The future of commerce is digital. To remain competitive, systems and platforms must now perform better than ever. The concept of "Total Experience," which integrates customer, employee and business experiences, is increasingly becoming essential.
Structural change in Online Commerce
Online commerce is experiencing a profound transformation. According to the latest Lünendonk study, only 13% of companies are digitally well-prepared. As businesses shift towards new technological and strategic directions, it is crucial to consider long-term solutions. Rising customer expectations in "Everywhere Commerce" are met with challenges in data management and new legal requirements, such as the Accessibility Act, effective from 2025.
In our whitepaper on Digital Accessibility, we summarize all the new regulations and offer concrete action recommendations, including various code snippets, such as for accessible navigation.
A study by Alvarez & Marsal demonstrates that advancing digitalization significantly impacts business success — and this applies not only to B2C but also to B2B companies. They must be present wherever their target audience is, consistently and across all phases of the customer journey. With 70% of transactions failing between initial contact and final purchase, there is a clear need for improvement.
Common mistakes in Digital Commerce
Why is the drop-off rate so high? Here are some of the key pitfalls:
Lack of understanding customer needs: A comprehensive 360-degree view of the target audience is often missing.
Inadequate data management: Data is collected and analyzed in a decentralized and insufficient manner.
Multiple data silos: The absence of a unified platform creates fragmentation.
Poor prioritization: Strategy, organization, and technology are frequently misaligned.
Professional data management
The prevailing silo mentality hinders the connection and alignment of internal structures and processes. A customer-focused digital strategy is therefore critical for success. The objective is to engage customers holistically and personally through new digital approaches, processes, services, and offerings. As the volume of data grows exponentially, professional data management becomes increasingly vital.
Integration of existing systems
Closely tied to effective data management is the integration of existing processes and systems into the company’s IT infrastructure. A digital journey rarely starts from scratch. The goal is to find a balanced intersection between customer expectations, employee needs and business objectives. Systems should grow incrementally, ideally following the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach, which begins with essential core functions and gradually expands.
Discover the role that strategic change management plays in digital transformation here.
Accessibility by 2025
An important factor in adaptability is the ability to incorporate regulatory changes into existing systems with minimal disruption. A significant change for many industries will be the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG), which mandates accessible services, including all online commerce, starting in June 2025. New digital solutions should account for this. More information can be found here.
The four pillars of a successful Digital Commerce platform
A successful digital commerce platform is built on four pillars:
Customers with all their needs and channels
Centralized data management
Scalable system integration
A service-oriented organization
Siloed solutions within individual departments or functional areas should be a thing of the past. Instead, a technical solution must be implemented across all channels and systems.
Perspective
The key to success lies primarily within the company itself and is a matter of mindset. A good IT service provider can offer support, but the necessity of continuous digital transformation must be recognized and driven by leadership.
We would be happy to evaluate your individual opportunities to strategically and technologically benefit from the digital transformation.
