[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/#Article","articleBody":"The shift to digital storefronts switched into the highest gear during COVID, forcing retailers to move from talk to action overnight. Instead of thinking about simply adding an app to their arsenal, companies had to take a look at what channels their customers use, how they begin their shopping journeys, and how they can continue serving them with new ones.\nIn early 2020, retailers that made all or most of their sales in-store had to create or improve their online shops and supply chains to be able to stay in business. This illuminated the fact that e-commerce has to work out of the box. No retailer has the ability to wait six or more months to spin up an digital storefront.\nInstead, an e-commerce shop that can be launched within days offers multiple benefits, including:\nEnabling retailers to try out a new concept\nMaking quick business decisions based on preliminary data\nLiquidating old inventory in a novel way\nDigital storefront: Fast innovation, best CX\u00a0\nWith just about every brand discussing what they will do or already have done to meet the digital demands of their customers, there must be a way to stand out from the crowd. The differentiator that\u2019s emerged and will continue to be an important factor in a post-pandemic world is the ability to be nimble.\nDuring the pandemic, retailers learned to open and close their doors at a moment\u2019s notice. But shoppers still want access to their favorite products, even if they can\u2019t step foot in the door. That\u2019s where a fast e-commerce launch comes in, as demonstrated by the Upscale Commerce Hackathon.\n \nBuilding the future of DTC e-commerce, one hack at a time\u2026\n   How many hackers does it take to create the perfect omnichannel e-commerce storefront? SAP Upscale Commerce is about to find out - join us!  \nBruce Petillo, VP and General Manager of ECENTA Digital, one of the Hackathon participants, put it succinctly: \u201cIf history over the last 18 months is a teacher to us, our ability to be agile, think fast, and be able to think outside the box is vitally important to any organization moving forward.\u201d\nFor example, there were use cases of buy-online-pickup in-store in the past; it almost became a necessity during COVID, he said. During COVID, these swift transitions were required to stay in business. Moving forward, the ability to be nimble and keep up with changing customer needs is the only way to consistently exceed customer expectations. Each day, retailers must ask themselves, \u201cHow can we create a more meaningful customer experience?\u201d\nThe answer invariably leads back to digital: retailers must meet their customers on the mobile, desktop, social channels where they like to spend time. Any instance of friction or delays will lead to lost sales.\nSpinning up digital storefronts, seizing opportunities\nThe need for trying new retail concepts quickly is linked to opportunity costs. When a brand can experiment and validate an idea quickly, they can save on costs and move forward with the most effective ideas. For example, when ECENTA Digital was tasked with setting up an inventory liquidation platform in just 24 hours during the hackathon, they were able to repackage older inventory and sell it in a new online shop by hyper-targeting the best suited personas.\nIt\u2019s much easier to create a fresh retail experience with older inventory within days like ECENTA Digital did with the help of an out-of-the-box solution that enables team members of varying technical abilities to set up an digital storefront. With this level of speed, retailers can repackage old inventory to present it to new customer segments and clear out warehouse space faster.\nPetillo noted how fast his team was able to get their liquidation site up. They started at 9 a.m., and by 3 p.m., had a website with the look and feel of a legitimate online retailer.\n\u201cOne of the biggest takeaways for me was that you were able to build something quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was functional, it looked great, had a good user experience, and I could go transact at that moment.\u201d\n \nHackathon proves DTC is in the fast lane\n   Direct to consumer is all the rage. Find out what the SAP Upscale Commerce Hackathon revealed about spinning up a winning e-commerce storefront.  \nInvesting in the future of retail with headless commerce\nThis speed has largely been missing in the retail world, but in a time of fast fashion and delivery within mere hours, no brand can risk the long timelines that were previously associated with e-commerce website development.\nThe future of e-commerce is already here and it is headless commerce, empowering multiple teams within a retail organization to get new digital storefronts and offerings live in record time. \u00a0\nCommerce is already global and fast paced. Headless commerce solutions are the final piece of the puzzle to enable new retail experiences whenever the need arises.\nIn retail, speed is everything. Get tips for innovating e-commerce at lighting speed HERE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Shayonie-Mila-Kundu-e1641965793263-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Shayonie Mila Kundu","sameAs":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/shayonie-mila-kundu\/","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/shayonie-mila-kundu\/"},"dateModified":"2021-12-03T03:02:47+00:00","datePublished":"2021-07-13T05:02:03+00:00","description":"Retailers must be able to launch digital storefronts quickly to be competitive. The ability to spin up an e-commerce shop within days offers multiple benefits, including better CX.","headline":"How to build a digital storefront for the modern consumer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Changing-landscape-in-retail_1200x375-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/","name":"How to build a digital storefront for the modern consumer","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"13","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/\/13\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How to build a digital storefront for the modern consumer","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/13\/building-a-digital-storefront\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]