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Scope
Gartner helps clients understand the impact of specific technologies, business models,
organizational structures and strategies on their existing or aspirational digital commerce practices.
Analysis
Figure 1. Digital Commerce Technologies Overview
Customers live in a web of digital connections with more information, devices and channels than
ever before. The ubiquity of digital devices has led to societal expectations of ease and immediacy
across all channels of interaction. Application leaders responsible for digital commerce technologies
face challenges to provide both consistent and superior customer experiences across a diverse
range of channels. Expectations of superior customer experience are often at odds with the growing
awareness and concern about privacy. Ultimately, customers want to do business with companies
that are trustworthy. As a result, application leaders must develop an understanding of new
channels and focus on customer outcomes, rather than concentrating on driving as much revenue
as possible through traditional channels. A customer-focused mindset will build loyalty and
customer satisfaction, and ultimately result in increased revenue.
As customer expectations evolve and new channels emerge, we are seeing significant growth in
digital commerce for B2B companies, many of which are trying to develop the fundamental building
blocks required to successfully execute digital commerce. Yet customers in B2B channels have the
same expectations as those in B2C, meaning B2B practitioners must deliver the same outcomes.
Application leaders responsible for digital commerce technologies need to focus on four main areas:
vision and strategy, technology, emerging trends, and customer experience. Continuous
improvement in these four areas is contingent upon on an agile digital organization. A customer-
centric approach will guide the organization in discovering, designing and delivering compelling
digital commerce experiences. It will also prepare digital commerce organizations for commerce to
you (C2U) — the future of digital commerce.
Leading digital commerce companies focus on customer outcomes, act continuously, and are
trustworthy and anticipatory. To accomplish this, organizations should:
■ Leverage technology accelerators, such as AI, within the applications in their digital commerce
ecosystem.
■ Explore flexible and modular technology assets for use in all relevant channels and use cases in
addition to a digital commerce site.
■ Embrace ContinuousNext via digital commerce product management, agile methodologies and
DevOps.
■ Develop customer intelligence based on customer data, transactional data and product
information, while understanding the life cycle of the data to maintain transparency and protect
privacy.
■ Leverage the digital commerce platform and application ecosystem as a way to scale digital
commerce into digital business.
■ Orchestrate an engaging digital customer experience across many channels and develop
strategies for entering emerging channels such as marketplaces and IoT devices.
■ Digital commerce strategies and technology landscape — Developing the right digital
commerce strategy and business model by understanding trends and technologies that will
impact the manner in which companies sell and the way consumers purchase.
■ Digital commerce platform and ecosystem optimization — Helping application leaders make
informed decisions about commerce platforms and the multitude of ecosystem applications
that create a superior customer experience.
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How do I develop a digital commerce strategy and organization that aligns with the
changing state of commerce and customer expectations?
Digital commerce organizations are changing. Slow-moving, lengthy, project-based initiatives will
prevent them from capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the pace of the market.
For many organizations, digital commerce provides a transformational opportunity to shift toward
digital business. But the complexity of customer expectations, emerging channels, new
technologies and a vast ecosystem of applications can prove challenging. Additionally, an increased
focus on providing a superior customer experience is critical, because providing a good mix of
products at competitive prices is no longer differentiating.
Digital commerce organizations need to be available whenever, and wherever, customers need
them. The increasing expectations of digital customers are no longer confined to just consumer-
based practices. Businesses that sell to other businesses must also adapt to today’s digital
customer and move beyond traditional offline sales channels. B2B commerce is experiencing
significant growth, yet many organizations struggle to implement the fundamentals of digital
commerce so that they can begin to fully explore transformational technologies and strategies.
Gartner’s research will help companies that have already invested in digital commerce and those
that are exploring the possibilities in their existing digital commerce strategies.
Planned Research
How do I select a digital commerce platform, architecture and deployment model that will
help me meet my business goals, maintain flexibility and adapt to trends?
Digital commerce organizations have more complex decisions to make than in previous years.
