Collaboration is key: Ensuring replatforming success

Ecommerce continues to dominate the retail landscape. With new platforms continually being introduced into the market, and the ever-changing needs of customers demanding more from merchants, the platform upon which a brand sells its product can be a key differentiator in the battle for success.

According to Statista, in March 2024, 76.5% of consumers in the UK abandoned their online shopping cart. Throughout the online shopping experience, there are a number of platform-related issues that can quickly turn customers away from online stores, including website errors, untrustworthy sites, incompatible payment methods or an overall poor user experience. All of these can be easily avoided with the right ecommerce platform. As such, replatforming might be the answer for many ecommerce businesses - and with so many options available in today’s market, a number of brands will be tempted to look elsewhere to enhance customer experiences and improve operational efficiency. However, with such a significant task ahead of any business planning to replatform, there are a number of factors to consider.

The Case for Replatforming

Replatforming is no small task. It involves transferring an entire online store - including operational and customer data, design, and a range of other components - to a completely new platform. However, it comes with a range of benefits. Replatforming can improve functionality, allowing brands to add new features to their site that might not be available on their current platform. It improves operationality, speed flexibility and security, and perhaps most importantly in today’s customer-centric environment, replatforming can allow brands to improve the customer experience through localisation and personalisation.

Ultimately, replatforming can transform an entire business and deliver business outcomes that might never have been achievable on a previous platform. It unlocks opportunities around business growth and customer retention. But it needs to be done correctly if a replatforming project is to prove successful.

Potential Pitfalls

While the case for replatforming might sound enticing, merchants must understand the potential pitfalls that come with it. With a range of variables involved - including the scale of the project, data migration, testing and training - replatforming can become a long and costly process.

Projects can take years to complete, with a number of complex integrations involved and the migration of potentially multiple years’ worth of data requiring cleansing and mapping, and legacy issues are commonplace when evolving to a newer, more innovative platform. Furthermore, The transition period between platforms can often cause disruption, sacrificing sales opportunities while sites are offline. Finally, merchants must also keep change management in mind, with training a key factor in any replatforming project.

Achieving Replatforming Success: Changing the Mindset

Replatforming isn’t just about technology change. It should align closely with strategic business goals. Before undertaking a replatforming project, merchants must have a clear understanding of their business objectives.

With such a significant project on the horizon, planning is integral to any replatforming operation. There are a number of factors to consider: the platform itself, the allocation of resources, team coordination and training, and the migration of data as well as the clean up of legacy systems. These are all standard procedure. However, for a replatforming project to really transform a business, retailers must keep in mind the human element.

The entire process is about communication and collaboration. This can come from involving external project managers to bridge any gaps between business needs and technological integrations, partnering with a technology provider that works closely with the retailer to reall understand its needs, or both. The key to a successful replatform project lies in a brand understanding what it is trying to achieve, and recognising that it is not just about finding a set of tools, but finding the right partner, trusted and experienced, that can contribute to retail success.

A reliable partner, that specialises in helping brands change platform, can keep retailers wary of potential complications before they arise. They have been through the challenges, and can offer best practice advise on how to overcome issues. Importantly, they will work closely with a brand to ensure that they are not only successfully replatforming, but also integrating high-quality features that enhance both customer experience and business results.

With these foundations set in place, the complex technicalities of the operation can be simplified, streamlined and optimised for maximum project success.

Driving Long-Term Success

As retailers strive to deliver high-quality experiences and gain an advantage over competitors, replatforming an online store can offer brands an opportunity to elevate their offering. The benefits are wide-reaching, improving operational performance, and empowering retailers to deliver personalised and seamless customer service that drives loyalty and retention.

In an industry that is so fiercely competitive, the right platform can set merchants on an upward trajectory that drives growth and sustainable business success. It is the foundation of any ecommerce offering and will quickly separate the winners from the losers. However, it is project that should not be taken lightly. If retailers are to deliver a successful replatforming operation, a communicative approach that facilitates collaboration from beginning through to end will set a brand on the best course for success.