3 tips on how smart integrations truly improve the customer experience

By Lars Rezelman, e-commerce architect

The world of e-commerce has changed. With the rise of Composable Commerce, the traditional, bulky e-commerce landscape has been split into an ecosystem of specialized applications. Think of separate systems for your product information (PIM), content (CMS), search functionality, and payments (PSP). Each of these applications is the best in its field and, more importantly, they are built to work together excellently.

If, in theory, everything is possible, what does that mean in practice? Where are the opportunities for your brand to distinguish itself and offer the customer a unique experience in the front-end? I will take you through three concrete examples that show how a smart architecture can make a difference.

1. Make all content searchable: Think beyond the product

Standardly, a visitor can search for product information such as name, brand, or item number. But what if you make that search function much more powerful? By also adding landing pages, blog articles, customer service information, and even store details to your search application, you create one central place for all your customer's questions.

A great example is Bike Totaal. There, a visitor can not only find bicycles via the central search bar but also directly search through all customer service articles and blogs. Even the store locator, to find a store nearby, is integrated into the search experience.

We can even go a step further. What if all FAQ questions and answers are in the search index? Then you can add a specific search bar within the customer service environment that directly provides the correct answer. The next logical step is to make this wealth of information accessible to an AI agent. This agent can then, based on existing and approved content, answer customer questions specifically and automatically. This helps the customer faster and reduces the pressure on your customer service.

2. Pay remotely: Connect online and offline service

Customer loyalty is essential. At Essentiel Antwerp, they understand this. Customers regularly call a physical store to reserve that beautiful dress and have it sent to them. But how do you arrange payment simply and securely?

The solution is a smart, seamless integration. The store employee fills out a simple form on the webshop, after which the customer immediately receives an email with a payment link from the Payment Service Provider (PSP). As soon as the payment is completed, both the customer and the store receive a confirmation. The dress can be sent immediately.

This is a wonderful example of how a webshop, Content Management System (CMS), PSP, and E-mail Service Provider (ESP) come together, orchestrated by a service bus. The best part is: this is possible by working with the right, standardized components, without expensive custom development.

3. Get a grip on your most important API calls: From reactive to proactive

As an e-commerce architect, it is crucial to ensure robust and stable integrations. A glitch in data exchange directly leads to a poor customer experience. By using a service bus or a central API layer, we have ensured more control and stability for multiple clients.

Imagine: the real-time stock check in the shopping cart does not take into account transfer orders (stock in transit between branches). The API of the back-end system simply does not support this. This leads to shortages and disappointed customers. Instead of a complex adjustment in the back-end, we can add this logic to the service bus. The service bus corrects the data before it is sent to the front-end, so that the customer does see the correct information.

Our advice is therefore: let the most important real-time API calls (such as stock checks, customer registrations, or submitting a form) run through this central layer. Log all calls and set up alerts for error messages. As an application administrator or product owner, you thus have direct insight into the most critical processes. When a customer makes a typo in an email address or uploads an image in the wrong format, you can proactively signal and solve this. Even before the customer finds out themselves and contacts customer service. That is a superior customer experience.

When you ensure the right set of components in your e-commerce landscape, you can do so much more than just standard product and order integrations. It shows that a well-thought-out architecture in the back-end is the key to success.

With a relatively small effort in the right place in your architecture, you can increasingly easily and quickly make a difference in the front-end. This way, you not only build a webshop but a customer experience that lasts.

Do you also want to take the step towards a better customer experience? Are you curious about where the opportunities lie in your e-commerce landscape? Feel free to contact us.