In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, the need for businesses to stay agile and adaptive is more crucial than ever. Technology advances, consumer expectations change, and market dynamics shift regularly. As a result, e-commerce businesses often find themselves at a crossroads, deciding whether it’s time to replatform their online store.
Replatforming is the process of migrating from one e-commerce platform to another, typically to take advantage of better functionality, scalability, or user experience. However, replatforming is not a simple task—it requires thoughtful planning, execution, and strategic discovery to ensure a smooth transition and long-term success.
At 247 Commerce, we help businesses navigate the complexities of replatforming, ensuring that they unlock the full potential of their e-commerce strategy. In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of replatforming and how discovery—the research phase that underpins this process—can help your business thrive in the competitive e-commerce landscape.
What is Replatforming in E-Commerce?
Replatforming is the act of moving your e-commerce store from one platform to another. Whether you’re shifting from a legacy system to a modern platform, or simply upgrading to a more advanced e-commerce solution, replatforming can unlock a host of benefits. It allows businesses to access newer technologies, improve user experiences, and streamline operations to stay competitive.
Replatforming can be driven by several factors:
- Performance Issues: If your current platform is slow, outdated, or prone to technical issues, it can negatively impact customer experience and sales.
- Scalability: As your business grows, your platform needs to be able to scale accordingly. If your existing system can’t handle increased traffic or expanded product offerings, replatforming might be the right solution.
- Integration Needs: Modern e-commerce platforms offer better integration with third-party applications like CRM systems, marketing tools, or payment gateways. Replatforming allows you to take advantage of these integrations for better efficiency and automation.
- Improved User Experience: An outdated platform may not offer the functionality or design features necessary to meet today’s customer expectations. Replatforming provides the opportunity to refresh your design and improve the shopping experience.
While replatforming can offer substantial benefits, it’s important to approach the process strategically to avoid common pitfalls and disruptions.
The Role of Discovery in the Replatforming Process
Discovery is the first and arguably the most important phase in the replatforming process. It involves gathering information, defining goals, and understanding the specific needs of your business. This phase sets the foundation for the entire project and ensures that the new platform will align with your long-term business objectives.
Here’s how the discovery phase plays a critical role in replatforming:
- Understanding Business Objectives and Pain Points
- Why Replatform? The first step in discovery is to clearly identify why you need to replatform. This could be driven by technical limitations, business growth, or changing customer needs. Understanding the specific pain points of your current platform will help you prioritise the features and functionality needed in the new platform.
- Future-Proofing: Discovery also helps you future-proof your e-commerce site by considering future business growth, scalability, and evolving customer expectations. You should consider factors like mobile-first design, omnichannel capabilities, and support for new technologies (such as artificial intelligence and machine learning).
- Customer and User Experience Research
- Customer Journey Mapping: During discovery, it’s essential to map the customer journey and identify any friction points or pain areas. A good replatforming strategy should prioritise improving user experience, ensuring smooth navigation, fast load times, and easy checkout processes.
- User Testing: User testing during the discovery phase helps identify usability issues in the current platform and provides valuable insights into the features that matter most to customers. This could include everything from product discovery, product filtering, to the checkout process.
- Technology Assessment and Integration Needs
- Current Tech Stack Review: A critical component of discovery is understanding your current technology stack and its limitations. This helps in identifying what needs to be integrated with the new platform and which tools and software you rely on.
- Third-Party Integrations: Modern e-commerce solutions offer extensive integration capabilities with CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, payment gateways, and analytics tools. The discovery phase should address which integrations are essential for your business to ensure a seamless migration.
- Budget and Resource Planning
- Cost Consideration: Replatforming can be a significant investment, so it’s essential to define the budget during the discovery phase. This includes not only the cost of the new platform but also implementation, training, and maintenance.
- Resource Allocation: Discovery also involves assessing internal resources, such as your development, design, and marketing teams. Proper allocation of resources ensures that your team is equipped to handle the transition, training, and eventual upkeep of the new platform.
- Feature Prioritisation
- Must-Have Features: Based on the insights gathered from customer research and business needs, discovery helps prioritise the features that the new platform must have. These could include:
- Advanced Search and Filtering: To help customers find products quickly and easily.
- Mobile Optimisation: Ensuring the site is mobile-responsive for an improved shopping experience across devices.
- Customisation: Tools that allow you to customise product pages, promotions, and content for specific customer segments.
- Multi-Currency and Multi-Language Support: For businesses that plan to expand internationally.
- Growth-Focused Capabilities: Discovery should also focus on identifying features that will support your business growth in the long term, such as integrations with ERP systems, analytics tools, and automated marketing platforms.
- Must-Have Features: Based on the insights gathered from customer research and business needs, discovery helps prioritise the features that the new platform must have. These could include:
- Security and Compliance Considerations
- Data Security: Replatforming also involves ensuring that your new e-commerce platform complies with the latest security standards and regulations. This includes data protection laws like GDPR and PCI compliance for payment processing.
- System Reliability: Discovery should address the security and reliability of the platform, ensuring that it can handle your transaction volume without compromising customer data.
Key Benefits of Replatforming with Discovery
Replatforming, when executed properly with thorough discovery, can bring several benefits to your e-commerce business:
- Improved Performance and Speed: A modern platform built for speed can drastically reduce page load times, improving customer satisfaction and reducing bounce rates.
- Better Scalability: Replatforming enables you to choose a platform that can grow with your business, supporting increasing traffic, inventory, and customers.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: With user-focused design, customisation options, and improved functionality, replatforming allows you to deliver a better shopping experience that leads to higher conversion rates and customer loyalty.
- Increased Efficiency and Automation: Modern e-commerce platforms integrate with third-party systems and offer automation tools, streamlining operations and reducing manual work for your team.
- Adaptability for Future Trends: A new platform provides the flexibility to implement new technologies like artificial intelligence, chatbots, or augmented reality, ensuring your store stays competitive in the long run.
How 247 Commerce Can Help with Replatforming and Discovery
At 247 Commerce, we understand that replatforming is a critical decision for your business, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Our expert team works with you to guide you through the discovery phase, ensuring that we understand your goals, technical requirements, and growth potential before recommending a new platform.
Our replatforming services include:
- In-Depth Discovery and Strategy: We work closely with your team to identify the right solution that aligns with your business objectives.
- Seamless Migration: We help ensure a smooth migration to your new platform, minimising downtime and disruptions to your business.
Post-Replatforming Support: After replatforming, we provide ongoing support to ensure the platform meets your needs and delivers the expected results.
