What Makes a Scalable eCommerce Stack in 2025?

by Phil Preston in Ecommerce

Scale or Stagnate — The 2025 eCommerce Dilemma

Shoppers move faster than ever. So do algorithms, tax rules, fulfillment networks, and board-level revenue targets. The stakes for enterprise and mid-market retailers have never been higher. In 2025, the eCommerce battleground isn’t just about flashy frontend and clever web design — it’s about building the kind of digital backbone that can flex, adapt, and scale at the pace of your ambitions. Yet, behind the scenes, too many retailers are held back by rigid, monolithic platforms, brittle system integration, and vendor lock-in that suffocate growth just when it matters most.

Scalability is now the make-or-break metric for success. The difference between outpacing your competition and being left behind? It comes down to your eCommerce stack — and more specifically, whether you’re ready for the future with a composable commerce architecture.

This post breaks down the essential components, the market trends, and the strategic choices that will define scalable commerce in 2025. We’ll cut through the hype and explain what really matters: why composable commerce is now non-negotiable, which pain points it solves, the benefits of open source, and how Fontis engineers next-gen stacks for Australian retailers aiming for market leadership.

The 2025 Commerce Reality: Data, Demand, and the Scalability Imperative

Let’s ground the conversation in data. Scalability is no longer optional:

Retailers are moving away from all-in-one monoliths in favour of composable commerce solutions. Why? Because speed, flexibility, and the ability to out-innovate the competition are non-negotiable in 2025.

Why Scalability Became a Board-Level Priority Overnight

If you feel like change in modern retail has shifted from “steady” to “ludicrous mode,” you’re not imagining it. Four forces have converged to create the current state of play:

  • Demand Volatility is the new normal: Flash-sale peaks, viral social spikes, and international seasonality mean traffic patterns can quadruple overnight. Your stack must expand (and contract) on demand—without rewrites or 3 a.m. war rooms. Demand forecasting has never been more critical.
  • The retail perimeter has exploded: Channels now span marketplaces, social commerce, TikTok shops, in-store kiosks, mobile apps, voice assistants, and IoT pop-ups across multiple point of sale tehnologies. Each surface requires new APIs, data contracts, and orchestration logic to maintain customer satisfaction.
  • AI and real-time data are table stakes: Personalisation engines, predictive logistics, and dynamic pricing all rely on millisecond-level data flows that choke slow and fragile monolith databases. To maximise customer engagement, retailers need a composable stack that can process and leverage data across all channels.
  • Boardroom tolerance for tech debt has evaporated: Investors and business owners won’t budget “rip-and-replace” projects every three years. They expect modular stacks that evolve incrementally, protecting both margin, resources and fulfillment.

Scalability today doesn’t just mean “doing more orders.” It’s absorbing constant change without rewriting your whole stack. A stack that can stretch on-demand can cut emergency infrastructure spend by up to 40% while keeps user experience snappy—protecting both margin and NPS.

Why Monolithic Platforms No Longer Cut It

Monoliths were built for yesterday’s retail world where eCommerce was either an afterthought or a sole strategy — not today’s omnichannel, always-on, AI-driven reality. They’re inflexible, slow to evolve, and costly to maintain.

Key weaknesses:

  • All-or-nothing integrations: Every change becomes a major project.
  • Tech debt accumulation: Fixes pile up, complexity explodes with management eating time and budget.
  • Cost spiral: License fees, maintenance, and customisations balloon over time.
  • Slow innovation: You’re held hostage to someone else’s release calendar.

Composable commerce solves these at the root — with modularity, open architecture, cloud computing, and elastic on-demand orchestration as standard.

How We Got Here

Over the last decade, monolithic structures propelled modern commerce forward—until they didn’t. Cracks showed as modern brands evolved at a rapid pace.

  • Monoliths Buckled: Single-vendor suites couldn’t keep pace with channel proliferation and user experience demand.
  • Vendor lock-in stunted innovation: Depending on a single suite meant being handcuffed to their release cycles, rigid frontend and backend, API limits, and price hikes. Composable commerce platforms let you replace under-performing services on your timeline.
  • Developers Revolted: Customising closed systems was slow and brittle; talent voted with their feet and developer scarcity made re-platforms untenable.
  • Cloud Economics Shifted: The move towards micro-billing now rewards scaling only the busy services, not the whole platform, avoiding expensive all-or-nothing lifts.

What Is Composable Commerce & MACH — In Plain English

Composable commerce is about flexibility and scale: the freedom to pick and choose best-of-breed solutions for every part of your commerce stack — from content management and product information management (PIM) to order management and warehouse management system (WMS) — and to integrate them seamlessly via modern APIs. It’s the antidote to brittle, one-size-fits-all platforms.