Whereas choosing the most appropriate commerce platform was the only, or primary, decision in
the past, organizations now must also consider the correct architecture and deployment model to
serve their business needs. In making these decisions, they must account for the changing nature of
digital commerce, recognizing that they may need flexible, modular components to serve their
customers digitally.
■ How to move from a homegrown e-commerce system to a modern digital commerce platform
■ How to upgrade an existing platform with either the same vendor or a new vendor
■ How to deploy a digital commerce platform for the first time
■ Whether or not moving from a monolithic platform to a more modular, API-based platform is the
right decision for the business
■ How to integrate commerce services with external-, content- and experience-focused platforms
■ How to navigate the hosting and deployment model choices offered by vendors, and whether to
choose private or public cloud options
■ Which pricing model is the best fit for the organization
Regardless of the approach, commerce platform initiatives are highly visible inside the organization
and carry strategic significance, with noteworthy financial implications. Choosing an approach, and
subsequently a vendor, are complicated by the fact that it’s often hard to differentiate one platform
from another. The growing suite of products offered — especially by several global, mature vendors
— makes this decision even more complex.
Gartner’s research will help clients make the best decisions on platforms, vendors, deployment
models, architecture and pricing models.
Planned Research
Which digital commerce ecosystem components should I pursue, and how should I
evaluate my options?
Leading digital commerce experiences combine an array of externally and internally facing
components. The technology and vendor options available are also numerous. Sorting out these
options is both a tactical and technical issue. But it’s also critical to relate these options, their
implications and trade-offs to an organizationwide digital commerce strategy.
Deciding what to add or upgrade is already a complex process and further complicated by each
component being available from several different vendors. Technology decisions made by digital
commerce leaders — and increasingly by business unit leaders — must have a wide perspective
and include an understanding of new channels and how commerce experiences will evolve in the
next five to 10 years.
Planned Research
■ Research on visual trends in digital commerce, such as product visualization, configuration and
customization
■ Updated research on the digital commerce search landscape
■ Foundational research on the use of payments in digital commerce, including how to manage
payment technologies as a product and how to build a stronger customer experience with the
payment process
■ Research on price optimization applications for use in digital commerce
■ Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2019
■ The Gartner Digital Commerce Vendor Guide, 2019
■ What’s Hot in Digital Commerce, 2019
■ Cool Vendors in Digital Commerce, 2019
Which digital commerce trends and channels do I need to prepare for both in the short term
and in the long term?
The digital commerce market and the surrounding ecosystem move incredibly quickly, forcing
application leaders to stay on top of current trends and new technologies. Application leaders must
be able to explain which technologies they are pursuing, but also why they aren’t pursuing certain
other technologies. The same dynamic occurs with channels. New channels appear constantly, with
new social networks, devices and interfaces. Application leaders must evaluate these channels
quickly and thoroughly to determine how their customers are using them now, and how they will use
them in the future. This can be even more challenging for B2B sellers, as they struggle to put the
basic building blocks of digital commerce in place.
Planned Research
Related Priorities
Table 1. Related Priorities
Priority Focus
CRM Strategy and CRM and CX are separate but overlapping and interconnected enterprisewide initiatives
Customer Experience garnering a high degree of executive support and scrutiny. They are often key elements of
digital transformation.
Sales Technology The sales technology research agenda focuses on the selection, delivery and maintenance
of tools that optimize how sellers and managers conduct their daily sales processes.
Customer Service and Many technologies and best practices are needed to create a leading customer service and
Support Technology support organization and its associated operational, customer experience and employee
experience aspirations.
Source: Gartner
like customer journey mapping for developing a deeper understanding of customer actions and
expectations.
■ Evaluate long-term roadmaps and plan to develop commerce strategies where commercial
transactions happen on new channels and devices, while holding their organizations to the
principles explained in Gartner’s C2U research.
■ Evaluate different business models to determine if any of them are an ideal fit for the
organization, such as subscription-based models and enterprise marketplaces.
■ Read the foundational research on developing a digital commerce strategy, identifying key
digital commerce KPIs and designing an effective digital commerce team. See “How to Manage
Digital Commerce Metrics” and “Design an Effective Organization for Digital Commerce,”
respectively. Look for updates on developing commerce strategies and teams in 2019, along
with research about the role of product management in digital commerce.
