The Top 3 Headless eCommerce Platforms to Consider
Headless is becoming the standard for eCommerce. With significant funding (over $1.65 billion in 2020-21 alone) and major brands adopting this approach, it's clear that Headless is here to stay.
Going Headless offers more customization, true omnichannel capabilities, broader integration options, and improved scalability. It's no wonder brands are embracing this approach.
Now, let's take a look at five top Headless eCommerce platforms.
Commerce Layer
Commerce Layer is a versatile commerce API designed for fast-growing businesses, from small DTC brands to international giants. Its flexibility makes it stand out. With Commerce Layer, you can easily integrate eCommerce features into your mobile app, set up subscriptions, or handle multi-vendor orders.
The platform supports modern development workflows like Jamstack and offers a wide range of resources, with over 400 API endpoints, providing endless possibilities.
Brands like Chilly's Bottles and SumUp have already seen significant benefits from using Commerce Layer. Chilly's Bottles saw a 24% increase in mobile conversion rates and a 41% decrease in checkout abandonment after migrating to the platform. SumUp expanded into over 35 new markets within a year, with seamless global business operations.
Shopify
Shopify, a well-known platform, offers Headless functionality through its Storefront API, using GraphQL. While Shopify is monolithic, it excels in payment processing, inventory management, and PCI compliance, with a growing ecosystem. With Headless, stores can keep their powerful backend and gain frontend flexibility, a great choice for existing Shopify users seeking Headless benefits.
Shopify Plus prioritizes speed and easy deployment. Brands can quickly build Headless storefronts using Hydrogen, Shopify's React-based framework. These storefronts can be deployed and scaled for free using Oxygen, Plus's global hosting solution.
Many household brands, including DTC sneaker brand Allbirds and artist-led brand Denim Tears, have adopted Headless with Shopify Plus. Allbirds built a new store locator to promote awareness of their physical stores to online customers, while Denim Tears created a media-rich site with interactive features using the Hydrogen framework.
CommerceTools
Billed as the world's leading commerce platform built on modern MACH principles (Microservice-based, API-first, Cloud-native and Headless), it has recently been recognised as a Leader for the third year running in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™. It comes at a cost though, both in terms of fees and the resource required to work with it.
CommerceTools is truly cloud-native (a comparatively rare accolade in the space). This means that the ability to scale is effectively infinite, while managed infrastructure provides reliability and the flexibility to support a lower total cost of ownership.
Brands using this tech include Audi (which has, amongst other things, used Headless architecture to enable its customers to buy and activate new functions in their car via the myAudi app), Emma mattresses and John Lewis. You’re in good company here.
The "best" Headless eCommerce platform ultimately depends on your business's specific requirements.
As Headless gains momentum, platforms are enhancing their offerings, leading to significant improvements for brands. It's estimated that brands adopting this approach experience an average conversion rate increase of 15–30%. So, now is an ideal time to consider going Headless.
