The anticipated development Commercetools users in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s digital economy is observing a rapid expansion, driven by affordable and accessible devices, consumers’ increased appetite for eCommerce, a strong startup ecosystem, and rising consumer classes. It was projected to grow about two-fold by 2025.  

In this ever-changing and competitive world of commerce, how to stay ahead of the game? Commercetools appears to be the way forward. In this regard, we shall explain what is in store for you as a Commercetools user from this region.

Commercetools in Southeast Asia: An overview

With commerce possibilities it helps unlock, Commercetools has expanded its footprint worldwide, including Southeast Asia.

Commercetools is the world’s leader in digital commerce based on modern MACH architecture (Microservice-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless). It fits the needs of business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses across industries. Some of the well-known brands, including the motoring giant BMW Group, telecommunication firm AT&T, and consumer electronics company Bang & Olufsen, have implemented Commercetools for their branches in Southeast Asia.

This headless commerce platform decouples any eCommerce application’s front end (e.g., customer-facing touchpoints) from its back end (inventory, pricing, customer data, etc.) and facilitates their communication via an API (Application Programming Interface). Besides, thanks to the API, you can engage with your consumers through many channels like your website, mobile apps, and virtual and augmented reality (AR/VR) social networks. As Commertools features are characterized by an independent cloud microservice, there is a 99.99% guarantee for their uninterrupted operation without any crashes.  

What does the future of Commercetools users in Southeast Asia look like?

Commercetools takes eCommerce to the next level. 

Common problems faced by companies in Southeast Asia mainly result from the use of legacy eCommerce platforms with limited omnichannel capabilities. According to a MARKETING-INTERACTIVE survey, more than 91% of respondents agree that a more flexible eCommerce solution like Commercetools would make a difference.  

Maximum flexibility in eCommerce

The MARKETING-INTERACTIVE study reveals that brands in Southeast Asia have difficulty resonating with customer needs. Over 45% struggle to customize and configure their eCommerce platform’s look and feel.

Nevertheless, the implementation of Commercetools in Southeast Asia will bring with it the ability to max out flexibility and improve online experiences. Developers can customize functions independently since changes made to the backend do not interfere with the front end, and vice-versa. 

For example, after embracing this headless commerce, AT&T becomes more able to build and customize microservices to its business demands. This also means an increased ability to upsell and cross-sell its online properties.

Next-generation application integration

According to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE research, a staggering 49% of respondents find it hard to integrate different applications into their commerce platform. The good news is that APIs speed up integrating third-party software, accelerating the configuration and upgrade process. With integrations, you can choose pertinent solutions to power up your store and save money on unnecessary software.

To this end, a must-have integration is the Commercetools POS system. It is one of the few point-of-sale solutions that have integrated with Commercetools. What is greater is that ConnectPOS is the first-ever Commercetools POS honored with Stevie Awards in Product Innovation and is proud of its vast footprint around the world, from the US to Australia.

ConnectPOS is compatible with multiple devices. It boasts appropriately designed features like real-time inventory updates, click-and-collect, and staff management to maximize your performance and sales. 

Plus, the software provides free full installation. To see your real omnichannel potential, you are recommended to capitalize on full and great integrations only accessible at ConnectPOS.

Some of its best features that ensure you will get more for less include:

• Omnichannel support (e.g, multiple device compatibility and self-checkout POS)
• Inventory management (e.g., warehouse control and stocktake and stock adjustment)
• Staff management (e.g., staff training and reporting)
• Streamlined transaction (e.g., operation without Internet, simplified checkout process, different payment methods, barcode scanning, store credit, and refund and exchange)
• Customer retention (e.g., loyalty and rewards program)

Seamless omnichannel experience

Brands also face the challenge of implementing omnichannel commerce. According to the MARKETING-INTERACTIVE survey, a whopping 60% of respondents agree that the availability of core product information such as inventory, sizes, and pricing is barely in some touchpoints or none at all. The inability to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience is causing businesses to lose customers and sales.

What is noteworthy is that the adoption of Commercetools in Southeast Asia will help solve the challenge easily. It enables more efficiency in data collection, management, and consolidation. For instance, the intuitive Merchant Center with PIM (Product Information Management) system allows you to control your data while staying apace with changes. 

Tapping into this commerce solution’s benefits, you should gain omnichannel success. BMW Group is a great example in this sense. It has managed to integrate a combination of initiatives, ventures, channels, and stores on Commercetools. 

Optimal implementation of Commercetools in Southeast Asia

Commercetools Frontend boasts extensive ready-to-use APIs. 

The newly-launched Commercetools Frontend will allow you to compose and deliver applications and websites quickly and efficiently. It boasts extensive ready-to-use APIs that empower companies to gain all the advantages of embracing headless commerce. These include freedom to experiment, unlimited custom options, scalability, etc., – all while ensuring fast time-to-market.

Better yet, Frontend is paired with Commercetools Composable Commerce to maximize your potential. Composable Commerce will give access to your full API portfolio. This way, you can create and customize the experiences you need for your business model instead of tailoring them to an out-of-the-box system.

Key takeaways

Embracing Commercetools in Southeast Asia helps boost digital customer experience and keep your business future-ready. It will give you the ability to quickly adapt to new technologies and scales. With its regular feature and integration updates (for example, ConnectPOS Commercetools POS), Commercetools also makes personalization and flexibility enhancement a snap and a breeze. To learn more about how you can benefit from this platform and ConnectPOS, contact us. We are always glad to give you peerless support, take your business to the next level, and empower your continued success.