Did you know engaging with businesses today is more about creating an experience than merely performing a transaction? This experience must be fast, responsive, and aligned with customer expectations. For eCommerce businesses, this could mean quickly implementing an AI chat assistant or introducing a trending payment method at checkout. You can achieve this with composable commerce.
Composable commerce allows you to select and integrate the best-of-breed software components from various vendors to create a customized, flexible eCommerce solution.
Take a moment to examine most eCommerce platforms, and you'll likely notice this trend. Even established players like Shopify, which began as a monolithic platform offering a comprehensive package for online stores, have recognized the growing demand for flexibility. Their Shopify Plus solution denotes a shift towards composable architecture, enabling businesses to integrate the best tools for specific needs.
The reality is that the traditional, rigid, one-size-fits-all eCommerce platforms are becoming obsolete. In eCommerce, the choice of technology can greatly impact business outcomes. Think about how site speed influences conversion rates or how effective product recommendations boost Average Order Value (AOV).
Composability allows businesses to use purpose-built solutions to enhance their operations and help differentiate their products in the market. Adopting a composable commerce approach enables businesses to stay agile and responsive.
The most outstanding advantage of a composable commerce approach is the rapid deployment of new features. This is not just about the tools themselves but also about the freedom businesses gain from no longer being tied to traditional software constraints like quarterly releases or rigid roadmaps.
We will explore why composable commerce could be your ideal solution and why you should consider switching now.
What are the basic building blocks of composable commerce?
Composable commerce is the approach that empowers businesses to build eCommerce platforms using the best solutions from various vendors, offering unmatched flexibility and agility. This approach lets you select the specific capabilities (orspecific business functions) you need from different providers, allowing you to bring products and services to market faster.
But how does this work in practice? How do you integrate modular components or services from different suppliers into a cohesive platform? This is an important question.
Packaged business capabilities: The core components
Gartner's modular cube model is a helpful way to illustrate the concept of composable commerce. It shows how we use technology stacks to build capabilities, significantly reducing time to market. The top layer, known as the experience layer, exposes these capabilities to customers.
In this model, the X-axis represents Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs), which are independently deployable capabilities that include business data, logic, and processes. Examples of these components include Product Information Management (PIM), Content Management System (CMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Search, core commerce functions, and order management. These components are the building blocks of the eCommerce platform.
The Y-axis depicts the technology stack used to build and integrate these components, commonly represented by MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) architectures. The stack is divided into three layers: Data, Logic, and View/API. These divisions represent the different levels at which the technology stack operates, ensuring fluid integration and efficient functioning of the Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs).
Finally, the Z-axis represents customer journeys, focusing on the User Experience (UX) layer, which customers interact with directly. Within this UX layer, you hear concepts like presentation orchestration, DXPs (Digital Experience Platforms), storefronts, PWAs (Progressive Web Apps), and supporting technologies like Backend For Frontend (BFF) and GraphQL.
Zooming in on the modular building blocks
While composable commerce might seem like simply plugging Packaged Business Capabilities into a UX layer, zooming into this modular approach and building blocks above reveals much more integration and orchestration:
- Microservices: Independent, modular services handling specific business functions like payments, inventory, and customer service, such as Stripe for payment processing, TradeGecko for inventory, and Zendesk for customer service.
- API-first approach: GraphQL, RESTful API, or gRPC to ensure easy communication.
- Cloud-native infrastructure: Leveraging cloud computing, such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Vercel, provides scalability, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
- Headless approach: Headless architecture decouples the front end from the back end, allowing for flexible content delivery across multiple channels. We use Headless CMS such as Contentful and Prismic for our clients at Monogram. There’s also Sanity and Hygraph.
- Customizable frontend frameworks: These frameworks enable developers to create unique and tailored user experiences. Monogram uses React, Angular, Vue.js, Next.js, and Svelte.
- Composable services: Incorporate various third-party tools to enhance and extend core commerce capabilities. Examples include Algolia for search, Segment for customer data, and Mailchimp for marketing automation.
- Integration capabilities: MuleSoft for integration solutions, Zapier for workflow automation, and Workato for enterprise automation ensure ease of connection between different systems and platforms and provide a cohesive ecosystem.
- Orchestration layer: Technologies like Docker for containerization, Kubernetes for container orchestration, and Terraform for infrastructure as code are essential for managing the coordination and interaction between different microservices and components, ensuring smooth operation and communication.
These components form the foundation of a composable commerce system, providing the flexibility, scalability, and customization necessary for modern eCommerce solutions.
This diagram shows how we put these together for Birchbox, one of our clients (see the case study). We integrated authentication, middleware, custom APIs, and internationalization using Next.js and Vercel. We enhanced their eCommerce platform with a headless CMS (Prismic), subscription services, a product recommendation engine, and third-party API and script integrations. This resulted in a fast, customized, efficient user experience and a robust, scalable platform.
Composable commerce vs. Headless commerce?
It is important to distinguish these two composable architectures to avoid confusion. Headless commerce decouples the front end from the back end, offering flexibility to quickly adapt to changing market trends. However, headless commerce alone is not always sufficient. While it allows for a flexible front end, the back end remains a monolithic system. Composable commerce takes headless commerce further by making every component independent, enabling a curated, best-for-me system tailored to specific business needs.
For example, while headless commerce allows you to update your website's look and feel independently, composable commerce enables you to integrate new payment systems, inventory management, and marketing tools individually, creating an adaptable and scalable digital commerce solution.
