Over the past year or so, there has been a rapid increase in the popularity of headless commerce and the number businesses adapting the same. Whether you are a retail business owner looking to set foot in the online world, or an eCommerce business owner planning on going ‘headless’, this article will cover everything you need to know about this approach.
What is Headless Commerce?
Headless commerce refers to the approach where the frontend (the head) of your eCommerce store, also known as the presentation layer, is decoupled or separated from its backend, also called the commerce layer, as a result of which both the ends remain and operate independent of each other.
What this architecture does is give you the ability to make changes or updates to the frontend of the system, without meddling with the backend. As a result of this, you gain more flexibility to make your users’ experience on your website much more unique, by adding customized features to your platform.
Why is Headless Commerce Growing in Popularity?
During the initial years of eCommerce as a shopping channel, it is no doubt that almost all the traffic to eCommerce websites came from desktop, which in turn made purchases and sales very simple and straightforward. Due to this level of ease, the frontend and backend of a website were coupled, and eCommerce platform solutions were offered accordingly.
However, the constant development in technology over the years led to the expansion of purchase mediums, and today, people are using different channels to shop online, including tablets and mobile phones. This multichannel approach, widely referred to as omnichannel, makes it extremely difficult to change or update one end of an eCommerce website without the same being reflected on the other, and this obviously consumes a lot of resources. Headless commerce simplifies this process and helps you save a lot of money, time, and other resources.
Furthermore, brands that are looking to expand their business to the eCommerce world, but already have a website where they constantly update content, can easily build the commerce end of the website without disturbing the existing content end and finally link the both.
It is this level of flexibility, easy and quick integrations, and the ability to save resources offered by headless commerce that make it grow in popularity.
Benefits of Headless Commerce
Following are some of the key benefits of headless commerce that a business can enjoy:
✓ Flexibility
Consumers today are more demanding than ever; they tend to purchase on those websites that have a user-friendly and seamless interface, which means you may have to update your website’s frontend every now and then to keep your customers satisfied. With headless commerce, because the frontend and backend are independent of each other, you can perform these updates without hindering the backend business architecture.
✓ Customization
Since the frontend and backend of your eCommerce website are decoupled, you are no longer bound to the usual restrictions of the platform, such as having to buy software or integrations in bulk, including those that you wouldn’t be using or don’t need. Instead, your developers gain the freedom to develop customized user experience that serves your business well, and you can use only those integrations that really matter.
✓ Go Omnichannel
Making your eCommerce website omnichannel is perhaps one of the biggest benefits of implementing headless commerce. With this approach, you get to take your products or services, marketing content, promotional videos, and more to any platform that is available at the disposal of your consumers. From regular smartphone screens to AI assisted devices, there is no limit to where you can propel your content to grow your business.
✓ New Technology Support
With headless commerce, it will be much easier for you to use new technologies as they are developed, thereby providing your customers with new and unique experienced. Moreover, these implementations can be done in a short span of time rather than taking weeks or months together.
Who is Headless Commerce For?
As with any new business approach, going with headless commerce also depends on the objectives and requirements of your business, and has nothing to do with its popularity. But, in general, the solution is considered to be appropriate for:
1. Businesses that already use a full-fledged content management system.
2. Companies that keep changing their content frequently.
3. Businesses that are growing at a rapid pace.
4. Larger organizations that have many subsidiaries and divisions.