What do retailers want in an enterprise e-commerce platform?
A new survey reveals what retailers like – and don’t like – about enterprise e-commerce platforms.
The survey of 1,000 retailers from Shopify and IDC reveals that most respondents are thinking about or have already upgraded their e-commerce platform. But timely and affordable implementations are crucial for respondents considering rolling out new e-commerce platforms.
Specifically, two-in-three (67%) respondents are at least considering changing their e-commerce platform in the next three years. However, six-in-10 (61%) respondents said the cost of implementing new technology will be tough.
In addition, almost all (94%) respondents said a timely implementation is one of the top things they value in an e-commerce platform, while 67% cited ease of use as one of the top things they value in a commerce platform
Retailers want hybrid platforms
Of the retailers surveyed:
- 27% are fully headless and modular, using a mix of modules and apps from different vendors.
- 29% have a full-stack platform; an all-in-one solution.
- 45% have a composable front-end and a full-stack back-end; the perfect blend.
When changing to a headless, hybrid, or full-stack platform environment, 91% of enterprises on average said low total cost of ownership is important when making the change.
In other findings, the top two most common internal challenges to deploying an enterprise e-commerce platform are a lack of of digital skills (38%) and technology scalability (31%).
Study: Retail tech investments will rise 10% in 2024
A recent survey of executives from large retail companies conducted by IT consulting and digital services provider SoftServe and Wakefield Research indicates 99% of respondents predict a surge of technology investments to happen this year.
Across all respondents to this survey, investments are expected to increase by an average of 10%, while 94% of respondents reported technology to be a significant driver for new customers.
More than four-in-10 (44%) respondents say improving customer experience is one of retailers’ top 2024 goals driving technology priorities and strategies, followed by increasing customer retention (38%) and accelerating customer acquisition (32%).
Meanwhile, 46% of respondents worry new technology investments don’t leverage or integrate with data and analytics, Half of respondents plan to invest in AI-powered customer recommendations to increase customer engagement while 47% cite generative AI as an investment priority.