MACH stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless. It’s the gold standard for composable architecture:

  • Microservices: Break functionality into small, independent services.
  • API-first: Everything talks to everything else through clean, robust APIs for efficient system integration.
  • Cloud-native: Instantly scalable, resilient infrastructure.
  • Headless: Decoupled frontend and backend, enabling true omnichannel commerce.

Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs): Pre-built, composable modules — payment, search, PIM, OMS, loyalty, and more — that accelerate deployment and reduce integration headaches. PBCs make it possible to create a unique mix of services that suit your strategy, supporting fast proofs of concept, smooth adoption, and ongoing innovation.

Why does this matter? Because composable commerce empowers businesses to move faster, pivot more easily, and avoid being boxed in by any single vendor or legacy stack.

Learn more: Composable Commerce explained

2025 has seen composable commerce go mainstream, but several deep trends are driving adoption beyond buzzwords:

  • MACH Mainstreaming: The New Enterprise Default No longer bleeding-edge, MACH architectures are now standard for global retailers and brands seeking scale and innovation. 87% adoption — and climbing. “Composable commerce is the blueprint for scalability in 2025.” — MACH Alliance
  • AI-Ready Architecture Gen-AI merchandising, agent-driven checkouts, and predictive customer journeys all depend on open APIs and modular stacks. Only a composable platform can support next-gen personalisation and customer engagement at scale.
  • Unified Commerce & Headless Commerce Decoupling frontend and backend enables seamless omnichannel experiences — think point of sale (POS), kiosks, apps, marketplaces all powered by the same logic and data. A unified stack means a single source of truth for inventory, pricing, and content.
  • TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and ROI Pressure Licensing and infra costs for composable solutions are consistently lower than monoliths. Retailers like Salling Group reported a 75% reduction in TCO after migrating to a composable architecture. Plus, faster time-to-market means you start realising value sooner. (Source: Sailing Group 75% TCO Cut)
  • Vendor-Neutrality Brands are done with single-vendor risk. Only 30% of retailers still prefer all-in-one suites. The rest are embracing composable DXPs for flexibility, risk mitigation, and leverage in vendor negotiations. Composable commerce avoids vendor lock-in, allowing retailers to select best-of-breed solutions, swap modules freely, and avoid single points of failure.
  • Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs) PBCs speed deployment, with some organisations achieving up to 80% faster go-live times. Modular solutions mean retailers innovate quicker without massive redevelopment efforts.
  • Edge Logic Promotions, search suggestions, and geo-pricing now execute closer to the shopper, slashing latency and preserving user experience. CDN layers can now run personalised promos in <50 ms globally.
  • Event Streaming Over ETL Kafka/Redpanda pipelines push real-time inventory and order events to every downstream system— no more nightly reconciliations. This supports up-to-the-minute demand forecasting, accurate order management, and seamless order fulfillment.
  • Composable ERP Connectors Pre-built adapters for NetSuite, Dynamics 365, and Apparel21 accelerate complex back-office integrations and make adoption of new modules painless.

Learn more: MACH technology principles

From Pain to Gain: How Composable Commerce Solves Real-World Problems

Composable commerce isn’t just a tech trend — it’s a direct response to the most painful blockers facing ambitious retailers.

  • Vendor Lock-In: Traditional platforms tie your entire stack to one vendor’s roadmap, pricing, and support. With composable, you can swap modules freely and choose best-of-breed for every function. No more waiting years for features or settling for “good enough.”
  • Brittle Integrations: Integrating ERPs, POS, WMS, and CDPs is slow, expensive, and risky with legacy platforms. Instead, API-first microservices enable robust, rapid integrations across content management, product information management, OMS, ERP, WMS, and point of sale.
  • Scaling Ceilings: Peak periods expose the limits of on-prem or monolithic platforms. Now, Cloud-native infrastructure and edge compute mean you can auto-scale globally — no headaches or downtime.
  • High TCO & Tech Debt: Sky-high license costs and ever-increasing technical debt eat into margins. With a composable architecture, you pay per component. Add or remove modules as needed, keeping your stack lean and costs in check.
  • Slow Innovation: Feature releases lag behind the market, strangling growth. Instead, deploy new capabilities up to 80% faster with PBCs and modular architecture. Run proofs of concept in weeks, not quarters.
  • Talent Attraction: Engineers avoid legacy stacks. Composable solution; Modern, open toolboxes promote a collaborative, future-facing environment.
  • Release Paralysis: Big-bang deployments cause risk outages, so teams delay releases. Instead, CI/CD pipelines and feature flags allow zero-downtime deploys.
  • Global Expansion: Multi‑storefront tax, currency, language and content duplication can become a nightmare, crippling critical overseas expansion plans. With composable, Region-specific micro-frontends and unified APIs make multi-currency, multi-language, and content localisation straightforward.

