[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/09\/29\/headless-architecture-e-commerce\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/09\/29\/headless-architecture-e-commerce\/","headline":"The future is headless: e-commerce gets a new architecture","name":"The future is headless: e-commerce gets a new architecture","description":"Unlock your organization\u2019s own digital agility, enable better scalability, performance, and speed with headless commerce.","datePublished":"2021-09-29","dateModified":"2025-04-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ben-sekhon\/#Person","name":"Ben Sekhon","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ben-sekhon\/","identifier":573,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/487a89b48c5223b9e3dce1fa9223a55b72a150cc966ca25c39965bebcb7514d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/487a89b48c5223b9e3dce1fa9223a55b72a150cc966ca25c39965bebcb7514d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/headless-commerce-3Q_1200x375.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/headless-commerce-3Q_1200x375.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/09\/29\/headless-architecture-e-commerce\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sap-customer-experience-live\/commerce-live\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},"Commerce Cloud",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/e-commerce\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/e-commerce-solution\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/e-commerce-solution\/headless-commerce\/","name":"Headless commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Headless_commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q106254305"]},"SAP CX Product Solutions"],"wordCount":726,"keywords":["API","Headless Commerce","JavaScript"],"articleBody":"Aristotle said the human body is at its best at age 30. The same can now be said for e-commerce, which turned 30 this year, and celebrated the milestone with a new headless architecture.If you\u2019re not already familiar with the term \u2018headless commerce,\u2019 it\u2019s essentially the separation of the front and back end of an e-commerce application.Because the front and back-end function independently, headless commerce gives merchants the freedom to customize their online storefronts with much more agility and flexibility \u2013 without having the changes or maintenance headaches at the back end.This has huge implications for customer experience, allowing businesses to quickly adopt new technology touchpoints, shape the buying journey, and interact with innovative digital experiences and personalization features, as well as potential for experimentation and testing.The traditional \u2018full stack\u2019 approach to web stores (where front and back-end systems were closely connected) made sense for its time, as e-commerce sites were only focused on one experience \u2013 the desktop.Today, these same sites must tailor customer experiences across all available digital channels, while keeping the overall buying experience consistent across the brand (think 1-click checkouts or message-based sales channels to become more plug-and-play). A study by Google revealed consumers are 40% more likely to spend more than planned when experiences are highly personalized, so there’s never been a better time to go headless.      What is headless commerce: Definition, benefits, examples, history                Customers tell brands what they want via actions, social media, and surveys \u2013 learn how headless commerce provides the flexibility and freedom they desire.      Headless architecture: When and how to go headlessBut how do you know when the time is right to take your e-commerce site headless?There are two key scenarios to bear in mind:First, if your company is already using or planning on using multiple channels to connect with customers.Second, if you\u2019re looking for your commerce platform to focus on the user experience rather than just bare transactions.If either of these scenarios apply to your organization, then headless commerce is definitely worth a closer look.The key, of course, is how to go about the move to headless architecture – and now that choice is easier for you.SAP Spartacus\u00a0is a free, open-source JavaScript web application that allows you to quickly create your own branded storefront for\u00a0SAP Commerce Cloud.Developed under an open-source license, users can utilize Spartacus without any cost. It\u2019s 100% API-driven and runs in a headless fashion, and you\u2019re free to extend the libraries that come with Spartacus to include your own customizations.Many SAP customers have been ahead of the game by using headless commerce since 2012 – in fact, almost half our customers are using us in a headless way. The arrival of Spartacus and the growing importance of user experience are now driving even greater adoption and seeing fantastic results.If you\u2019d like to see for yourself what a real-world headless e-commerce implementation looks like, The Body Shop is a great example. The company was one of the earliest adopters of Spartacus and are now utilizing headless commerce solutions\u00a0to support demand for its strategic omnichannel strategy. Adam Plummer, Digital Product Director of The Body Shop features in our upcoming\u00a0webinar, where he takes you through the drivers and background for moving to headless commerce, insights into the digital journey, the rationale around the company\u2019s technology choices, lessons learned, and benefits gained.Thanks to the ever-expanding gap between front-end and back-end technologies, more and more storefronts are now adopting the headless commerce approach.By replacing the old practice of packaging a commerce solution with a fully integrated storefront, a headless commerce solution becomes a set of back-end services, which can be used by any front-end solution. This enables you to innovate with your storefront UI independent of your back-end system and applications offering the best customer experience.Separating development cycles between the commerce engine and storefront also makes it possible to react quickly to market changes and help reduce time to market around enhancements and features. This is critical in an ever-changing economy.If you\u2019re looking to unlock your organization\u2019s own digital agility, enable better scalability, performance and speed, then headless is the way to go.  What happens in Vegas …\u00a0creates connections + drives results.Join hundreds of customer experience experts at CX Connect Oct. 6-8. Register\u00a0HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"29","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/09\/\/29\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The future is headless: e-commerce gets a new architecture","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/09\/29\/headless-architecture-e-commerce\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]