What is Headless Commerce and why is this approach on everyone's lips in E-Commerce?

1. What is the definition of Headless Commerce?
2. What benefits does a Headless Shop System offer?
3. How do Headless Commerce and Composable Commerce differ?
4. Why is Headless Commerce so prevalent right now?
5. What is the difference between traditional e-commerce platforms and headless commerce software?
6. How Makaira for Fielmann is already implementing Composable Commerce
7. What are known Headless Commerce Software?
8. Conclusion on Headless Commerce

After Headless CMS and Conversational Commerce we now turn to another innovation in the e-commerce universe: Headless Commerce. The approach is not entirely new, but it represents an improved option for the e-commerce industry to enhance customers' journey in the online shop. Moreover, Headless Commerce brings a lot of advantages for online shop operators. That's enough for the teaser.

We have summarized for you what the exact definition of Headless Commerce is, how you can implement it, and what Composable Commerce has to do with it. We also provide you with a prominent practical example of Headless Commerce with Fielmann.

Table of Contents

1. What is the definition of Headless Commerce?

2. What benefits does a Headless Shop System offer?

3. How do Headless Commerce and Composable Commerce differ?

4. Why is Headless Commerce so prevalent right now?

5. What is the difference between traditional e-commerce platforms and headless commerce software?

6. How Makaira is already implementing Composable Commerce for Fielmann

7. What are well-known Headless Commerce Software?

8. Conclusion on Headless Commerce

What is the definition of Headless Commerce?

While shop systems like e.g. Salesforce Commerce Cloud and CMS usually deliver front and back end as a package, Headless Commerce takes a different approach. The approach, which has been making the rounds in e-commerce since 2020, separates front and back end from each other and all components that ensure the online shop works when combined via a web shop platform.

Search function, product display, database and check-out can come from different providers in this way, are not dependent on each other and are connected via API interfaces through a frontend technology. In simple terms: Work on the visual surface of your online shop without having to worry about whether the changes are functionally compatible with the back end.

The key difference between traditional shop systems and the headless commerce approach is illustrated.

What benefits does a Headless Shop System offer?

The "new" way of architecturally approaching the construction of your webshop à la Headless Commerce offers you several advantages:

• You are flexible in the construction of your online shops.
• This allows you to adapt the frontend independently of the backend.
• With a cross-system headless backend plus various frontend components, you can speak omnichannel – mobile devices, smartwatches, desktop or augmented reality – to the respective audience.
• By setting up different frontends without affecting the backend, Headless Commerce enables you to target your audience.
• Content can be played out barrier-free on various channels.
• It saves time and costs, as no complete systems need to be programmed.
• With the use of headless commerce software and external tools via API, you have the opportunity to rapidly respond to ever faster changing customer demands without having to adjust an online shop for months.
• Ultimately, this leads to more satisfied customers and more sales.

How do Headless Commerce and Composable Commerce differ?

Designating a software type as headless does not initially define a concrete added value. With Headless Commerce, it's mainly about the software and systems having the necessary interfaces to work together. Whether or not Headless is in front of it is irrelevant. Another term that is frequently used in E-Commerce is Composable Commerce – to German: composable.

If you've been reading carefully up to this point, you might have a suspicion that Composable and Headless Commerce could have something in common. In fact, everything. Composable Commerce is a less widespread term for Headless Commerce, to optimize the customer experience architecture through numerous components, instead of using a single complete system. However, the term "Headless Commerce" has predominated since 2020.

Why is Headless Commerce so prevalent right now?

The reason why Headless Commerce is currently on everyone's lips is incredibly logical, considering the challenges e-commercelers face. Accordingly, for example, the expectations of customers are becoming increasingly diverse and target groups want to be addressed more specifically. At the same time, online shop operators want to be able to make changes quickly.

Since everything is one in traditional shop systems, these are often not implementable so quickly or at all. So the logical consequence is a progression in e-commerce evolution: To split up all components that make up a web shop, connect them via interfaces, and thereby address customers and channels more appropriately and bring flexibility into the company.

What is the difference between traditional e-commerce platforms and headless commerce software?

To bring what was teased in various places in this article to the point: Headless Commerce Software allows collaborations via interfaces absolute flexibility, while previous e-commerce platforms deliver everything from a single source. Normally, the latter is an advantage, if you ask users in other software genres.

