Headless eCommerce for Marketers

What is Headless Ecommerce?

Headless eCommerce is an eCommerce architecture that enables multi-channel content distribution and personalization without any backend system modifications. If the traditional eCommerce architecture delivers a one-to-one solution flow, Headless Ecommerce delivers a one-to-many experience by allowing the frontend to deliver audience and channel-specific experiences.

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Without delving into deep technical insight, there are clear reasons why marketers and brands need to understand what it is and why it matters in building user-centered digital strategies:

1.         User experience has become so much more diverse. The proliferation of connected devices and data require marketers to understand consumer the journey map and every touch-point on diverse channels. Coupled with the digital consumer insight, it is important to deliver the right content rapidly.

2.         Speed to market is no longer just a thing to improve. Achieving the fastest speed to market and utmost effectiveness of it are prerequisites to winning.

3.         Modern digital businesses need platforms and opportunities to build strong digital insights and continuously innovate. One size fits all system only slows down iteration and innovation.

Headless eCommerce enables brands to address the aforementioned digital imperatives. By adding an API layer, a consumer-facing experience can be delivered without waiting for the backend systems to be modified which is often a strenuous and long process. So, the benefits of Headless Ecommerce that marketers and brands experience are:

1.         Personalized content and user experience delivery: brands can exercise unique voices and messages without using the system-defined templates. Especially when a company owns multiple lifestyle brands, it is critical to distinguish the content of each brand.

2.         It helps brands build digital agility as well as agile culture: it helps you focus on the audience and the true value to be delivered through content and experience. Its reduced system complexity allows changes to be made easily. Also, by empowering content creators and editors, you are allowing creativity to play its much-needed role instead of focusing on solutions.

3.         It helps organizations digitally transform and evolve better through a clear operating and RACI model. As you see in the figure below, marketing and digital experience teams are responsible for frontend experience and content delivery. And IT and data teams are responsible for enabling diversified deliveries. Based on our experience, the most difficult part of digital transformation is deciding who is doing what. Building a clear understanding of the ecosystem can help organizations to better manage changes while continuously evolve.

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If you are interested in learning more about how to build a winning omni and multi-channel digital strategy, please contact us at kwilliams@pincherry.net or blee@pincherry.net.

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