With rapid technological advancements, it is crucial for e-commerce businesses to harness the latest tools and innovate themselves to stay ahead. Over time, e-commerce platforms may slow down, lack essential features, and offer limited functionality. Thus, to boost customer experience and operational efficiency, enterprises should migrate to a new platform to ensure business continuity in the long run.
What is e-commerce replatforming?
E-commerce re-platforming is selecting and switching to a new e-commerce platform. Online retailers can migrate to new platforms to improve the functionality, performance, and customer experience of their e-commerce sites.
The warning signs for a platform switch
There are several signs that businesses should migrate to a new e-commerce platform, including:
- Slow website speed and responsiveness - Since 47% of customers expect a website to load in 2 seconds or less, legacy systems, due to their outdated infrastructure and technology, frequently encounter challenges when faced with high levels of web traffic. This inability to efficiently process a large volume of user requests leads to slower website speeds and reduced responsiveness. As a result, customers experience delays in accessing content and completing transactions, which can significantly impact user satisfaction and conversion rates.
- Costly maintenance - Legacy systems often necessitate expensive upgrades and hinder innovation, which is crucial in a competitive e-commerce environment where businesses must constantly adapt to changes. Finding skilled personnel who are knowledgeable about older technologies can be challenging. According to Forrester, nearly 60% of financial services CTOs find their legacy technology stacks too costly and inadequate for modern applications, which highlights the importance of adopting more efficient solutions.
- Poor user experience - Outdated systems with obsolete functionalities cannot support essential business tasks and lack critical features, ultimately leading to lost sales for businesses.
Find out how FPT Software can help businesses overcome costly maintenance and improve user experience here: Where Transformation Takes Flight: Markitecture Assessment for a Southeast Asia Airline.
Benefits of e-commerce replatforming
Migrating to a new e-commerce platform can help businesses unlock several values:
- Robust website performance: Migrating to a more robust platform can lead to faster loading of pages, which enhances customer experience. Specifically, customers expect instant interactions with brands, with 83% expecting immediate responses. Modern ecommerce platforms are designed to scale seamlessly as e-commerce business grows. Specifically, they can handle large traffic, transactions, and data volumes without compromising performance or customer experience, which ensures the website remains operational during peak periods.
- Easier integration: Upgrading to a new e-commerce platform enables businesses to benefit from the latest features, such as API integrations with various plugins or channels. Businesses can integrate cloud services to adjust infrastructure as their customer base expands and modern technology frameworks that offer all functionalities with more agility.
- Better customer experience: Moving to new platforms can significantly enhance customer experience with a more streamlined checkout process. This results in satisfied customers who are more inclined to make repeat purchases. According to PwC, while 73% of consumers prioritize customer experience in their buying choices, only 49% of businesses currently deliver a satisfactory experience.
- Enhanced security: Modern ecommerce platforms are usually equipped with more advanced security features such as PCI compliance, encryption, and robust authentication mechanisms. This can help businesses protect sensitive data, reduce the risk of data breaches, and build trust with consumers.
What to consider before replatforming
Every transition comes with potential threats. Before moving to a new eCommerce platform, enterprises should consider the following risks:
- Data loss: Data loss is a significant risk when migrating to a different platform. Businesses might lose valuable data, such as customer information, order history, and catalog details. A global survey of nearly 600 IT administrators revealed that 32% of organizations have experienced data loss while migrating between devices or upgrading operating systems. Therefore, to mitigate this risk, ecommerce companies should back up data and carefully plan the migration process.
- Unexpected downtime: Poorly executed migrations can result in extended downtime, significantly impacting the brand's reputation and causing lost sales. To mitigate these risks, companies should plan migration during low-traffic periods. In addition, providing customers with advance notice is critical to minimize disruptions and maintain trust with the customer base.
- Security issues: Every eCommerce migration has the potential to expose sensitive customer data. Besides assessing the security of the new ecommerce platform, businesses should look into secure migration methods before proceeding. Secure APIs and connections should be employed to secure data transfer between systems and prevent unauthorized access. What’s more, implementing strict access controls is essential (such as multi-factor authentication) for administrators and users.
- Technical complexities: Replatforming poses significant technical challenges that require expertise for successful execution. Thus, hiring experienced professionals is crucial to navigating these complexities. Additionally, mastering the new platform involves a learning curve, demanding careful allocation of time and resources for training. Businesses should prioritize adequate training and resource allocation to ensure a seamless onboarding process and maximize the benefits of the migration.
Ready to make the switch?
Replatforming is a strategic move that requires careful planning. With the right partner, businesses can successfully navigate the complexities of replatforming and set themselves up for long-term growth in the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.
With industry-proven methodology and in-depth expertise, FPT Software can define tailor-made roadmaps to help you reach next-level digital commerce experience here.
