Guest blog: Experience-driven commerce relies on a modern tech stack

Consumers interact with more content across more connected devices than ever before, and they expect a consistent and personalized experience from every brand. According to a survey by Accenture and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, 63% of consumers surveyed indicated that they were interested in personalized shopping experiences.

Content is the currency that drives sales for retailers. As new channels proliferate, the most successful retailers are the ones that put their customers at the center of their strategy, take advantage of all digital channels and engage with high-quality and personalized digital experiences. They keep up with their customers by providing new and engaging digital experiences, fast.

Agile workflows and flexible tools enable impactful experiences, fast

To stay competitive, retailers must produce new websites and apps quickly and at scale. The most forward-thinking retailers do so by building a unified digital factory — cross-functional teams using global architecture, all built on a modern tech stack. Developers and editors can work together to deliver new digital products faster in order to engage in new channels and create opportunities

One of the critical components of the digital-factory workflow is content operations. Companies often struggle with one or more legacy content management systems that are hard to customize, keep content siloed and slow everyone down. Luckily, there’s a solution: API-first platforms provide flexible, modular content management.

These platforms easily plug into the modern technology stack and power content across a company’s entire digital portfolio from one central hub. With this microservice structure, editors can create new content and update it themselves across websites, apps, devices, on-site displays and more. For both developers and editors, this approach is a game changer.

B&O transitioned to a microservice structure, using Contentful to store and manage their content. This deconstructed architecture gave them the necessary flexibility to design and implement customer experiences both online and in stores. The online and in-store digital experiences with consistent content resulted in a 60% increase in ecommerce conversion rate and 13% increase in average order value.

A centralized content management platform allows retailers to publish new content, run tests, collect feedback and close the loop much faster than before. They can access and deliver only the most relevant and customized content for their customers and campaigns.

How Contentful helps you build engaging experiences

If you’re looking to start building products and digital experiences more quickly, don’t let a legacy content management system get in the way. Contentful helps global brands get to market faster, respond better to customer needs and scale their digital footprint.