Headless commerce opens opportunities for eCommerce stores to get creative without back-office constraints. In a previous article (which we’d love for you to check out!) we spoke about how live video shopping is a great headless commerce tool to drive revenue through digital touchpoints and how it leverages data to operate a fully immersive store front. If you are still considering if headless commerce is the way to go, let’s talk about the opportunities it can unlock for eCommerce stores.
What is headless commerce?
Headless commerce architecture is a solution for those looking to drive more revenue through multiple digital channels and support even the most complex selling models. It achieves this by decoupling the front end from the back end. Meaning functions such as product catalogue, sales, marketing and transactions can be connected to APIs which are then deployed across all digital touchpoints. Headless commerce also enables quick scale up omnichannel engagements. This revolutionary shift in back-end eCommerce architecture gives opportunities to brands to enhance customer experience whilst scaling seamless transactional touchpoints.
The top 5 benefits of headless commerce
1. Customisation
As headless commerce decouples the front end from the backend, it enables greater control over what can be customised on the customer’s side. However, by connecting functions to APIs, there is little to no back-office constraints when deploying full customisation on the front end. The elegant execution gives greater control to deploy quick changes whether that’s based on seasonality, segmented audiences or optimisation. Customisation also enables freedom with branding. You can walk away from themes and work collaboratively with designers to bring life to your storefront without the restrictions.
2. A/B testing
Another sense of freedom with decoupling the storefront is it gives marketing and sales greater control over A/B for conversion optimisation without tampering with product information and coding in the back end. With greater access to data, it helps marketers personalise campaigns and deploy experiments to see what works with their audiences. Netflix and Amazon are the best players in their field for optimising and adjusting to consumer behaviour – but it doesn’t just have to be big names that can do this.
3. Leverage live video shopping
Video commerce software utilises headless commerce and enables any eCommerce provider to produce a live video storefront. It uses product data straight from the rec engine making it a highly relevant customer interaction. The headless commerce architecture comprises back-end data and cloud-based infrastructure. Developers can then use APIs to deliver product feeds, shopping carts, blog posts, customer reviews etc; replicating that in-store feel. This enables eCommerce sites to deliver a hyper-personalised experience that solidifies direct 1:1 customer relationships, online.
4. Your developers have freedom
Traditional eCommerce platforms use specific programming language, limiting the capabilities of the developer. However, headless commerce allows developers to build using a language they are familiar with. This coupled with the creative freedom designers have with the frontend enables a more empowered workforce.
5. Deploy functions fast
In an era where companies are doubling down on digital transformation and consumer shopping habits are changing, it is vital to stay ahead of the curve. Headless commerce deploys APIs across all digital channels meaning regardless of how consumers are behaving you can be present on new and emerging touchpoints. Also, even for websites that have content for their products but no transactional points, headless commerce, can enable this. It essentially can be plugged in without disrupting your overall technology stack.
Why should you consider headless commerce?
it all depends on what your goals are as a business. Some are heavily involved with delivering the ultimate online experience, integrating key functionalties such as content, site speed and performance.
if your a large business or planning to quickly scale operations across multiple digital touch points then headless commerce is a solution for your needs.
Additionally, if you want full autonomy over branding and creativity – the commerce tool provides customisation options that are truly limitless. Nevertheless, if businesses choose to go down a bespoke route it will take the hard craft to the front end developed. For those looking for quick integration, services like Confer With operate using headless commerce service which seamlessly attached to your store front.
