In the world of ecommerce, technology is supposed to help your brand live on the cutting edge. But brands often find that the technology they choose for their ecommerce functionality falls short of what they want it to do.

Thankfully, headless commerce examples exist that prove you can offer the exceptional, tech-driven experiences that consumers crave, and customize your checkout process.
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What is headless commerce?

The term "headless commerce" refers to a separation of the "frontend" and the "backend" of any ecommerce application or platform. The frontend is the part of the application that the customers experience and interact with. The backend is the technology that it all rests on — the IT component that makes things like subscriptions, customer service portals, and other key elements function.

What are the advantages of headless commerce?

Let’s take a closer look at why headless commerce is so appealing.

Provides omnichannel functionality

To be successful in the fast-paced modern era that we're living in, you need to meet the customers where they are — not where you hope they'll be. Naturally, this is difficult because customers are everywhere, which is why omnichannel experiences are so crucial.

With headless commerce, you can bring all touch points with customers together using APIs. You can connect your website, social media, mobile apps, and more via a single backend solution.

Enables one-click upsells

Did you know one-click upsells can increase revenue by 12% or more? Headless commerce lets you make post-purchase offers for products that are similar to what’s already in a customer’s cart and increase your average order value. 

Lets you choose your frontend tech

Another advantage that headless commerce offers is that you can keep the frontend technology you prefer. 

Case in point: Let's say that you have a website that you're happy with that was created using Drupal, but it has no ecommerce capability, and you’re ready to launch an online store. Instead of rebuilding your site from scratch, you can connect backend checkout technology with your frontend. 
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Gives you loads of flexibility

If you had to sum up all the benefits of headless commerce in a single word, "flexibility" would be it. Think of it like building a house — once that foundation is in place, you can build whatever you want on top of it.

With headless commerce, you have the ability to choose separate technologies for your storefront — cart abandonment plugins, custom product search fields, and branded password reset functionality, for example. 
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7 headless commerce examples

Here’s how brands large and small are getting results with headless commerce.

[fs-toc-omit] Target

Sensing that people were starting their buying journey on one device and finishing it on a separate one, Target utilized headless commerce to unify this experience. The retail giant now offers a consistent, seamless experience across a variety of devices, thus playing to the experience customers want.

[fs-toc-omit] Overstock

Online retailer Overstock adopted a headless solution to improve page load times and optimize the checkout experience. Overstock also fine-tuned its mobile app and saw an increase in the number of people who downloaded itand used it to make purchases.

[fs-toc-omit] Staples

Staples leveraged headless commerce to simplify the management of its product catalog, which required regular updates based on promotions and stock levels. Going headless also made it easy for customers to log into their accounts and reorder items, as well as search for items by specific categories.

[fs-toc-omit] Samsung

Samsung used headless commerce by offering a secure, one-way, video-based solution where people could purchase products, see demonstrations, get assistance for purchases, and more. The same platform is available both in-store and online, and it offers a personalized experience.
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[fs-toc-omit] Nike

Nike has made an impression in the world of headless commerce with its mobile-first approach and custom app. The user experience emphasizes CTAs, visuals, and other compelling elements that are easy to interact with on smartphone and tablet screens.
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[fs-toc-omit] Lilly Pulitzer

Apparel brand Lilly Pulitzer wanted to optimize its shopping experience for mobile, which accounts for the bulk of its site traffic. The brand switched to a headless setup, using a progressive web app (PWA) on the frontend to guarantee a seamless user experience across any mobile device and desktop.
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[fs-toc-omit] LARQ‍

LARQ, a company that sells self-purifying water bottles, needed an ecommerce platform that allowed them to scale quickly, and they leaned into headless commerce in order to do that. After implementing a headless system, LARQ was able to offer multi-currency shopping and country-specific microsites on a single domain.
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Ready to try headless commerce?

If headless commerce sounds like what your brand has been missing, we're here to help. You don't have to be an IT expert to try Rally. All you have to do is sign up — and you're ready to start leveraging headless commerce to your advantage!

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