We know that composable commerce is one of those topics that often makes people hesitate. It sounds technical. Complex. And maybe even a bit out of reach.

But we’ve been there — working through it with our own teams and helping our clients navigate the same uncertainty. The truth is, composable commerce pulls together a lot of moving parts: architecture choices, frontend-backend separation, microservices, APIs, modern CMSs… it’s no wonder it can feel intimidating at first.

Yet it’s becoming impossible to ignore. That’s why we put together this guide — so you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Step by step, we’ll walk through what composable commerce really means, how it works, and how you can decide whether it’s the right move for your business.

Ready? Let’s start with the basics: How industry experts and ecommerce development vendors approach composable commerce?

How the Industry — and eCommerce Experts Who Build It — Explain Composable Commerce

To give you a comprehensive understanding of composable commerce, we’ll provide several definitions from reputable sources:

MACH Alliance: “Composable commerce is a development approach that enables organizations to activate their entire product record across every channel by leveraging best-of-breed commerce vendors composed together into a singular, custom-built application.”

Forbes Contributor: “[Composable commerce is] a modular approach to software architecture that leverages API-first, cloud-native applications to enable retailers to build a flexible tech stack that can be customized to their specific business needs.”

Deloitte: “It allows you to select and integrate commerce capabilities in a ‘building blocks’ fashion — adding or subtracting capabilities faster using microservices, connecting to standard SAP solutions through APIs, and integrating with 3rd party partner solutions via connectors, to suit specific or evolving needs. This means you can take advantage of a wider choice of individualised solutions and vendors — for a full range of needs covering product information management (PIM), content management, search, baskets, checkout experience and more.”

Dinarys explains:

Composable commerce is a modern way to build eCommerce platforms that gives businesses more control, flexibility, and room to grow. It’s not just a technical shift — it’s also a smarter business strategy.

Let’s look at it from both angles.

The technical side: modular by design

From a technical standpoint, composable commerce is all about modular architecture.

Instead of relying on a single system where everything is tightly linked, your platform is built from individual, self-contained components. These are often called packaged business capabilities (or PBCs) — and each one handles a specific task, like payments, search, product management, or content.

Because these components are independent, you can:

1. Add or remove tools without affecting the whole platform
2. Scale specific features during high-traffic periods
3. Easily upgrade or replace modules as better options emerge
4. Integrate third-party tools — or even custom-built solutions — via API

That last point is a big one. If there’s no perfect solution on the market, your dev team can create one from scratch, connect it through an API, and update it whenever needed — without slowing down the rest of the system.

The business side: strategy built on flexibility

From a business perspective, composable commerce supports long-term planning in a way monolithic systems never could. It gives you the freedom to:

1. Switch vendors without replatforming
2. Adapt quickly to customer behavior and market shifts
3. Plan for future migrations or feature rollouts
4. Partner with specialized services that fit your unique needs

Your tech no longer holds your strategy back. Instead, it supports change — making it easier to evolve your offerings, test new ideas, or expand into new markets.

The big picture

Composable commerce is a direct response to the limitations of traditional, monolithic platforms. It offers a more flexible, future-proof foundation for businesses that need to adapt, grow, and respond to customers in real time.

In short: it’s not just a better tech stack — it’s a better way to build your business.

To really understand that, we need to look under the hood. The key lies in the MACH framework — a set of modern technology principles that power composable commerce. This is where the flexibility, speed, and scalability truly come from.

Let’s break it down in the next chapter.