Elevate your business: Modern digital commerce essentials

Highlights

You'll learn about the importance of modern commerce architecture:

• Cost efficiency: Lower overhead costs, automate processes and optimize spending for enhanced ROI
• Agility: Help you adapt to customer needs and expand your reach
• Transparency: Build trust with accurate pricing, real-time information and personalized experiences
• Competitive edge: Personalization, efficiency and global reach set you apart in a crowded market

Use modern or composable commerce to increase customer loyalty and brand presence.

Keep reading to learn more!

When a restaurant receives rave reviews, it’s common for the management to expand and open a new branch. We have examples of successful brands, like Starbucks and McDonald's. These brands show how strategic growth enhances customer experiences. For e-commerce stores, expansion and strategic growth mean adopting modern commerce architecture.

Businesses that fail to use digital commerce are left out of tomorrow’s online marketplaces. 

But what is modern digital commerce and how is it changing the retail industry?

What is modern digital commerce?

Modern digital commerce encompasses buying and selling goods or services online through digital channels. It includes:

• Electronic payments
• Digital ticketing
• Online shopping
• Online booking services
• Online shopping

Modern commerce includes every touchpoint and process throughout the customer journey. Using digital commerce, you increase global reach and personalize your user's experience. 

Digital commerce vs E-commerce

Many businesses often interchange the term e-commerce with digital commerce. Here’s how they’re different:

Why is modern commerce architecture important?

Legacy e-commerce software like WordPress leaves you struggling with unfulfilled feature requests, deadlines and integration with new technologies. Modern commerce systems like Contentstack have the answer to these complex business challenges. Here’s why using a digital commerce platform is important:

Lowers your overhead costs

Digital commerce lowers the need for physical infrastructure associated with brick-and-mortar stores, helping you save costs. It automates various processes, from inventory management to customer service. A digital approach gives insights into customer data, helping you create targeted strategies. This optimizes your spending and enhances your return on investment (ROI).

Ensures your business is more agile and helps you scale

Digital commerce makes your business flexible and helps you scale to the changing customer requirements. For instance, you can add new payment methods using the digital approach. These methods allow your customers to buy from different digital touchpoints to engage and re-engage your customers. 

Provides transparency in pricing and product information

A digital commerce provides accurate product information, pricing, customer reviews and comparison tools. Transparency in pricing and product information builds loyalty and increases the shopping experience. Real-time stock availability reduces potential delays and stock-out options, especially when inventory levels fluctuate. 

With 47% of customers abandoning their carts because of high shipping costs and taxes, transparency in pricing ensures uniform cost across every digital touchpoint. Offering a comparison tool with every product helps you make an informed decision based on pricing and desired features.

Makes you more competitive

Digital commerce makes you competitive by offering unparalleled personalization, efficiency and reach opportunities. When customer preferences change, the ability to use advanced technologies for personalized marketing and tailored customer experiences becomes a competitive edge. 

Such personalization enhances customer satisfaction and even increases loyalty and lifetime value. Composable commerce's global reach helps you enter new markets and customer segments, allowing you to compete globally.

Offers omnichannel experiences

Composable architecture integrates various digital commerce platforms and touchpoints to provide an omnichannel experience. Unlike traditional retail channels, digital commerce uses technology to sync online and offline interactions. Your customers engage with a brand through social media, mobile apps, websites and in-person stores. 

When you collect and analyze data from different channels, you know your customers' behavior and preferences. Digital commerce increases customer loyalty and encourages repeat business. Customers return to your brand when you meet them where they are and where they prefer to shop and interact.

How has Contentstack helped MTR deliver omnichannel experience?

The MTR mobile app that served Hong Kong's daily rail passengers wanted to integrate transit and shopping experiences. The challenge was to merge two separate rewards programs into one MTR Points program to enhance customer experience. Leveraging Microsoft Azure and Contentstack technology, the app offers navigation, personalized rewards and promotions. 

The app supports scalability to meet the changing customer behaviors and deliver an omnichannel experience across multiple platforms. This helped MTR evolve from a transit tool to a lifestyle platform, improving user engagement. The result is a high-performing app with scalable content delivery.

Read the complete case study here.

Ensures flexibility

Most digital commerce is headless, meaning the front and back end are separated. Headless commerce platforms help you make changes without disrupting your back-end functionalities. They also help you roll out new features to the market and increase capabilities as your business requirements change. 

On the customers' side, headless commerce provides superior convenience, helping customers buy regardless of their location or time of day. Flexibility combined with AI and data analytics creates personalized interactions, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.

