When brands adopt composable commerce, it’s a win-win

When brands consider the myriad ways they can drive growth and recurring revenue, it can be dizzying to sort through the buffet of options available. But one approach that has been gaining momentum for forward-thinking ecommerce brands is composable commerce, or MACH, which stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless.

Choice, flexibility and personalization are at the heart of this strategy, as a panel of ecommerce specialists noted during a recent MACH US Roadshow panel discussion in New York. Joining John Torris, head of sales at Bold Commerce, on this panel were Darren Guarnaccia, President of Uniform, Karen Light, Director of Strategy at Valtech, Chris Bach, Co-Founder at Netlify, and Sana Remekie, CEO of Conscia.ai.

MACH for ecommerce brands

Asked to share more on the value of MACH in the ecommerce space, Torris says more and more brands don’t want to be committed to a monolithic architecture. “Instead, they prefer a rip-and-replace approach to the ecommerce tools available to them,” he explains, “which makes the vendors more committed to ensuring they have the best tools in place for brands.”

For example, if one checkout vendor isn’t giving brands the power or flexibility they require, a composable approach allows them to slide out that checkout tool and add one that suits their needs from another vendor.

He adds how brands want a bespoke approach where they can plug in the best options for their online stores, which is possible today thanks to an ever-expanding ecosystem of independent microservices.

MACH solutions can address customer demands for improved convenience, streamline their omnichannel experience and make it possible to fold in promotions and loyalty programs. While monolithic systems may limit which add-ons are available, a composable approach widens the net immeasurably.

Maximizing subscription revenue with composable commerce

Torris says an app such as Bold Subscriptions is an example of a tool that has a strong track record of being leveraged by more than 20,000 brands, which allows brands to maximize their subscription business. “The membership experience requires more in-depth integrations which can lead to more recurring revenue,” he adds.

Citing a Bold Commerce customer example, he says Staples Canada understood the value of a modular approach to ecommerce when they wanted to move away from a monolithic structure.

As one customer success story notes, Staples Canada blended Bold Checkout with Price Rules Engine (PRE), and Store Locator solutions with other best-in-breed partner technologies in an API-driven modular architecture. This strategy provided Staples Canada with speed to market, flexibility, and improved quality and performance, while helping to future-proof their business.

What’s interesting to note is when people learn more about composable commerce, their sentiments are overwhelmingly positive. In a 2021 survey produced by Elastic Path, 95% of those aware of composable commerce believe it’s the way of the future, and 71% agree that the approach is beneficial to both technology and business teams.

Also, future-ready brands taking advantage of composable commerce can realize impressive ROI. A Gartner report predicted that organizations that have adopted a composable approach will outpace their competition by 80% in the speed of new feature implementation.

Leveraging composable commerce to meet consumer demand

Torris says customers have heightened expectations of what to expect from brands online, especially in an era where the pandemic supercharged ecommerce efforts for brands to build experiences that would be both engaging and seamless. “MACH gives brands the right tools for the right job,” he adds, “and going towards a composable approach will show the brand the kind of gains they want to see.”

This approach is turning heads across all verticals. As retailer news network noted: “Designing personalized experiences…is challenging with the legacy ecommerce platforms that still power many of today's biggest brands. Composable commerce brings the nimbleness required to adapt quickly to new opportunities, design new experiences, and innovate beyond the core foundation.”