How composable commerce benefits you
As a business, you can choose from various software components to build a tailored solution that meets your exact business requirements. This shift goes beyond technology to adopting new business models that support agility and innovation.
Drawing from the Birchbox experience, you can see how the shift to composable commerce improved Birchbox's operational efficiency and allowed them to meet their customers' needs better.
Migrating from a monolithic system to a composable platform created unique, memorable, and personalized experiences critical to attracting and retaining customers. Integrating with Shopify Plus and implementing localization strategies further streamlined the process, making the platform adaptable to various regions with high performance and relevance.
Here are the key benefits of composable commerce:
Agility and adaptability
Quickly adapting to evolving customer demands and market trends allows you to implement new technologies and features without disrupting operations. You can also easily integrate new digital touchpoints with a composable commerce approach. Birchbox's fast introduction of custom animations and complex state management in their subscription flow kept their offerings fresh and engaging.
Faster time to market
With its modular architecture, you can accelerate development and deployment times, keeping your business competitive. For example, an electronics retailer quickly adding virtual try-ons or AR-enhanced product views can keep you ahead of the curve and drive engagement.
Unique and personalized customer experience
Tailoring shopping experiences to individual preferences enhances user engagement and satisfaction. Using customer data to offer personalized skincare regimens and product bundles in the beauty industry can significantly increase loyalty and repeat purchases.
Cost-efficiency
Paying only for the services you use and leveraging cloud features like auto-scaling and automatic updates maximizes your budget. During peak seasons, a store can handle increased traffic without investing in additional servers, ensuring uninterrupted operations and customer satisfaction.
No vendor lock-in
Another key benefit is the reduced risk of single vendor lock-in. Composable commerce lets you choose and switch out individual services as needed, providing a tailored solution that adapts to market changes and customer expectations. This flexibility is vital in maintaining a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving digital commerce ecosystem. You can easily switch payment solutions without overhauling your entire system.
Optimized site performance
The separation of content and commerce optimizes site performance by caching content aggressively while maintaining real-time commerce functions, thereby boosting conversions. A travel booking site can cache destination guides while ensuring up-to-date availability and booking capabilities, improving user experience and site speed.
Enhanced omnichannel experience
Continuous integration across various sales channels supports features like shareable shopping carts, improving the customer journey. For example, allowing customers to start shopping online and complete their purchases in-store provides convenience and flexibility, boosting sales.
Implementing composable commerce: Strategies and best practices
Here are the top five strategies and best practices for building a robust, composable commerce strategy that addresses considerations for cost efficiency and managing operational costs dictated by our years of building composable commerce solutions.
1. Define business objectives and use cases.
Start by defining your business objectives and specific use cases for composable commerce architecture. Understand what you aim to achieve— is it improving customer experiences, enhancing operational efficiency, or driving business growth?
A retail brand looking to expand into new markets may prioritize flexible and scalable e-commerce solutions that support multi-currency and localization capabilities. Documenting these objectives ensures alignment with your overall business strategy and sets a clear roadmap for implementation.
2. Assess current infrastructure and technology stack.
Evaluate your existing infrastructure and tech stack to identify limitations or dependencies that might hinder the adoption of composable commerce. Ensure your systems are modular and can integrate effortlessly with external services. This evaluation is crucial for transitioning from traditional commerce platforms to a composable commerce system.
A company using legacy systems might need to upgrade to API-driven architectures and microservices to enable a smooth transition. Conducting a thorough assessment helps plan necessary updates or migrations and lays the groundwork for a scalable, future-proof platform.
3. Prioritize customer journey and experience.
The whole essence of a composable approach is about elevating the customer experience. Map out your customer journey and focus on critical touchpoints where composable commerce can significantly impact. Break down the journey into phases—product discovery, checkout process, post-purchase engagement—and identify areas for enhancement.
Prioritizing customer experience ensures that every component of your composable commerce strategy adds tangible value.
4. Research and select composable commerce components
Research and choose composable commerce components that align with your business objectives. Consider e-commerce platforms, content management systems, payment gateways, and other essential services. Look for components offering robust APIs, flawless integration, and customization capabilities.
Selecting a headless CMS allows your marketing team to create and manage content independently, improving business agility and reducing dependency on IT. Ensuring scalability, security, and vendor support in your choices enhances operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
5. Plan integration and customization strategy
Develop a comprehensive integration and customization strategy to guarantee cohesive interoperability of chosen components. Use integration platforms (like iPaaS) to simplify the process and provide complete data synchronization.
Integrating a customer data platform (CDP) with your e-commerce system can provide unified customer insights, enabling personalized marketing campaigns. Encourage collaboration between development and business teams to identify and prioritize customization opportunities, ensuring your composable commerce setup is flexible and adaptive to changing business needs.
What happens after implementing composable commerce?
Composable commerce is not a one-time implementation but an ongoing journey. Success rests on cultivating a culture of agility, experimentation, and continuous improvement within your organization. Encourage your teams to explore new components, services, and technologies to enhance your capabilities.
Staying updated on industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies is integral to maximizing the benefits of Composable solutions.
However, migration complexity, testing demands, and operational risks can make the process challenging. Partnering with experts can streamline your transition, minimize disruptions, and accelerate ROI.
Monogram will assist you in selecting and integrating the best-of-breed components to build a tailored stack, ensuring your technology choices align with your business needs. You can explore how we implemented this solution for clients across different retail verticals here: