuitively find their way across all eCommerce channels, requires a high degree of flexibility in the technology stack. In order to expand the shopping experience to new devices through a hybrid shopping experience, as well as cater to constantly changing customer requirements, the different components of the platforms must be able to adapt, interconnect or be replaced quickly.
The ‘composable commerce’, as a modular approach, offers retailers the necessary agility. It also allows the selection of individually suitable elements, which are adapted to each target group. However, a holistic shopping experience also requires a holistic approach. Beyond the technological aspect and the online store, Retailers must not neglect “Experience Thinking”, which includes customer experience at all levels.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
