Headless Commerce: Transform Casual Shoppers Into Lifelong Brand Loyalists

Within the last 15 years we’ve seen commerce technology evolve at a breakneck pace. Ecommerce is ascendant and traditional retail has been toppled from its throne. Immersive online shopping environments establish a sense of belonging, transforming casual shoppers into lifelong brand loyalists. Seamless Ecommerce experiences are tailored to specific individuals, complimented by lightning-fast fulfillment, next-day delivery and 24/7 customer service. Historically, the front-end and the back-end of commerce platforms were intrinsically tied at the hip. Headless commerce allows a brand to separate the front-end experience from the back-end business processes.

In a traditional Ecommerce model, new experiences can require updates to both the front- and back-end system, which can turn even small projects into huge headaches. Keeping pace with emerging touchpoints and experiences isn’t easy. In its simplest form, headless commerce is a separation of the front-end and back-end of an Ecommerce application. This architecture allows each to operate independently so that changes on one end do not require reciprocal changes on the other. The two applications communicate with one another using APIs and experience managers. The most important thing is that headless commerce can lessen the IT dependency. For instance, the back-end wouldn’t be a stumbling block for user experience and user interface projects. User-centric changes, which only impact the front-end can happen faster because they don’t require changes to the back-end.

Headless Commerce comes with its own set of benefits:

  • True Omni-Channel Commerce: Headless commerce allows you to deliver your content anywhere and everywhere

  • Stay Competitive and Adaptive: Headless commerce allows you to deploy rapid updates without impacting your back-end system

  • Supercharge Agile Marketing: Headless commerce allows you to execute you’re weekly marketing sprints with ease

  • Create a Personal Customer Experience:  Headless commerce allows you to leverage customer search data and make product recommendations.

  • Go to Market Faster:  Headless commerce allows you to go to market faster. Since content and products are housed centrally, they can be shared via an integration solution or API with other channels

  • Integration Makes Headless Commerce Easy: With all your backend systems integrated with your front-end points of sale, you can be rest assured that data will flow bi-directionally without the need of manual human entry

A 2017 study by Harvard Business Review showed that, out of more than 46,000 shoppers surveyed, those who used multiple channels purchased more online than those who only used a single channel. Also, those shoppers who used multiple online channels purchased more at the brick-and-mortar stores than those who used only a single channel.

As we continue to move into a relationship marketing model that’s informed by content, blended with commerce, and based on experience, Retailers/brands must be extremely agile and highly adaptable to thrive in this ever-changing marketplace.

SAP Commerce (Hybris) and headless are a way you can achieve all of this with added flexibility and choice.  It is, by far, the best platform for enabling you to quickly adapt to change while achieving a lower total cost of ownership, a faster time to market, greater security, and everything you need to deliver a world-class online shopping experience.

SBP offers SAP Commerce (Hybris) services to help you make the best of online retailing.

Reach out to us on “getHybris@sbpcorp.com” for a demo on our portfolio of products “Omnibus Commerce for SAP Commerce”.

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