3 Reasons to Embrace API-First eCommerce

eCommerce is an ever-moving target. Reaching your customers and driving conversions both rely upon your ability to quickly provide the best possible product. It’s no secret that it’s a tough challenge to tackle. However, API-first eCommerce can go a long way towards serving your goals. By embracing this approach that builds on the foundation of powerful APIs, you can start delivering better experiences to more users.

What is API-First eCommerce?

Let’s begin with what an API is (opens in a new window). APIs are tools that programs can use to communicate with each other. That means two programs don’t have to be directly linked in order to interact. Instead, they exist independently but still share data as needed. This gives you a huge amount of freedom to build an eCommerce ecosystem with elements that can work together without completely relying on each other.

For example, let’s say you have a Content Management System (CMS) that you like. However, you’d rather store your customer information in a totally separate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (opens in a new window) program. An API can share data between the two while still allowing them to function on their own.

So when we say “API-first eCommerce”, we’re referring to building your online store’s operations on the power of these useful tools. APIs aren’t a second thought here. Rather, they’re a key factor that you consider while building your tech stack. That way, the whole system can be geared towards leveraging APIs to their fullest potential.

3 Reasons to Embrace API-First eCommerce

Focusing on API-first eCommerce is a formidable strategy. Here are a few specific reasons to consider applying it.

1. Improve the overall customer experience

Customers today expect a full-featured shopping experience. That means the freedom to engage with your brand in multiple ways, accurate personalization, and a safe checkout process. If you can’t instantly meet these needs, chances are that your users will seek out a company that can. API-first eCommerce is uniquely suited to help you out here for a few reasons.

Let’s start with the concept of multiple channels. Today’s online stores go far beyond a one-way browser. Most shoppers can anticipate services that extend to platforms such as:

• Mobile apps
• AR/VR
• Smart speakers

Without API-first eCommerce, all these different channels wouldn’t be able to communicate. You’d be stuck with multiple content silos, which require intensive management processes and don’t offer direct communication with each other. API-first eCommerce solves this issue. APIs mean you can skip the silos. Instead, information can flow freely. That means you’ll be able to track your store’s overall performance no matter how many ways your customers can interact with it.

This kind of communication is also essential to personalization (opens in a new window). Having data on your users will be key to providing the most tailored experience possible. Collecting it from all of those touchpoints and sharing it just as easily means you’ll have an accurate picture of your audience. You can get to know their wants, needs, and behavior, regardless of where this information comes from.

This data sharing expands beyond the front-facing customer experience: API-first eCommerce can benefit the backend elements that affect it, too. For example, consider physical inventory. API-first eCommerce means you can link your stock management, shipping service, and even brick-and-mortar stores together. This keeps your supply chain moving and helps prevent any ‘out-of-stock’ issues that can get in the way of purchases.

Another benefit that API-first eCommerce offers your users is security. Because APIs are not a fixed direct link between programs, they naturally isolate any threats to the one area in which they occurred. If your payment program is compromised, for example, it won’t be able to spread into the CRM, so the damage will be inherently limited. Customers can rest easy knowing you’re doing what you can to protect their purchases.

2. Leverage a best-of-breed approach

API-first eCommerce powers a best-of-breed approach (opens in a new window). Best-of-breed refers to the practice of selecting exactly the tools you need for exactly the jobs that you need to get done. This might look like using one program for your check-out process, one for your payment process, another to keep track of your inventory, and so on.

The other option, known as all-in-one, is the opposite. You choose one package deal that comes with a tightly knit set of predetermined programs. That means you’ll likely have to pay for programs you can’t use and be missing functionality that you need. Since they don’t work on an API basis, any customization will require complex workarounds to achieve.

One benefit of best-of-breed is that it can save you time and money. There’s no need to spend precious effort making a rigid, subpar system fit your needs. Instead, you can start picking and choosing programs right from the start – without worrying about what hoops you’ll have to jump through to make them interact with each other.

Moreover, this approach can also make you more competitive. The better your tools fit, the more likely they are to help you achieve your experience-based marketing goals (opens in a new window). Delivering the best experience possible is crucial to succeeding in today’s saturated markets. With best-of-breed, you’re giving yourself the power to do that by choosing the best tools for the job that fit your specific organization’s exact needs.

3. Invest in a future-proofed system

Technology is ever-evolving, so it might feel like it’s impossible to keep up sometimes. However, if your tech stack isn’t on the cutting edge, you risk losing business to a company with one that is. This is because as programs get better at delivering high-quality experiences, users will come to expect them rather than see them as positive additions. That means incorporating the latest technology isn’t just a bonus – you’ll need to do so just to compete at the basic level.

If you’re not using API-first eCommerce, this can be an intimidating task. Systems that don’t leverage the power of APIs typically tie all of your tools together. This means you can’t upgrade one item without affecting all the others. A full system overhaul can be costly, time-consuming, and difficult. The sheer complexity of such an operation also means there’s a lot of room for error such as lost user data or even a full system crash. It’s a big risk to take every time you need a new element.

By contrast, API-first eCommerce is built upon a connected yet not intertwined model. As soon as one part of your system becomes outdated, you can swap it for a newer one without worrying about a chain reaction. You can repeat this process for as many programs as you like until you find the perfect solution. No matter what new tech rolls out, you’ll always be ready to incorporate it.

For an example of the future-proofing ability of API-first eCommerce, let’s look at one of the leading fintech trends (opens in a new window) of the day: cryptocurrency. If you feel that your online store should start accepting this kind of payment, simply choose the gateway that you like and hook it up to your system. No need to rearrange your tech stack or change your entire payment gateway! And if you ever decide that you don’t want to maintain it, it’s just as simple to disconnect the API.

Key takeaways

API-first eCommerce represents one of the most effective ways to run an online store. It helps create an agile, future-forward system that’s ready to adapt to your changing needs while also bringing together all of your tools to deliver the best user experience possible. By choosing to build your online presence around an API-first approach, you’re helping yourself fulfill your full potential and leaving room to expand even more in the future.