CommerceCloud Overview
Commerce Cloud (previously called Demandware) is a fully-hosted, cloud-based ecommerce platform with built-in omnichannel and predictive analytics capabilities. Commerce Cloud has a native data model which leverages a shared view of customer data, order history, inventory, and promotional information across all channels to give its retail clients valuable shopper insights that can be used for benchmarking and analysis.
Commerce Cloud data and predictive analytics technology can also be used to personalise customer interactions via email and on your website.
In terms of omnichannel, Commerce Cloud offers digital commerce, point-of-sale, order management, and store operation tools in one platform, making it an attractive choice for merchants who want a seamless solution for managing stores across different channels.
For merchants looking for expert and support services, Commerce Cloud has the LINK Marketplace, a network of agencies, integrators, and technology providers who specialise in the platform. Do note that Demandware’s ecosystem is not as large as other ecommerce marketplaces, so it may not be as easy to find the experts you need.
Reasons to use CommerceCloud
- Predictive intelligence that lets merchants leverage rich consumer data for benchmarking and analysis
- Personalised shopping experiences and email marketing
- Commerce capabilities across digital channels (i.e. ecommerce, mobile, social) and brick-and-mortar
- Unified view of product, customer, order, and pricing data across all channels
CommerceCloud Features
- Predictive intelligence
- Personalised shopping
- Omnichannel Commerce
CommerceCloud Pros & Cons
Pros
- Seamless integration across channels
- Being fully hosted means merchants don’t have to worry about maintaining their server and other technologies
- Predictive intelligence that allows merchants to gather tremendous insights into consumer behaviour and trends
Cons
- Since the platform is hosted by Demandware, merchants may not have full control over customisation and development
- There’s also an approval layer which means it can take time to implement updates and releases
- Relatively limited number of partners and integrations
- Demandware takes a cut out of merchants’ sales.