Composable commerce: Flexibility meets reality

In recent years, composable commerce has become one of the most talked-about trends in retail technology. Promising modularity, agility and future-proof architecture, it offers businesses an alternative to traditional all-in-one platforms. But behind the buzzwords lies a more complex reality…

Understanding the solution

Composable commerce is the architectural approach of building an ecommerce platform from multiple modular components – such as content management systems (CMS), product information management (PIM), search, checkout and payments – typically connected through APIs. These components may come from different vendors and are chosen for their best-in-class capabilities.

This model evolved as a response to the limitations of traditional monolithic platforms. Early ecommerce sites were often custom-built or based on platforms like Magento or Demandware, which provided all-in-one functionality. While these solutions worked well initially, businesses found that extensive customisation over time led to complex, fragile codebases. Making changes – whether launching in a new region, adapting to different languages, or upgrading core features – became increasingly difficult.

Composable commerce solves this by enabling organisations to select, replace, and evolve individual systems without having to re-engineer an entire platform. In theory, businesses can unplug one component and plug in another, enabling flexibility and long-term adaptability.

The reality of implementation

While the composable approach is attractive on paper, implementation comes with significant challenges – particularly for mid-sized or smaller organisations. Composable commerce is often championed by engineers who appreciate the modular, API-driven nature of the setup. However, the operational and financial implications can be substantial.

Each system must be integrated, maintained and coordinated. For example, launching in a new market may require changes across the CMS, frontend, PIM, payment options and search systems. Instead of simplifying operations, composable setups can introduce new coordination overheads.

The financial picture is equally important. For smaller retailers – say, a £100 million business operating on a 5% profit margin – a £10 million implementation followed by £5 million in ongoing technical costs could easily erase annual profits. In some cases, organisations have ended up with highly capable platforms that are simply too expensive to operate.

The myths about swapping systems

One of the key promises of composable commerce is the ability to swap out underperforming components. However, in practice, this is rarely straightforward. Businesses often sign multi-year contracts with vendors in exchange for preferential pricing, which makes rapid changes difficult.

Even when contracts align, switching systems involves more than code. It requires changes to middleware, data formats, staff retraining and reconfiguration of downstream systems. What might seem like a few weeks of development often turns into a full-scale project with significant business change implications.

The rise of hybrid and suite-based solutions

In recent years, some retailers have moved back towards more integrated or hybrid approaches. These shifts are typically driven by cost considerations and by the growing maturity of suite-based platforms.

Modern platforms like Shopify offer significant out-of-the-box capabilities and APIs for extension. They allow businesses to customise features without straying from the core upgrade path – something legacy platforms struggled with. This hybrid approach strikes a balance between flexibility and manageability, especially for small and mid-sized retailers.

In many cases, businesses realise they don’t need full composability to support their operating model. As suite platforms improve and API extensibility becomes more common, the need to go fully composable has become less urgent for certain segments of the market.

The role of team maturity

Composable commerce introduces engineering complexity that requires high operational maturity. With many interconnected systems, even small outages can have compounding effects. For example, a single system with 99% uptime results in three to four days of downtime a year. Multiply that across 10 systems and the risk of customer-facing issues increases dramatically.

To manage this, businesses need near-perfect availability across all services. Techniques like event-driven architecture can help, especially in back-office systems like warehouse integrations. However, in customer-facing components, like checkout or basket functionality, downtime directly impacts revenue and user experience.

Ultimately, success with composable commerce hinges on a highly skilled, mature engineering team. Without this foundation, businesses risk instability and unexpected operational costs.

When to consider composable

Composable commerce is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It requires careful analysis of business requirements, operating models and technical capability.

The decision to go composable should not be based on vendor promises alone. While most platforms can technically support a wide range of use cases, the degree of required customisation is where time, cost and complexity scale up. A deep review of real-world case studies and vendor implementations is essential.

For some businesses, the core product offering is the true differentiator, not the ecommerce platform itself. In those cases, composable commerce may be an unnecessary overhead. Others may simply not have the budget or need for such a flexible infrastructure.

As a rough guide, businesses with £500 million or more in annual revenue – or those with complex international operations – may start to benefit from exploring composable models. Below that threshold, the risks and costs often outweigh the benefits.

Looking ahead

Despite the caveats, composable commerce is likely to gain traction at the enterprise level. As retailers expand their digital presence across web, app, in-store and emerging AI-powered channels, the need for flexible, API-driven systems will grow.

New behaviours, such as customers scanning products in-store via their mobile devices or interacting with AI agents to complete tasks, depend on flexible, interoperable back-end systems. For large businesses, composable commerce enables these experiences without being constrained by a single vendor’s roadmap.

Final thought

Composable commerce represents a powerful shift in ecommerce architecture. When deployed at the right time, by the right business, with the right level of maturity, it offers a path to flexibility, scale and innovation. But for businesses without the resources or need for that flexibility, simpler and more cost-effective solutions may still be the better fit.

Success lies not in following the hype, but in understanding what your business truly needs – now and in the future.

About the author

Dan Knight is Fashion Tech Retail Lead at Mindera.

Are you ready to explore composable commerce? Whether you’re just beginning your journey or need help scaling an existing architecture, let's talk.

Key takeaways

• Composable commerce is the architectural approach of building an ecommerce platform from multiple modular components, typically connected through APIs.
• It enables organisations to select, replace, and evolve individual systems without having to re-engineer an entire platform. This helps overcome the inflexibility and poor scalability of traditional ecommerce sites.
• Composable commerce enables you to swap out underperforming components. But, in practice, businesses often sign multi-year contracts with vendors in exchange for preferential pricing, which makes rapid changes difficult.
• In recent years, some retailers have moved back towards more integrated or hybrid approaches, driven by cost considerations and by the growing maturity of suite-based platforms. This strikes a balance between flexibility and manageability, especially for small and mid-sized retailers.
• Success with composable commerce hinges on a highly skilled, mature engineering team. Without this foundation, businesses risk instability and unexpected operational costs.
• Composable commerce is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It requires careful analysis of business requirements, operating models and technical capability.
• As a rough guide, businesses with £500 million or more in annual revenue may start to benefit from exploring composable models. Below that threshold, the risks and costs often outweigh the benefits.