How Retailers Evaluate Commerce Solutions (Hint: It’s Changing)
Today’s consumers have high demands: They want a personalized shopping experience, attentive customer service, and they want the merchant to meet them where they are. That’s a tall order. Retailers are rapidly shifting their business models to meet those needs and expectations, but they can’t do it alone. Retailers have raised their demands of commerce platform providers to supply technology solutions that enable them to dynamically engage with their customers and to run their digital businesses efficiently.
Merchants expect the freedom to choose the ideal solutions for their suite without sacrificing integration quality. In our recent “Now Tech: B2C Commerce Suites, Q1 2020” report, we surveyed 16 providers and found that the vendor landscape is responding by improving services’ flexibility and deepening the connections between them. Our “Now Tech: B2B Commerce Suites, Q1 2020” report further demonstrates how the lines are blurring between business models, reinforcing the role of retailers as customers of their providers.
What does this mean for retailers? It’s time to stop asking “What can the solution do?” and instead ask “How will it work for me?” The commerce tech solution model has shifted, and as I proposed in my recent report, “Redefining The Three Commerce Technology Models For Today’s Business Requirements,” the elements of the “eCommerce suite” are now defined by how you engage with them, rather than what they are in themselves.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming B2C and B2B commerce suite Forrester Wave™ evaluations that my colleague Joe Cicman and I are researching to get a detailed look at how the developing solutions landscape can help you flexibly win, serve, and retain customers. Questions about how you can find the solution that best meets your needs? Schedule an inquiry with me here.
(Written with Brandon Shaik, research associate)