With ecommerce sales on track to reach $6.3 trillion by 2024, it’s a productive time for online retailers.
Consumers are doing more and more of their shopping online, and ecommerce brands have a huge opportunity to capitalize on the recent shift in buying habits.
Although many online retailers no longer have to worry about staffing a brick-and-mortar location, the ecommerce space has its own set of challenges. For one thing, every independent retailer competes with big retailers like Amazon who are able to pump billions into research and development, technology, and innovations to elevate their online shopping experience.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) must deliver a comparable experience and improve their websites to attract customers and encourage them to spend.
Replatforming is one of the best investments you can make to improve your online business. But before you move forward, you’ll need to get to know the ins and outs of replatforming, and why Commerce-as-a-Service (CaaS) is the best long-term approach to ecommerce.
What is Replatforming?
Replatforming is the process of moving to a new ecommerce platform.
Over the years, you’ve (hopefully) installed updates and new apps to improve your website. Unfortunately, stringing together various apps and installing updates on an old or entry-level platform can slow down your store and create new problems.
Instead, you can move your storefront to a totally new ecommerce platform provider that features elevated capabilities and technology to improve customer experience and lower operational expenses. It’s the difference between driving an old car and making constant visits to the auto shop to replace old parts versus investing in a brand-new model; for many brands, replatforming is not only long overdue, it’s also essential to stay competitive.
Small SMB platforms often lack the comprehensive, enterprise capabilities that brands require once they have grown to at least $1 million in annual revenue. Traditionally, when an SMB reaches $1 million or more in annual revenue, they invest in expensive enterprise SaaS solutions. However, many growing brands may not have the budget to spend millions on replatforming or wait for 1-2 years to complete a migration.
Take Advantage of Nogin’s Ecommerce Technology
Nogin’s Commerce-as-a-Service (CaaS) approach streamlines the often lengthy and costly replatforming process. As the most practical and profitable solution for expanding ecommerce brands, our platform enables migration within 1-3 months, a stark contrast to the year-long transition typical of traditional enterprise solutions. Additionally, integrating Gen Z consumer engagement strategies into your replatforming efforts can help attract and retain younger audiences, further boosting your brand’s growth.
With our headless enterprise technology, which outperforms legacy enterprise platforms, you’ll gain access to advanced functionality that can take your business to the next level. You’ll enjoy the simplicity, flexibility, and apps of Shopify Plus, along with additional super modules that will instantly transform your brand.
Plug into Intelligent Commerce and let our team and smart tech work their magic. Our omnichannel solution connects all the working parts of your ecommerce business, lowering operating costs and maximizing efficiency across your brand. You’ll have a total technology solution that optimizes all areas of your business to convert more customers at lower acquisition costs.
Best of all, with Nogin, you’ll never have to worry about replatforming again. We constantly deploy new innovations and improvements across all our clients, keeping you ahead of the competition and your storefront performing at the highest level.
If you choose to stick with an outdated system, your customers will start shopping on better ecommerce marketplaces.
Nogin helps you retain and attract customers, even amidst the high-stakes competition of today’s ecommerce landscape. We make it simple, fast and affordable for brands to replatform. Access the best-in-class plugins, technology and experts you’ll need to maximize scalable growth while doing what you do best.
What are the Benefits of Replatforming?
There are many advantages to replatforming your ecommerce store and some of the top advantages include:
- Customization: Traditional ecommerce platforms for SMBs are rigid, and brands are forced to use store apps and templates to build their stores. Meanwhile, our commerce platform offers enterprise-level capabilities and tech with the flexibility to design the ecommerce experience you want to display to your visitors. Deliver personalized experiences by customizing your UX and UI to align with your brand’s ideal vision. Create captivating shopping journeys that are sustainable for repeat transactions through loyalty programs, wish lists, subscriptions and more.
- Speed: Old platforms and apps can develop issues over time that slow down your website. Replatforming with Nogin will improve page load speeds to prevent shoppers from leaving due to long wait times.
- Improved Shopping Experience: The latest enterprise-level platforms have superior cataloging, merchandising, search functionality and UI to deliver elevated shopping experiences.
- Checkout: Integrate payment systems that convert users. Many legacy platforms are restrictive of checkout capabilities and options. The latest ecommerce platforms deliver seamless checkout experiences that improve conversion rates.
- Scalability: Replatforming will allow your brand to capitalize on the busy holiday season. Older platforms may crash when there are large surges in traffic due to big retail events like Black Friday, costing your business lost revenue and negatively impacting your reputation. Shoppers will enjoy a superior shopping experience even during the busiest times of the year.
