The tech world is constantly iterating and shifting, and there are many who have proclaimed to have discovered the next truly big thing. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to be dubious about such claims, especially when the landscape shifts so frequently. Thankfully, headless commerce isn’t exactly the new kid on the block. The technology has been around for quite some time and is now once again occupying the center stage with proven successes. Companies such as Nike, Amazon, and Etsy, among others, have adopted headless commerce to great effect. For example, headless commerce benefits Amazon by enabling them to seamlessly provide an excellent customer experience regardless of the screen they use. It is a solution that makes great sense for the Internet of Things (IoT) and eCommerce. Here are some headless commerce benefits to convince you of the technology’s viability.
1. Omnichannel Integration
Shoppers have come to expect a smooth shopping experience whether they are interfacing with a computer, phone, Chabot, digital signage, or any other emerging digital medium. According to the Harvard Business Review, 73% of shoppers don’t stick to just one device while shopping. While traditional e-commerce platforms claim to offer an omnichannel experience, they limit its functionality in the same way that they curtail a business’s ability to create cross platforms between an application and a website. For example, suppose the legacy e-commerce platform does not support a particular sales channel. In that case, any businesses using that platform will be unable to offer it, therefore hindering their ability to compete. They can wait for its implementation, but in the meantime, they will have fewer sales channels and thus fewer conversions than their competitors. As the IoT continues to make its way into our homes, the ability to reach multiple devices without a hitch will be instrumental.
2. A More Robust Customer Experience
A traditional e-commerce store rigidly couples the front and backend in such a way that limits what you can achieve with your front end. What is available is a couple of standard templates that severely limit creativity resulting in cookie-cutter online storefronts. Headless commerce benefits both the user and the business by providing front-end developers free reign to construct a unique site geared towards an optimal customer journey. The headless approach also gives developers the option to add IoT-enabled tools such as intelligent cross-selling, IoT-based loyalty programs, and proximity marketing into the customer experience. This limitless freedom allows you to add more personalization options that will differentiate you from the competition. A tailor-made experience is excellent for customer retention. Headless commerce will to a greater degree allow you to make and fine-tune custom shopping experiences, personalized recommendations, offers, and much more.
3. Faster Load Speeds
According to a 2015 study by Microsoft, the average attention span of humans has sunk from 12 seconds to 8 seconds, thanks to our increasingly digital lifestyles. This doesn’t bode well for slow sites, which will see their bounce rates bounce even higher as more agile competitors move to headless commerce. Because the front end is separated from the backend, there is less strain on the back end to deliver front-end services such as email marketing, content management, and payment integration. The result is faster speeds, less bounce rates, and more conversion rates.
4. Smooth Updates
Another benefit of separate modules is that you can update your front end without affecting your backend. This makes it possible to roll out updates quickly so that you aren’t left lagging behind. Amazon leverages headless commerce to deploy updates at an average of every 11.7 seconds. Etsy does so 50 times a day. Trying to build an omnichannel experience with a traditional e-commerce platform will be slow and arduous. How do you compare to the mentioned update speeds, and do you have the first-mover advantage? How about testing? If you have two versions of a product page that you want to test on your customers, headless commerce allows you to do so without changing the underlying codebase. The technology will enable you to roll out tweaks and upgrades and still maintain fast site speeds because you can run tests on one part of the platform without affecting the rest. This means you can scale your business seamlessly with time and industry changes.
Conclusion
The number of people shopping online is only going to increase. In 2021, Statista reported that 2.14 billion people shop online, up from 2.05 billion the previous year. And not only are there more online shoppers, but they are also accessing content from more devices and screens than ever before. Given the large number of online customers, there will naturally be fierce competition for them. Without a robust commerce platform, it will be hard to keep up with the changes. Headless commerce is truly the way of the future.