But where it comes to making sales, changing the UX at increasingly shorter intervals, and winning customers who all tick differently, it is considered the highest good to be adaptable. Accordingly, the difference between traditional e-commerce platforms and headless commerce software is obvious: The one is rigid and hinders the customer journey, while the other keeps all possibilities open.

How Makaira for Fielmann is already implementing Composable Commerce

Perhaps the most exciting question for you: How does Headless Commerce work in reality? To that end, Philipp Westermeyer recently had the CEO of Fielmann Marc Fielmann as a guest on the OMR Podcast. They both talked, among other things, about the challenge of transferring Fielmann's previous customer-centric philosophy to an Omnichannel experience in order to lead the famous glasses company into the digital future. Marc Fielmann explains how they implemented their Composable Commerce approach with the help of Makaira.

Makaira: One of the pioneering software in terms of headless commerce.

Makaira is one of the leading software providers in the headless commerce sector. It is a storefront independent of shop systems that can be played out performantly and thus offers a personalized presentation. Without making changes to the shop system in the backend. Fielmann as well as the Rotkäppchen-Mumm group, Sport Conrad and Stadler, among others, benefit from the architectural approach. The selection suggests that the software solution can be used in a wide variety of industries.

For Makaira the task for Fielmann was to set up different shop fronts. For example, one for contact lenses and one for sunglasses - apart from the main shop. Together with Shopify Plus and SAP backends, Makaira managed to create a first Minimum Viable Product Shop (MVP) within a few weeks. An undertaking that would have taken considerably more time with traditional architecture. And all just because the infrastructure in the background was already in place at Fielmann.

It was merely a matter of adjusting the front end to the needs and purpose of the new shop. A further advantage of Headless Commerce results from the lifespan of the new online shop of Fielmann: On each day that it exists, the shop can be adjusted immediately - oriented towards customer wishes. In this way, Makaira managed to press the start button for Fielmann's journey into the digital future promptly and continues at a high pace.

Fielmann has already started into the digital future of e-commerce together with Makaira.

And if you listen carefully to Marc Fielmann in the podcast, you will quickly realize that the collaboration within the project teams between Makaira and Fielmann was also noteworthy. So it's best to listen to the OMR Podcast Episode #439 if you're interested in details about Composable Commerce, digitization at one of the biggest glasses providers in this country, and the ambitions of the young Fielmann CEO.

What are known Headless Commerce Software?

In accordance with the freshness status of terminology and implementation possibilities, the number of Headless Commerce tools is still manageable. Nevertheless, in addition to Makaira there are already other promising examples from partly well-known names:

SAP Commerce Cloud

In the software landscape, SAP occupies a massive territory, as it has been offering a multitude of tools for years to digitally advance small, medium and large companies. With the Commerce Cloud, SAP also manages to create omnichannel shopping experiences to optimize processes in e-commerce.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud

A solution to better address your different customers via Headless Commerce is also offered by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Their Commerce Cloud focuses on connecting users with buyers. This should greatly improve the omnichannel experience.

You want to know more about Salesforce's services? All tools and helpful articles about the products can be found on our company overview page of Salesforce.

Commercetools

Commercetools carries its added value already in its name: It represents a commerce platform of the next generation - the headless commerce generation, that is. Microservices, APIs and a cloud-based headless architecture are part of Commercetools' program. The German provider has also understood that everything is becoming faster: market trends and customer demands.

Frontastic

The company Frontastic founded in 2017, meanwhile focuses on frontends for the mobile area. Even in this area alone, numerous conditions have to be mastered, which is why it makes sense for a provider to only deal with mobile frontends. In doing so, Frontastic is part of the Commercetools company.

Conclusion on Headless Commerce

Although the implementation of Headless Commerce shops is still in its infancy, we already see pioneers advancing in the form of tools and brands. Without question, the headless approach is also the future in e-commerce, as the demands of customers - especially Generation Z - change ever faster and the channels to reach them become ever more numerous.

People now shop via app, smartwatch, tablet, smartphone, desktop or social media, however, each of these user groups has different ideas of an online shop - not to mention that the displays should also vary due to the omnichannel experience. In order to convince users, companies in e-commerce today need to change direction to prevent losing customers or even sales in the even more "digital" future. With a headless commerce architecture, you get the necessary foundation for this!