# E-commerce: Stop reinventing the shopping cart Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2021-07-16 Category: BUSINESS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business Meta Title: Improving E-commerce: An API-First Approach Meta Description: Learn how an API-first approach to e-commerce can help you stand out in a crowded online market. Discover how container orchestration tools like Kubernetes can URL: https://financedigest.com/e-commerce-stop-reinventing-the-shopping-carthtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/happy-asian-woman-shopping-online-at-home-with-her-credit-card-1736838167470-compressed.jpg) _By,_ **_Udo Rauch_** _, Chief Sales Director,_ [_Emporix_](https://www.emporix.com/) Online shopping is more competitive than ever, yet many companies spend large portions of their budget just maintaining capabilities that do not give them any competitive advantage whatsoever. Udo Rauch, Chief Sales Director, Emporix Let’s get specific – do you consider your shopping cart functionality a part of what differentiates you online? The answer should really be a resounding “no” because every [online business has a shopping](https://www.financedigest.com/the-high-street-is-dead-long-live-online-shopping.html "The high street is dead – long live online shopping! ") cart, and there’s nothing inherently unique or advantageous about having one. Of course, you might choose to interact with your [customer differently on the checkout page, perhaps by displaying unique offers or promotions that are specific to a certain customer, but what we’re talking about here is a tailoring of the customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/the-new-client-adviser-experience-in-the-age-of-the-customer.html "The New Client-Adviser Experience in the Age of the Customer") rather than an inherent benefit of simply having a checkout page. The basic cart functionality itself is really nothing special, and the same could be said for a number of other [payment related services](https://www.financedigest.com/igtbs-payments-services-hub-faq.html "iGTB’s Payments Services Hub – FAQ"). **An API-first approach to e-commerce** This isn’t necessarily bad practice. In fact, it’s more common than you might realise. Many e-commerce companies use the same [technology as their competitors to avoid](https://www.financedigest.com/coca-cola-digital-ad-campaigns-use-seenthis-streaming-technology-to-avoid-excessive-carbon-footprint.html "Coca-Cola Digital Ad Campaigns Use SeenThis Streaming Technology to Avoid Excessive Carbon Footprint") having to build everything from the ground up. An Application Programming Interface (API) allows developers to easily access and combine a range of [digital assets and services](https://www.financedigest.com/maximising-ai-during-digital-transformation-in-the-financial-services-sector.html "Maximising AI during digital transformation in the financial services sector") in different systems, even if those systems were developed entirely separately and were never meant to integrate. It’s how one piece of software talks to another piece of software. In a consumer-facing world, APIs are the bridge that allows data to flow from one app or service to another, such as the ability to connect your bank [account to a third-party digital](https://www.financedigest.com/utilising-digital-tools-to-close-the-finance-and-accounting-skills-gap.html "Utilising digital tools to close the finance and accounting skills gap") wallet. If a [customer opts to pay](https://www.financedigest.com/shell-energy-to-pay-for-overcharging-price-cap-customers-ofgem.html "Shell Energy to pay for overcharging price cap customers -Ofgem") for something via PayPal on an e-commerce store, they’ll click on a “pay now with PayPal” button that’s powered by an API, ensuring the end application can only do what it needs to, without being exposed to sensitive data. Just because two businesses share the same checkout technology, however, does not necessarily mean their solutions are carbon copies of one another or that their [customers receive exactly the same experience](https://www.financedigest.com/allianz-benelux-taps-into-modern-data-management-to-combat-fraud-and-foster-a-positive-customer-experience.html "Allianz Benelux Taps into Modern Data Management to Combat Fraud and Foster a Positive Customer Experience"). In fact, it may surprise you to learn that by using standard frameworks and capabilities such as cloud platform providers, containerization and orchestration, an [e-commerce business can enjoy benefits and efficiencies](https://www.financedigest.com/1-easy-tip-to-make-a-key-e-commerce-process-more-efficient.html "1 easy tip to make a key e-commerce process more efficient") that allow them to focus more of their time, money and effort into building functionality rather than simply performing housekeeping. So while there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, container orchestration tools like Kubernetes can help you grab the wheel and steer your [business toward success](https://www.financedigest.com/ceo-riggs-eckelberry-of-originclear-discusses-the-power-of-intuition-in-running-a-successful-business.html "CEO Riggs Eckelberry of OriginClear Discusses the Power of Intuition in Running a Successful Business "). **The technology stack** In the 1940s, physical cargo containers revolutionized shipping. All of a sudden, deploying and transferring goods was quicker, safer and more secure than it had ever been before. [Digital containers work in much the same way](https://www.financedigest.com/the-hiv-aids-testing-market-to-get-way-ahead-with-digitization.html "The Hiv Aids Testing Market to get way ahead with digitization"), making the deployment of applications used by your business fast, effective and seamless. They can be thought of as a kind of ‘digital packaging’ that comes complete with everything a particular application or ‘service’ needs to run. These digital packages can then be deployed wherever and whenever they’re needed, reducing your [operating costs](https://www.financedigest.com/can-cfos-balance-the-books-with-rising-operating-costs.html "Can CFOs balance