E-commerce merchants are balancing a number of issues with respect to their platform decisions as they look to the future. In the next year, many 3 and 4 year platform contracts will expire so there are many e-commerce merchants across different industries that will be looking to replatform in the next year. Keep in mind that the average eCommerce replatform for a merchant doing at least a few million in revenue can take a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of up to a year depending upon their setup, the number of integrations they have, the number of storefronts and the complexity of the business. Merchants have a lot to consider if they want to make a switch and sometimes the incumbent platform has an advantage.
Here is what we are hearing from merchants and platform partners in terms of the pressures to switch or not – summarized below.
Shopify
Reasons to Switch:
- Sense of outgrowing it with large, complex catalog
- High app costs needed to meet functional needs
- Acquisition-heavy merchant needs new storefronts a multi store architecture
- B2B requirements emerging that Shopify can’t accommodate easily
- Functional requirements that are not supported by Shopify app ecosystem
Reasons to Stick:
- Shopify adding some functionality that covers the growing needs (B2B pricing, subscription service)
- Business, operation, and product catalog are quite simple
Likely Replacement Candidates:
- BigCommerce
- Magento CE
BigCommerce
Reasons to Switch:
- An acquiring company demands integration with different platform
- Unique custom requirements
- Business is simplifying to simple catalog or single product interface
Reasons to Stick:
- Switching costs don’t make sense
- There are other ways to solve the business integration problem
Likely Replacement Candidates:
- SAP Hybris
- Adobe Commerce
- Custom
Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Reasons to Switch:
- TCO concerns
- Interested in B2B functionality that is not supported by the platform
- Platform flexibility
Reasons to Stick:
- Salesforce CRM and an integrated stack focus / integrations into Salesforce CRM
Likely Replacement Candidates:
- Adobe Commerce
- BigCommerce
- Magento CE
SAP Hybris
Reasons to Switch:
- TCO concerns
- Not being leveraged by all SBU’s of a large enterprise
Reasons to Stick:
- Switching costs
- SAP-centric integrations
Likely Replacement Candidates:
- Adobe Commerce
- BigCommerce
WooCommerce
Reasons to Switch:
- Lack of compatibility with B2B or unified commerce model
- Latent fear of WordPress / Woo due to past security concerns
- Headless architecture strategy that makes sense
Reasons to Stick:
- Low cost
- Simplifying the business
Likely Replacement Candidates:
- Headless
- BigCommerce
Though most of these reasons to switch or stick are formed through platform marketing efforts; many of the reasons are indeed valid, but some are not. It’s important to have a certified solution partner with deep experience working with the platforms you are considering. If you would like some assistance working through a platform evaluation please Contact Us and we’d be happy to help you sort through the sometimes-confusing options. Wasserman Digital is a certified solution partner of Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify.
In the meantime feel free to try our Platform Selector Wizard!
