H eadless Commerce, Composable Commerce, and MACH Commerce are all modern approaches to building ecommerce platforms, but they differ in their specific focus and emphasis.
Our BlueBolt team is comprised of talented commerce veterans who help clients define which of these commerce methodologies, and which corresponding ecommerce software partners, will best meet their business needs. In this blog, I share how each of these approaches to commerce can help clients win in business.
Headless Commerce
Headless Commerce refers to the complete separation of the front-end presentation layer from the back-end ecommerce engine. With headless commerce, the front-end is decoupled from the back-end, which allows for greater flexibility and agility in designing and deploying new user experiences. In this approach, the ecommerce platform provides APIs that enable the front-end to access the back-end data and functionality, enabling developers to use any technology stack they want to build the front-end. Ecommerce platforms such as Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Commercetools, Shopware, Scayle, Elastic Path, Bloomreach, Znode, and Intershop have all been rated by analysts as good Headless Ecommerce platforms. Additionally, Vue Storefront is the first ecommerce software vendor to offer a specialized FEaaS, Front-End as a Service, which integrates with many of the headless ecommerce software platforms.
Composable Commerce
Composable Commerce is an architecture that emphasizes modularity and flexibility in building an ecommerce platform. In a Composable Commerce architecture, the platform is built as a collection of modular components or services, each of which performs a specific function. These components can be assembled and reassembled in different ways to create different ecommerce experiences, allowing for greater flexibility and agility in adapting to changing business needs. Examples of Composable Commerce software platforms that are rated by industry analysts as leaders in the space include Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Optimizely, Sitecore, commercetools, Infosys, Spryker, Kibo and Vue Storefront.
MACH Commerce
MACH Commerce is a set of principles that guide the design and development of modern ecommerce platforms. MACH is an acronym that stands for Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless Commerce. It emphasizes the use of microservices, APIs, and cloud-native infrastructure to build an ecommerce platform that is flexible, scalable, and can easily integrate with other systems. MACH Commerce was first introduced by ecommerce software vendor Commercetools, which created a MACH alliance with other vendors, including Infosys Equinox, Vue Storefront, and Sitecore.
Defining the Best Commerce Approach and Platform for Your Company
While Headless Commerce, Composable Commerce, and MACH Commerce share some similarities, they differ in their specific focus and emphasis. Headless Commerce focuses on decoupling the front-end and back-end, Composable Commerce emphasizes modularity and flexibility in building an ecommerce platform, and MACH Commerce focuses on the use of microservices, APIs, and cloud-native infrastructure to build a flexible and scalable ecommerce platform.
Interested in exploring which of these approaches to ecommerce would produce the best return on investment for your brand? Want recommendations of which ecommerce software vendor will deliver dividends for your team? Or do you have a platform in mind and simply want feedback as to whether it will meet your needs? Simply fill out our connect with us form and we will get in touch with you.