the books with rising operating costs?"). If we think of a group of standard services as an orchestra made up of many different instruments, Kubernetes would be the conductor that gets them all playing together in harmony, allowing a business to deploy a variety of services in a [way that’s efficient and tailored to the unique](https://www.financedigest.com/5-unique-ways-to-go-greener-in-the-office.html "5 unique ways to go greener in the office") needs of its customers. It’s never really been a question of whether a business does everything itself, but rather what [technology stack it employs and whether it allows for sophisticated interoperability of standard components](https://www.financedigest.com/the-bicycle-brake-components-market-to-be-exalted-with-advancements-in-technology-at-a-cagr-of-7-between-2020-2030-2.html "The Bicycle Brake Components Market To Be Exalted With Advancements In Technology At A CAGR Of 7% Between 2020-2030"). On their own, these standard functional components such as a cart or checkout [don’t look different from one business](https://www.financedigest.com/pitiless-machines-will-kill-your-business-if-you-dont-respond-now-warns-servion.html "‘Pitiless machines’ will kill your business if you don’t respond now, warns Servion") to the next, effectively becoming a commodity that is simply delivered at the most reliable and low-cost method possible. Having containerization as part of a technology stack, however, is giving [businesses far more options in terms of how it packages](https://www.financedigest.com/factbox-reaction-to-uks-energy-support-package-for-businesses.html "Factbox-Reaction to UK’s energy support package for businesses") and deploys functions. Containerization allows [businesses to essentially](https://www.financedigest.com/business-texting-an-essential-communication-tool.html "Business Texting: An Essential Communication Tool") ‘mix and match’ third-party services like payment providers, allowing them to streamline and scale at will. In theory, any [business could write and manage](https://www.financedigest.com/finance-management-for-small-business.html "Finance management for small business") its own technology to do this containerization, but in reality, why should it? There is no competitive advantage, and it would simply incur a large overhead, as well as the burden of maintaining the containerization code itself. Instead, most [businesses opt simply to use one of the common](https://www.financedigest.com/5-common-tax-mistakes-small-businesses-make-in-australia.html "5 Common Tax Mistakes Small Businesses Make in Australia") toolsets available on the market to deliver this capability to their teams – such as Kubernetes – and let someone else worry about the maintenance. In the same way, there is really no competitive advantage for a [business to build](https://www.financedigest.com/learning-from-the-disrupters-how-finance-brands-can-build-transformative-business-models.html "Learning from the disrupters – how finance brands can build transformative business models") and maintain its own version of a shopping cart. Instead, it can simply use one of the many payment services that are available on the market that, thanks to containerization, APIs and Kubernetes, will be more or less ‘plug and play’ compatible. **The next stage for** [digital commerce](https://www.financedigest.com/how-digital-commerce-merchants-can-weather-the-economic-storm.html "How Digital Commerce Merchants Can Weather the Economic Storm") If [retailers were able to tap into all of this functionality as part of an all-encompassing e-commerce](https://www.financedigest.com/key-trends-disrupting-uk-e-commerce-retail-in-2022.html "Key trends disrupting UK e-commerce retail in 2022") solution, the benefits would be huge, and would largely fall into two key areas: 1. It would enable a [business to focus all of its available resources](https://www.financedigest.com/workforce-management-the-next-cloud-resource-for-businesses.html "Workforce management; the next cloud resource for businesses?") on building and driving genuine differentiating qualities to the customer experience, rather than trying to take care of basic housekeeping functions like payment systems and checkouts. 2. It would [reduce a company’s costs by removing the need for it to maintain the large number of services](https://www.financedigest.com/home-start-lincolnshire-implements-flexible-unified-communications-service-to-reduce-costs.html "HOME-START LINCOLNSHIRE IMPLEMENTS FLEXIBLE UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE TO REDUCE COSTS") necessary to carry out basic functions, instead freeing up resources to deliver actual benefits. It’s high time [businesses started to view these basic components for what they are – the wheels on which e-commerce](https://www.financedigest.com/what-b2b-businesses-can-learn-from-b2c-e-commerce.html "What B2B businesses can learn from B2C e-commerce") now operates. New car manufactures don’t go about reinventing wheels, they instead add layers of [value and functionality on top](https://www.financedigest.com/adding-value-to-your-organisation-by-attracting-top-gen-z-finance-professionals.html "Adding value to your organisation by attracting top Gen Z finance professionals") of those wheels, improving on the technology by adding to it and enhancing it. This is precisely the approach that retailers need to take in 2021. Instead of constantly [reinventing basic services](https://www.financedigest.com/lockdown-unlocked-testimonials-of-hospitality-businesses-reinventing-the-service-experience.html "Lockdown Unlocked: Testimonials of hospitality businesses reinventing the service experience"), use the foundations that have already been developed through years of trial and error, and build and adapt from there. In other words, put your precious resources into the things that can truly differentiate your business in a crowded marketplace. **About the author:** Udo Rauch is an expert in enterprise software and chief sales director at specialist e-commerce software provider [Emporix](https://www.emporix.com/). --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---