From channels to journeys — rethinking retail for composable commerce

Shifting consumer expectations by rethinking retail in the age of composable commerce.

In brief

• Composable commerce helps retailers to unify channels and provide seamless, personalized experiences for today’s consumers.
• Modular solutions help retailers adapt quickly, orchestrate data and content, and boost engagement across every touchpoint.
• Retailers can shift from channel-driven operations to consumer-centric engagement by orchestrating unified experiences and streamlining fulfillment.

Retail organizations are facing a new wave of complexity. Consumers no longer think in channels. They expect one continuous experience, wherever they shop. After years of investing in digital capabilities such as marketplaces, dotcom sites, mobile apps and omni-channel features, many retailers have built robust shopping and checkout experiences to serve these various channels.

Today’s challenge is no longer managing channels — it’s meeting the expectations of consumers who see no distinction between them. Consumers expect seamless, personalized experiences that reflect their preferences and context.

Consumer behaviours now demand a unified experience across every touchpoint. Retailers must shift from managing isolated platforms to orchestrating experiences that meet consumers where they are, whether at home, in-store or on the move.

Composable commerce shifts the spotlight back to the buyer

Composable commerce is more than an architectural choice — it’s an evolution in how retailers operate. Traditional channel-specific systems were built for an era when dotcom, mobile and in-store could be managed separately. That playbook no longer works. Composable commerce solves for siloed channels by enabling retailers to orchestrate data, content and loyalty across every touchpoint, while adapting quickly as consumer behaviours shift.

EY Commerce Transformation, powered by Adobe, offers a modular, channel-agnostic solution that helps retailers rethink how they deliver value. Instead of building separate applications for each channel, retailers can create a unified commerce ecosystem that supports consistent experiences across dotcom sites, mobile apps, marketplaces and in-store kiosks.

This composable architecture helps retailers to:

• Orchestrate content, product data, customer data and loyalty programs across channels.
• Personalize experiences based on consumer behaviour and preferences.
• Integrate marketing campaigns with performance-driven outcomes.
• Streamline fulfilment and inventory processes through centralized data access.

Adobe Commerce Optimizer strengthens these capabilities by modernizing the front-end experience without requiring a full re-platform. Searches and product recommendations powered by generative AI (GenAI), integrated, extensible catalogue models, and rapid content publishing tools allow teams to focus on strategy rather than tactical maintenance. These features support the shift from channel-driven operations to consumer-centric engagement. From powering natural-language search to creating channel-optimized content in real time, Adobe Commerce Optimizer’s GenAI-powered features helps retailers to meet consumers with relevance at scale.

Operational shifts that support adoption and impact

Retailers are applying composable commerce to create more intuitive and responsive experiences through a 360-degree view of customers and plug-and-play tools built on the foundation of packaged business capabilities (PBCs). For example, a convenience retailer implemented a composable ecosystem across in-store, mobile, pump and dotcom channels. Consumers could order food, shop for products or schedule deliveries based on their daily routines, without needing to adjust to the channel.

To drive adoption and impact, retailers are rethinking how their teams operate. This includes:

• Transitioning from channel-specific roles to cross-functional teams
• Embedding change management to guide employees through new workflows
• Aligning performance metrics with consumer engagement rather than channel success

These shifts help make sure that the capabilities delivered through composable commerce are not only implemented but actively used and refined as needed.

Completing the retail transformation puzzle

Retailers that sell third-party products face mounting pressure to differentiate. As consumers increasingly turn to GenAI tools for product discovery, brands with strong direct-to-consumer strategies are gaining visibility and influence. Retailers must respond by enhancing discoverability, content quality and personalization across channels.

EY professionals help retailers connect commerce initiatives with broader enterprise transformation — spanning finance, supply chain and data governance. But the stakes are bigger than operational efficiency. Retailers that fail to unify experiences risk becoming invisible in an era where discovery and loyalty are increasingly AI-mediated. The time to act is now.