Unified Commerce Market Size (2024 - 2030)

As of 2023, the global Unified Commerce Market achieved a valuation of USD 13.43 Billion, with projections indicating a rise to USD 23.47 Billion by 2030. Over the forecast period spanning 2024 to 2030, the market anticipates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3%.

Industry Overview:

Unified commerce integrates various retail components into a singular platform, encompassing POS systems, e-commerce functionalities, order management, inventory supervision, customer relationship management, and more. In the words of retail strategist Brian Brunk, "unified commerce surpasses omnichannel by prioritizing the customer journey, dismantling internal channel barriers, and leveraging a unified commerce platform. Unified commerce represents more than just another term for omnichannel retailing; it signifies a distinct approach with the potential for different outcomes."

Unlike an omnichannel approach, which typically concludes with multichannel expansion and frontend alignment, unified commerce consolidates all channels, payment systems, product offerings, and customer interactions to deliver a fully integrated, measurable, and seamless experience. Within unified commerce, sales channels are supported by a unified platform, serving as a comprehensive driver for end-to-end growth.

From the customer's perspective, the purchasing journey remains seamless as they transition between touchpoints. Retailers and brands can deliver customer-centric commerce exclusively through unified commerce, where touchpoints interact and cooperate with each other instead of operating in isolated silos. A unified platform, underpinned by a single technology stack, facilitates omnichannel marketing, order fulfillment, and provides retailers with a holistic view of customer interactions.

COVID-19 Impact on the Unified Commerce Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped the retail landscape and continues to do so. Despite efforts such as adjusted store hours and product limitations to prevent hoarding, retailers nationwide struggle to maintain stocked shelves. Grocery supply chains operate tirelessly to meet demand, prompting many businesses to reconsider inventory management, order processing, and swift, accurate fulfillment.

The stark contrast between online growth and physical store declines underscores the necessity for businesses to adopt an omnichannel approach. Relying heavily on a single sales channel leaves businesses vulnerable to events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Unified commerce enables businesses to pivot swiftly, leveraging alternative or burgeoning sales channels to mitigate losses incurred in affected channels.

The rapid onset of the pandemic in China, coinciding with the Chinese New Year festivities, depleted store inventories with no replenishment options available, highlighting the vulnerability of traditional supply chains. Subsequently, a surge in demand for items like toilet paper in the United States left unprepared manufacturers scrambling to replenish stocks, underscoring the importance of supply chain agility.

Key Market Drivers:

Real-time monitoring and accurate data drive market growth.

Centralizing business operations on a single platform provides headquarters with a comprehensive overview of processes, from sales to procurement, allocation, pricing, and warehouse management. Real-time visibility empowers management to respond promptly to evolving situations, facilitating informed decision-making and agile actions.

Error reduction fosters market growth.

Utilizing disparate systems increases the risk of communication lapses and data inconsistencies, potentially leading to pricing errors or inventory inaccuracies across channels. A unified system maintains all business data in a single database, ensuring consistency across touchpoints and minimizing the likelihood of errors.

Market Restraints:

Privacy and security concerns hinder market growth.

Organizations express apprehensions regarding the security and privacy of shared video content across platforms, including issues related to copyright and Digital Rights Management (DRM). Instances of data breaches in various sectors underscore the imperative for robust security measures and regulatory compliance to safeguard sensitive information and mitigate risks associated with video conferencing solutions.

Unified Commerce Market - By Type:

• Business to Business (B2B)
• Business to Consumer (B2C)

In terms of type, Business to Business (B2B) dominated the e-commerce market with a significant share of 63.1% in 2021, and it is expected to experience rapid growth from 2023 to 2030. This growth is driven by the increasing preference of companies towards online transactions for purchasing goods and services. Additionally, the proliferation of smartphones and internet usage is projected to fuel the B2B e-commerce segment during the forecast period. B2B e-commerce involves transactions between businesses for the exchange of goods and services, providing them with new avenues to streamline operations and reduce costs. The emergence of specialized or vertical marketplaces within B2B e-commerce is also contributing to market expansion, offering a wide array of products and value-added services such as volume discounts and multiple payment options.

The global inclination of companies towards B2B e-commerce platforms is evident, with businesses adopting either the market model or the direct model to conduct transactions. The market model involves selling products on a shared platform alongside competitors, while the direct model entails businesses establishing their own B2B platforms to sell directly to consumers.

Unified Commerce Market - By Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
• The Middle East
•  Africa

Geographically, North America is poised to dominate the Commerce Cloud Market globally, attributed to the presence of numerous market players in the region such as IBM, Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and Google LLC, among others. These regional solution providers are making significant investments and advancements in the commerce cloud sector to foster regional growth.

For instance, in September 2019, Bloomreach introduced a B2B Search & Merchandising Connector for Salesforce Commerce Cloud on Salesforce AppExchange, enabling customers to integrate Bloomreach's search capabilities and AI-powered merchandising tools into their B2B commerce ecosystem.

Additionally, the Asia Pacific commerce cloud market is witnessing substantial growth, with a projected CAGR of 43% from 2022 to 2030, driven by the widespread adoption of commerce cloud solutions to expand customer bases and tap into large markets.

Europe is expected to maintain its dominance in the global commerce cloud market owing to its well-established economy, which facilitates investments in innovative strategies.

Unified Commerce Market Share by Company:

• IBM
• SAP
• Salesforce
• Apttus
• Episerver
• Oracle
• Magento
• Shopify Big
• Commerce (US)
• Digital River
• Elastic Path
• VTEX
• Commerce Tools (Germany)
•  Kibo (US)
• Sitecore (India)

Mergers and acquisitions in the industry have enabled players to diversify and enhance their service offerings. Notably, Salesforce recently enhanced its Commerce Cloud by introducing a platform tool that embeds smart, personalized, and connected shopping experiences, leveraging AI, visual search, and inventory availability services to improve the overall commerce experience.

The competitive landscape of embedded finance further enriches the market, attracting new players and fostering collaboration and mergers among companies to improve operability. Companies are focused on expanding their supply chains and distribution channels, with many commerce-based institutions and dedicated finance fintech firms contributing significantly to market growth.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GLOBAL UNIFIED COMMERCE MARKET:

Collaboration - In June of 2020, HCL Technologies (HCL) broadened its collaborative efforts with Google Cloud by incorporating HCL Commerce into the Google Cloud platform.