Why your eCommerce software needs to use APIs

Over the last couple of years, one truth has come through loud and clear in relation to eCommerce businesses: Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are integral to eCommerce and must be implemented now in order for online retailers to remain competitive.

A really good example of how APIs have become game-changers is seen when we look at the mobile payment market. PayPal has solidified itself as a true industry giant but in recent times, has been forced to watch on as new players such as Stripe gain market share due to the strength of its API software. Its unique user experience enables a simple and intuitive payment gateway that is easy to integrate into any e-business, while avoiding the loss of buyers.

When we switch gears and look at Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in the world, we clearly see that little of what they do would be possible without the use of APIs. Gradually over the years, data management has become their main priority with Alibaba controlling more than 80% of the world’s e-commerce. Selling more products than eBay and Amazon combined is quite an amazing feat.

Alibaba’s use of Hadoop allows them to quickly and reliably analyse complex data - they also use cloud-based platform software called Apsara. Developed by the company itself, it’s used to group servers on the cloud in order to increase processing capacity and to calculate data. Of course, it’s their API that makes the processing of large volumes of information possible.

APIs are essentially 4GL programs - they’re the connector bits that result in data being used intelligently in business. If you’ve had any online interaction with a particular retailer, APIs are basically how they’ve been able to send you the right communication on the right device and in a timely fashion. From a retailer’s point of view, APIs are essential in providing shoppers with a superior and unique experience. This in turn, maximises sales.

But like most things, we can’t talk about APIs in a ‘one size fits all’ manner. There are many different kinds of APIs and below, we’ve outlined 5 of the most useful and common for retailers.

1. Social proof APIs

How much time a day do you spend on social media? If you’re like the average person, you’d be clocking up a decent amount of time across various social channels. Whether we realise it or not, as shoppers, we’re exposed to instances where clever brands are using social proof to boost sales. Tweets, the number of Facebook likes and shares, Instagram likes… the more of each a product or service has, the better when it comes to acting as important trust signals for consumers. We’ve got clients who are using APIs to stream a social media feed directly to their website and other product pages. It’s quite a simple piece of software to implement but it really does have the power to make all the difference.

2. Website search APIs

People are time poor these days meaning any retailer providing advanced search features on their website is in the good books with shoppers. It’s pretty obvious that the most profitable retailers are masters at heightening the shopping experience for their customers. A good API in this instance makes searching for particular product items far easier and less time consuming. Ultimately, if it’s too hard to search through any website, most of us are likely to go elsewhere within a matter of minutes (and even seconds in some cases).

3. Marketing automation APIs

Consumers are more tech savvy than ever and they expect retailers to market to them based on their past behaviour and in a personalised manner. Tools and software can assist you in automating business processes thanks to their use of APIs - this removes the need for you to learn complicated code in order to get the most out of APIs.

4. Pricing comparison APIs

Any retailer knows that being competitive in the market is essential - you need to be able to easily monitor competitor pricing. A price comparison API allows you to link your product catalogue to a price comparison, which enables automatic reports to be sent your way. Your settings can even enable you to automatically price match during key retail periods (Christmas or the New Year for instance).

5. APIs for recommendations

Who doesn’t love being on their favourite site and then scouring through the other recommended items? Recommendation engine APIs allow customers to see similar items while shopping. For example, if someone was looking at the film The Terminator on Amazon, they’re almost guaranteed to see Terminator 2 in the recommendations area.

At the end of the day, APIs are really no longer optional for retailers. This ecommerce software is changing the playing field and if you’d like to investigate how they can benefit your business, contact us now.

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