Unleashing Developer-Led Innovation for Enhanced Online Commerce Experiences

Over the past two decades, the digital economy has shifted to heavily rely on e-commerce. Today 57% of consumers say the entire shopping journey from research to purchase is now taking place online, but what’s more interesting is that 90% of buyers consider visuals a primary factor for purchase decisions Spearheading this shift is the myriad technological advancements that make shopping online more enticing than in-store shopping. However, unlike the majority of commerce shifts driven by executive leadership, the evolution of digital experiences has always been led by developers. Think about it: Before Jeff Bezos was in the running for the title of World’s Richest Person, he was a software engineer who wrote the first Amazon code. The same can be said for Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Elon Musk — all software developers. Since then, developers have continued to be the driving force behind the evolution of digital commerce, and they understand that to be successful, brands must lean into developer-led innovation that drives unique visual experiences efficiently. Out With the Monolithic We all remember what old-school e-commerce sites looked like. They were hindered by slow computer processors, dial-up internet, the rigid structures of monolithic technology architectures, and complete reliance on manual coding processes. It soon became clear that rigid monolithic solutions weren’t equipped to handle the complexity and scale of modern online experiences. For example, developers knew that they couldn’t fully capitalize on the power of images and videos to build trust and generate conversions if they were confined to the limited functionality available in their CMS. They simply didn’t offer the level of automation or depth of functionality required to build increasingly dynamic and engaging experiences. In With Composable This led to the emergence of composable architecture, sometimes referred to as MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud-native SaaS, headless) architecture. With composable architecture, developers are able to formulate a toolkit composed of varying technologies that best support a brand’s current needs while also being able to scale and rapidly adapt to changing market conditions. This major shift has allowed brands to evolve incrementally over time without having to overhaul their entire tech stack at the same time. It has given developers the ability to deploy best-in-class technology for business-critical tasks such as image and video management. As rich and interactive media — videos, user-generated content (UGC), 3D, etc. — become the expectation among consumers, they present too much complexity and require too much time to manage for even the most talented developers. Fortunately, because they’ve already laid the groundwork for taking advantage of composable architectures, they can easily turn to tools that automate the management, editing, optimization and delivery of these assets so they can focus their time on building and refining a great digital experience. Generative AI: The Next Developer-Led Revolution Developer-led innovation extends beyond architecture. As experts in efficiency, developers are often at the forefront of automation and artificial intelligence. We’re now seeing that manifest with the emergence of generative AI, which is poised to make an enormous impact on how developers approach e-commerce by expediting the time needed to create, personalize, and optimize digital content. With the ability to automatically generate text, images, and even videos based on predefined criteria, generative AI, combined with a MACH tech stack, empowers developers to create new immersive experiences that resonate with consumers, and build on top of previous experiences that allow brands to limit the amount of expenditure needed to scale. It might sound futuristic, but that’s the essence of developer-led innovation. As everyone else catches up, they’re the ones pushing the limits of what’s possible. In fact, a recent global survey found that 64% of web developers already use generative AI tools to streamline the development process, 54% use it for workflow automation, and a whopping 99% believe these tools have the potential to improve the developer experience overall. Follow the Developers In modern commerce, the only constant is change. And successful change comes down to innovation — which is often led by developers. They possess the vision, creativity, and skills needed to develop and deploy cutting-edge technology solutions and workflows that drive efficiency, enhance user experiences, and unlock new revenue streams. Recognizing the ingenuity of developers and giving them the freedom to experiment and explore new possibilities is not just a strategic advantage, it’s a necessity. — Shirly Manor, Solutions Engineer at Cloudinary