Discover the Fontis Commerce Stack — engineered for flexibility, profit, and peace of mind.

A modern composable commerce stack is defined by its modularity and interoperability, not by a single platform or vendor. In 2025, leading brands are building their technology foundations with best-in-class, API-driven components across every layer of the business. Here are the most popular elements found in successful composable commerce architectures—along with why each is critical for scalable growth, operational efficiency, and customer engagement.

1. Content Management System (CMS)

Examples: Sanity, Storyblok

Role: Acts as the central hub for creating, managing, and distributing digital content across web, mobile, social, and in-store experiences.

Benefits:

  • Enables rapid content updates and localisation across channels
  • Supports headless commerce and progressive web app strategies
  • Drives brand consistency and efficient collaboration between marketing and development teams
  • Powers personalisation and dynamic customer journeys

2. Product Information Management (PIM)

Example: Akeneo

Role: Centralises all product data—descriptions, images, attributes, pricing, and inventory—for seamless syndication across all sales channels.

Benefits:

  • Ensures data accuracy, reduces manual entry, and supports rich product experiences
  • Enables unified commerce and multichannel selling
  • Improves search engine optimisation and brand trust with up-to-date, detailed product info
  • Streamlines onboarding for new channels and geographies

3. Order Management System (OMS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Example: Apparel21, Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365

Role: Orchestrates order capture, processing, inventory allocation, and fulfillment across multiple channels and locations.

Benefits:

  • Provides real-time visibility into orders and inventory
  • Enables efficient, error-free order fulfillment and returns
  • Powers omnichannel experiences like click-and-collect or ship-from-store
  • Supports demand forecasting and helps reduce operational costs

4. Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Example: Shippit

Role: Manages warehousing, picking, packing, and shipping operations as part of the broader fulfillment strategy.

Benefits:

  • Increases accuracy and speed of order fulfillment
  • Reduces stockouts, overstocks, and costly errors
  • Supports automation and scaling as order volumes grow
  • Integrates tightly with OMS and POS for real-time inventory updates

5. Point of Sale (POS)

Examples: Hike, Vend, Shopify POS

Role: Bridges online and offline commerce by integrating in-store sales, inventory, and customer data with the broader commerce ecosystem.

Benefits:

  • Enables unified commerce with a single view of the customer and inventory
  • Facilitates seamless loyalty programs, returns, and cross-channel experiences
  • Powers data-driven personalisation in both physical and digital environments
  • Improves reporting and decision-making for store operations

6. Search and Merchandising

Examples: Typsense, Algolia, Searchspring

Role: Delivers fast, relevant product discovery and merchandising experiences on storefronts and apps.

Benefits:

  • Boosts conversion rates through relevant search results and recommendations
  • Powers personalisation and AI-driven product suggestions
  • Supports dynamic merchandising rules, seasonal promotions, and A/B testing
  • Enhances customer engagement and lifetime value

7. Payments and Checkout

Examples: Adyen, Braintree

Role: Processes payments securely and efficiently, supporting multiple payment methods, currencies, and geographies.

Benefits:

  • Reduces cart abandonment with fast, seamless checkout flows
  • Supports global expansion with multi-currency and local payment integrations
  • Protects against fraud and manages compliance requirements
  • Offers flexibility to quickly adopt new payment technologies

8. Personalisation and Customer Engagement

Examples: Klaviyo, Emarsys

Role: Leverages customer data to deliver tailored experiences, communications, and offers at every touchpoint.

Benefits:

  • Increases loyalty and conversion rates through relevant messaging and offers
  • Supports omnichannel marketing and automation
  • Drives demand forecasting by understanding customer behaviour and trends
  • Powers advanced segmentation and predictive analytics

9. Customer Service and Support

Example: Zendesk

Role: Provides customer care, ticketing, live chat, and self-service tools integrated into the commerce stack.

Benefits:

  • Improves resolution times and customer satisfaction
  • Enables a unified view of customer interactions across all channels
  • Facilitates knowledge management and automated support
  • Reduces support costs through workflow automation

10. Edge Delivery, CDN, and Performance Optimisation

Example: Fastly, Cloudflare

Role: Ensures storefronts and applications load quickly and reliably, regardless of user location or device.

Benefits:

  • Improves SEO and user experience with fast, global delivery
  • Supports edge-side personalisation and security at scale
  • Protects against downtime and surges in traffic
  • Enables dynamic content and real-time promotions

Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento** remain relevant — but only when integrated as part of a wider composable commerce solution.

Check out our eCommerce development expertise.