■ Consider the role of digital commerce endeavors in the organization’s shift toward digital
business by leveraging Gartner’s “Scaling Digital Commerce Into a Digital Platform Business”
and “Move Digital Commerce Architecture Toward a Digital Business Technology Platform.”
■ Base your approach to digital commerce architecture on the organization’s customer
experience goals, development capabilities and vision for strategic evolution of commerce
initiatives. Use “The Three Approaches to Digital Commerce Platform Architecture and How to
Choose Among Them” to develop an understanding of the different approaches.
■ Read Gartner’s “Survey Analysis: Use of Multiple Technologies for Digital Commerce
Innovation” to understand how other commerce companies are innovating and what
technologies they’re using.
■ Use Gartner research to understand the maturity level of digital commerce ecosystem
technologies and balance this against the organization’s appetite for risk and innovation. See
“Leverage the Digital Commerce Technology Ecosystem to Optimize IT Decisions.” Look for an
update to this research in 2019, coupled with a reference architecture for digital commerce.
■ Develop a shortlist of vendors by speaking to analysts from the digital commerce team about
the vendors included in “The Gartner Digital Commerce Vendor Guide, 2018.”
■ Develop an understanding of current hot topics with “What’s Hot in Digital Commerce” and
“Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2018.” Look for updated versions of both documents in
2019.
■ Look at future trend predictions with “Predicts 2019: New Deployment Models, Channels and
Technologies Spark Digital Commerce Growth.”
■ For B2B companies, understand the nuances of B2B commerce by reading “Embrace the
Possibilities and Distinct Characteristics of B2B Digital Commerce for Optimal Results.”
■ B2B organizations can develop competitive analysis and build an understanding of technologies
that other companies are deploying with Gartner’s “Survey Analysis: How B2B Sellers Are
Leveraging Digital Commerce.”
■ Attend the Gartner Customer Experience & Technologies Summit (London, 22-23 May and
Sydney, 17-18 June), Gartner Application Strategies & Solutions Summit (date and location to
be decided), and Gartner Symposium events to speak with Commerce Tech and Experience
analysts and peers.
Essential Reading
■ “Industry Vision: Commerce to You” — Understand Gartner’s future vision of digital commerce
and prepare today for this rapidly evolving market.
■ “What’s Hot in Digital Commerce” — Develop a perspective on emerging technologies that
impact digital commerce.
■ “Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce” — Evaluate vendors and understand the strengths and
weaknesses of each.
■ “How to Develop a Digital Commerce Strategy” — Guidance on how to align strategy with
business objectives, correctly consider the customer experience and prepare for a rapidly
changing market.
■ “Scaling Digital Commerce Into a Digital Platform Business” — Consider the role of digital
commerce endeavors in the organization’s shift toward digital business.
■ “The Three Approaches to Digital Commerce Platform Architecture and How to Choose Among
Them” — Develop an understanding of the different approaches to commerce platform
architecture.
■ “Use Three Criteria to Evaluate Digital Commerce Cloud Strategies” — Differentiate vendor
cloud offerings with this guide.
■ “Critical Capabilities for Digital Commerce” — Evaluate vendors’ product offerings and
understand the strengths and weaknesses of each.
■ “Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2018” — Filter the hype from reality and develop a
perspective on emerging technologies.
■ “How to Identify High-Value AI Use Cases in Digital Commerce” — Identify high-value use
cases, fail fast and build organizational trust in artificial intelligence.
■ “How to Increase Chance of Success for Digital Commerce AI Projects” — Follow these proven
best practices to increase your chances of success in AI projects.
■ “Toolkit: Developing a Pace-Layered Application Strategy for Digital Commerce” — Get the
tools needed to develop a real-world, inclusive view of your current application portfolios.
■ “Toolkit: RFP for B2B Price Optimization and Management Solutions” — A starting point for
application leaders in B2B or B2B2C organizations looking to evaluate PO&M vendors.
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