- Integrations: Replatforming on our CaaS platform will unify your ecommerce channels and remove fractured inefficiencies between your systems. Connect your order management system (OMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management system (WMS), content management system (CMS), third-party logistics (3PL) systems, APIs and other channels, so all data is collected and analyzed under one platform.
- Omnichannel: Today’s shopping experience is varied, to say the least. Customers can browse and purchase products from desktop, tablet and mobile devices from a variety of channels, including blogs, websites, social media platforms and messaging apps. Replatforming on our CaaS platform allows customers maximum convenience and efficiency. We track all user activity, and visitors can continue shopping where they left off on other devices. This not only improves your conversion funnel, but you’ll have clear visibility over your customer journeys.
Use Your Nogin and Take the Headache Out of Ecommerce
When it comes to competing in today’s ecommerce market, brands have three options:
- Stay on your legacy ecommerce platform and run around trying to find and fix apps while manually patching up gaps in your ecommerce operations. Drain your budget on marketing and SaaS that’s expensive without much return.
- Replatform on an enterprise ecommerce platform that will cost millions of dollars and take years to complete. Hire new ecommerce experts and retrain your team to get up to speed— hopefully you can make your money back on this costly-but-necessary investment.
- Plug into Intelligent Commerce that requires no upfront fees and access the full-stack capabilities you’ll need to compete with big retailers. Never worry about replatforming again! Obtain the enterprise SaaS, tech, and team you’ll need to create the ideal ecommerce experience you want for your customers. Consolidate your entire operations under a unified and integrated ecommerce solution with research and development built-in. Gain all the capabilities of a $5 million enterprise deployment in a single platform without ongoing system integrator or monthly agency fees.
For brand leaders who need to deliver superior growth with predictable costs and an exceptional online experience, our headless enterprise technology plugs into Shopify Plus, supercharging it with market-leading functionality that outperforms against legacy enterprise platforms. Designed to optimize the entire ecommerce operation, Nogin frees you to focus on your brand while running as much or as little of the infrastructure as you choose.
Consumers will compare your user experience against Amazon, Apple and big retail. Give an experience far beyond your size with enterprise-class ecommerce infrastructure, continuous technology innovation, extensive integrations, expert services and high-volume shipping discounts negotiated across our customer base.
Learn more about the research and data behind a CaaS business model and download the Coresight Research Reports below:
- Part One: Evolving State of Ecommerce
- Part Two: Solving Profitability Issues in Ecommerce
- Part Three: Optimizing Ecommerce Infrastructure
Ecommerce Replatforming FAQ
What is ecommerce replatforming?
Ecommerce replatforming is the process of moving your online store from one ecommerce platform to another. This switch typically aims to enhance the store’s capabilities, improve performance, and offer a better shopping experience for customers.
What are the benefits of replatforming?
Replatforming offers numerous benefits including improved site speed, enhanced user experience, better scalability, superior checkout systems, advanced customization options, and seamless integrations. It also helps in reducing operational inefficiencies and can significantly boost overall performance and customer satisfaction.
How should you approach replatforming?
Approach replatforming by first assessing your current platform’s limitations and identifying your new platform’s required features. Plan the migration carefully by considering data transfer, user experience, SEO implications, and staff training. Working with experienced professionals or a replatforming service can ensure a smooth transition.
What is the difference between replatform and rewrite?
Replatforming involves moving an existing ecommerce site to a new platform with minimal changes to the core functionalities. Rewriting, on the other hand, involves building a new ecommerce system from scratch, which can be more time-consuming and complex.
What are the two types of ecommerce platforms?
The two main types of ecommerce platforms are:
- Hosted Platforms: These platforms are fully managed by the provider, including hosting, maintenance, and security (e.g., Shopify, BigCommerce).
- Self-Hosted Platforms: These require the business to manage the hosting, maintenance, and security themselves (e.g., Magento, WooCommerce).
How do I replatform a ecommerce website?
To replatform a website, follow these steps:
- Assess Needs: Determine the shortcomings of your current platform and the features you need.
- Choose a New Platform: Select an ecommerce platform that meets your business requirements.
- Plan the Migration: Outline a detailed plan for data migration, including product information, customer data, and order history.
- Design and Development: Customize the new platform to match your brand and improve user experience.
- Testing: Rigorously test the new site to ensure functionality, speed, and compatibility.
- Launch: Go live with the new platform, making sure to monitor closely for any issues.
- Post-Launch Support: Provide ongoing support and make necessary adjustments based on user feedback.