The Benefits of Open Source in Composable Commerce

Open source is more than a philosophy — it’s a practical accelerator for scalability, agility, and security in composable commerce. At Fontis, we’ve advocated for and contributed to open source for nearly two decades, and our experience shows:

  • No Vendor Lock-In: With open source components, you own your roadmap. Swap, extend, or replace elements of your stack without being tied to a single vendor’s licensing, pricing, or priorities.
  • Transparency and Security: Open codebases mean security vulnerabilities are found and fixed quickly. Your team can audit and understand the technology — no black boxes or hidden logic.
  • Innovation and Community: Tap into a global network of contributors who are solving the same content management, PIM, or order management problems you face. This shared R&D keeps you on the front foot.
  • Lower TCO: Avoid hefty licensing fees. Invest in your own intellectual property, not someone else’s recurring revenue model.
  • Talent Attraction: Top engineers want to work with open tools, contribute back, and be part of the global innovation engine.

Our open source-first approach underpins every system we build — from progressive web apps to robust warehouse management systems and search engine optimisation tools. We’ve seen firsthand how composable, open technology stacks enable faster proofs of concept, smoother system integration, and truly future-proof solutions for leading Australian retailers.

At Fontis we are big advocates for open source development and have contributed to projects over the years. See our contributions on GitHub.

The Migration Blueprint: Moving to a Scalable, Composable Commerce Stack

No two migrations are the same, but the playbook for success in 2025 is clear: incremental, strategic, and business-led.

The Crawl–Walk–Run Approach

  • Crawl: Start small, identifying critical integrations like PIM, OMS, ERP (e.g., Dynamics 365, NetSuite), WMS, and CDP.
  • Walk: Gradually replace or integrate composable components, starting with those that have the biggest payoff, managing risk and gaining executive buy-in.
  • Run: Full composability — best-of-breed everything, unified by robust APIs, governed by your team (not your vendor).

Success factors:

  • Executive buy-in and clear sponsorship from the Chief Information Officer.
  • Investment in expert technical capability and deep experience.
  • The right partner — a vendor-neutral, engineering-first agency who can actually deliver.

Typical blockers:

  • Legacy dependencies and technical debt.
  • Skills gap in MACH and composable tech (27% of orgs cite this).
  • Board-level scepticism around risk and value.

In Australia, businesses recognise the urgency of composable solutions, with limited specialised agencies capable of delivering deep backend expertise. Fontis positions uniquely here, providing vendor-neutral, elite backend engineering capabilities that other agencies often lack.

The Australian Angle: Why Local Expertise Matters

2025 marks the first time Australia has featured in global MACH adoption surveys — and demand is surging. Yet the local market is underserved:

  • Only a handful of Australian agencies genuinely specialise in backend composable commerce engineering or have the technical experience to deliver solid integration and fulfillment.
  • Most focus on front-end design, templated rollouts, or vendor-aligned “solutions” that simply add another layer of complexity rather than allowing fit-for-purpose adoption.

Fontis is vendor-agnostic, backend-first, and obsessed with making commerce stacks perform — not just look good. We don’t take kickbacks or oversell. We just provide technical depth, 20+ years of experience and practical solutions that drive profit.

See the Fontis Commerce Stack in action, or dive into our approach to eCommerce development services.

How Fontis Delivers Engineered eCommerce Performance

Fontis exists to solve complex, modern day commerce problems where others dare to tread. We’re not here for the hype; we’re here for the heavy lifting. Our approach is different by design:

  • Specialists, not generalists: Our 25+ engineers are eCommerce infrastructure specialists, fluent in content management, system integration, and web design for scale.
  • Backend first: We build systems where profit lives — deep in the stack.
  • Vendor-neutral, open source: We’re not tied to tech partners. We only use what’s best for your business, and we contribute to the ecosystem.
  • No commissions, no upselling: Just what works for your brand. Period.
  • Plain English, straight talk: We guide CTOs, CIOs, eCommerce Managers, and Retail Operations leaders with clarity and credibility.

When your growth depends on a stack that works at every level — not just the shiny front end — Fontis is the team that quietly engineers the performance others promise.

Ready to Scale? Explore Your Options With Fontis

2025 is the year composable commerce becomes the new normal. If your stack is holding you back, you’re not alone — and you have better options.

Explore your options with Fontis’ engineering team.

No hype, no sales pitches, just clear advice on building a scalable, future-ready eCommerce stack. Whether you’re planning to migrate to composable commerce, need help untangling complex system integration, or want an honest audit of your systems, our specialists are ready to help.

Get in touch with Fontis to engineer your next-generation stack.

References

Fontis: Engineered eCommerce Performance. Trusted Advisors. Tailored Solutions. Measurable Impact.