There seems to be an almost endless stream of new channels cropping up every single day. Whether it’s new retailers coming onto the scene, social media apps looking to break into eCommerce, or new technology permeating the retail landscape, brands and retailers are struggling to keep up. Why?Often, their eCommerce presence is built on an outdated, monolithic commerce architecture that offers a single solution, from a single vendor, offering a single digital experience. And while this one-size-fits-all approach worked for many years to support standardized experiences and basic eCommerce offerings, the digital marketplace has expanded at such a rapid pace that we’ve quickly outgrown this legacy architecture.Composable commerce offers an alternative to traditional commerce architecture, and can often provide the flexibility and scalability that organizations are looking for.What is Composable Commerce?Composable commerce is a development approach that enables organizations to activate their entire product record across every channel by leveraging best-of-breed commerce vendors composed together into a singular, custom-built application. This type of software model allows teams to create an ecosystem that is customized to meet their organization’s specific business needs.For a while, the traditional approach of an all-in-one solution from a single vendor met the needs of the market; everything was stored in the same place, and organizations had everything they needed to provide a singular, standard experience for all their customers.However, the needs of modern organizations span much farther than the reach of traditional commerce architecture. There are new digital touchpoints emerging constantly that these legacy platforms simply weren’t built to accommodate, not to mention the ever-growing expectations of customers to have a dynamic, cohesive, and engaging experience with your product no matter where they discover or search for you.It’s no longer simply enough to show up on these channels; your product information needs to be personalized to meet the needs of the channel, whether or not it’s owned by you.Tenets of Composable CommerceLet’s take a look at three of the defining features of this modern commerce architecture.1- ModularEvery component of your tech stack is replaceable, and therefore scalable. Changing, adding, or removing one aspect of your tech stack will no longer crumble your entire ecosystem like a fragile Jenga tower.2- Open EcosystemAn open ecosystem essentially means that your organization isn’t tied to one specific vendor; you are free to select the software that best serves each individual business need, ensuring that you’re receiving world-class SaaS products across the board.3- FlexibleWhether it’s adapting to meet the needs of new customer markets, new global locations, new products, or new eCommerce channels, composable commerce offers the flexibility to meet your organization’s needs that a traditional approach can’t compete with.With composable commerce, brands are able to:<ul><li>Create truly omnichannel experiences.</li><li>Eliminate vendor risk.</li><li>Reduce operational costs.</li><li>Remove heavy reliance on IT.</li><li>Deliver highly differentiated, personalized experiences that win against your competition.</li></ul>At a high level, composable commerce is a best-of-breed approach that allows your organization to personalize your tech stack to fit and scale with your needs. But if you’d like to dive deeper into the modular nature of this approach and just how it can unlock growth for your team, check out the full <a href="https://www.akeneo.com/blog/what-is-composable-commerce/">article here</a>.Author: Casey Paxton, Content Marketing Manager, Akeneo

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