Integrates with other functionalities

Digital commerce changes how businesses sell and presents a platform for integrating different operations. It improves efficiency and customer satisfaction. Digital commerce uses AI, machine learning and data analytics to improve inventory management, customer service and marketing processes.

Digital commerce trends in 2024

E-commerce trends influence how businesses operate and redefine the way your many customers discover and engage with your business:

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Through AI-powered solutions like recommendation engines, chatbots and predictive analytics, enhancing your user experience becomes easy. These solutions use data analytics and machine learning to:

• Optimize options
• Define actions
• Understand and interpret patterns
• Make predictions and product recommendations
• Automate the marketing strategy.

Also, generative AI can transform e-commerce interactions into dynamic conversations and improve customer engagement.

Social commerce

Social commerce uses social media platforms for marketing and direct selling to customers. It uses influencer marketing to create trust and build community to generate a loyal customer base. Social commerce makes shopping accessible through social networks, simplifying the buying process.

Sustainable practices

Sustainable practices involve sourcing materials, implementing transparent supply chains and adopting practices that reduce environmental impact. This approach meets the growing customer demand for conscious products.

Subscription models

Offering personalized subscription services is another key digital commerce trend. These models help you:

• Meet customers' preferences
• Build long-term relationships
• Enhance customer loyalty through curated experiences

Zero-click search

Companies are streamlining the online shopping process by implementing zero-click search capabilities. This approach provides customers instant access to relevant information, products and services without many clicks. As a result, you simplify the user journey and enhance the shopping experience.

Voice and image search

Brands and businesses are re-inventing the e-commerce landscape through voice and image search functions. They provide customers with a commerce platform to use voice or image search to find products. This offers a seamless shopping experience, making the search process efficient.

Augmented reality and virtual reality

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) offer virtual fit experiences and interactive product presentations. AR enables customers to preview products in the real environment. This enhances customers' engagement level and improves your purchasing decisions.

Personalized shopping experiences

Personalize the shopping experience by displaying product recommendations or promotions according to the customer’s choice and behavior. Digital commerce uses data analytics to:

• Understand the client's requirements
• Create personal experiences for every customer
• Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty

The role of composable architecture in digital commerce

Composable architecture is the building block of digital commerce because it impacts how you build, deploy and manage your online platforms. You use modular components to use, reuse and combine them in various configurations to meet specific business needs.

A composable approach offers flexibility in adapting to market changes and implementing new features. You achieve flexibility without completely overhauling existing systems.

For digital commerce, composable architecture creates a unique experience that meets customer expectations. It integrates new technologies, such as AI-driven recommendation engines or payment solutions, ensuring that digital commerce platforms can enhance customer experience and efficiency. 

Digital commerce strategies for 2024

Some digital commerce strategies are:

Personalization

Customize the shopping experience through personalized product recommendations, dynamic content and targeted marketing campaigns.

Mobile optimization

Provide a seamless mobile experience, especially as smartphone and tablet use increases.

Streamlined checkout process

Ensure the checkout process is hassle-free. To reduce abandonment rates, offer guest checkouts, different payment methods and single-click buying.

Social media integration

Use social media for brand promotion, customer engagement and influencer partnerships. It helps you create direct selling opportunities.

AI and automation

Use AI-powered solutions, such as chatbots, recommendation engines and predictive analytics. These solutions increase customer service and improve business operations.

Customer retention strategies

Launch customer loyalty programs, tailored offers and post-purchase interactions. This helps you maintain long-term relationships with your customers.

SEO and content marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO) includes website optimization for search engines, content generation and content promotion. It also incorporates SEO practices to improve ranking and drive organic traffic.

FAQs

What is modern e-commerce?

Modern e-commerce integrates digital technology, online transactions and personalized customer experiences. It uses the Internet to buy and sell goods and services.

What is digital commerce?

Digital commerce is the online buying and selling of goods and services. It encompasses online shopping, virtual payments, marketing and social networking. Digital commerce enables customers to complete their shopping experience, from finding the desired product to completing the sales.

What are examples of digital commerce?

Examples of digital commerce include:

• Online retail stores
• Services like online banking
• Streaming platforms
• Software as a service (SaaS) companies

What is the definition of modern commerce?

Modern commerce uses digital technology like e-commerce platforms, mobile apps and social media to sell goods and services. This approach covers the entire customer journey, from marketing to post-sale support. It applies data analytics and AI to understand customer profiles and desires.

Learn more

Digital commerce scales your e-commerce business by expanding your business opportunities. It creates a smooth experience by providing a platform that solves customer problems. Staying up-to-date with the e-commerce trends helps your business grow, making digital commerce a must-have for every company.

To understand how digital commerce improves your customer experience and ensures business growth, request a free demo.