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Take an agile approach to ecommerce replatforming
Agile replatforming lets retailers move quickly, reduce risk and focus on essentials such as checkout, post purchase care and seamless retail integration.
Agile replatforming lets retailers move quickly, reduce risk and focus on essentials such as checkout, post purchase care and seamless retail integration.
Technology in retail moves quickly and customer expectations change just as fast.
Shoppers want seamless journeys, simple checkout processes, flexible payment options and dependable post purchase care.
For retailers, relying on an outdated platform creates barriers to growth and limits flexibility.
Ecommerce replatforming is the process of moving your online store from one technology platform to another so that it can run more efficiently and deliver better customer experiences.
Businesses that succeed are the ones that adapt with speed and confidence. They recognise that perfection can be the enemy of progress and that value is unlocked by moving forward quickly while refining along the way.
This is where an agile approach to replatforming becomes essential.
Shoppers no longer distinguish between channels.
They expect an omnichannel experience where stores, websites and mobile devices feel connected and consistent. Retailers who fail to meet this expectation risk losing conversions and loyalty.
At the same time, legacy platforms are struggling to keep pace.
Many cannot integrate easily with new tools or external partners. Agile replatforming solves this by enabling retailers to adopt modular, API-driven setups that are flexible and easier to evolve.
Retail integration is the practice of connecting ecommerce platforms with payments, inventory, logistics and customer data.
This creates a composable technology stack that can grow alongside the business.
Many businesses delay replatforming because they fear disruption.
Yet the longer a retailer waits, the more it pays in hidden costs and technical debt.
You know it is time to replatform if:
The risk of waiting goes beyond frustration.
Outdated systems often struggle with critical areas such as returns management, loyalty programmes and checkout integrations.
These are the very areas that shape margins and customer satisfaction.
Checkout is the most critical moment in the shopping journey.
Small improvements here can deliver a significant lift in conversion and revenue. Replatforming provides the opportunity to build in the features that customers now expect.
A frictionless checkout is one that minimises the steps to purchase and supports features such as one click buying, mobile wallets and buy now pay later.
Retailers that ignore these essentials risk higher basket abandonment.
Ecommerce conversion rates typically sit between 2.5% and 3%. This shows how much potential there is for improvement at the final stage of the journey.
Around four in ten UK adults have used buy now pay later services. BNPL has become a mainstream option that often increases average order values, but it needs careful messaging to maintain customer trust.
Conversion optimisation should also be part of every replatforming project. This includes using a single page checkout, showing progress steps, adding clear trust signals and prioritising mobile design.
Offering saved payment preferences and auto filling delivery details reduces friction even further.
Winning the basket is only part of the customer journey.
The post purchase experience is everything that happens after checkout, including delivery updates, returns, refunds, loyalty rewards and customer support.
Retailers that get this stage right build long term loyalty.
Online returns in the UK are valued in the tens of billions.
A small group of serial returners are responsible for a disproportionate share of ecommerce returns. These figures highlight why better returns management must be built into platform decisions.
ASOS introduced a fee for frequent returners to protect profitability while still offering flexible shopping. This change shows how agile platforms make it possible to adapt quickly to shifting customer behaviour.
Loyalty programmes are another powerful lever.
Customer support integrations also matter. Linking ecommerce platforms with CRM tools, chatbots and order tracking reduces “where is my order” queries and builds trust at scale.
Traditional replatforming often fails because teams wait for perfection before launch.
Months or even years are spent designing, testing and reworking before the site goes live.
By the time it launches, shopper expectations and technology may have already shifted.
Agile replatforming works differently. It focuses on launching a lean version quickly, covering the essentials such as checkout, payments and integrations.
Once the platform is live, teams can improve and expand in phases.
This reduces risk, delivers faster return on investment and removes the need to run two platforms side by side.
Real world examples show how agility creates results and enables businesses to act quickly when circumstances change.
Lindt launched a new online store in just days when physical retail was disrupted. The agile approach meant the company could capture seasonal demand during Easter, their second biggest sales period, without relying on traditional store footfall. This quick launch secured revenue that might otherwise have been lost and created a scalable platform for future direct to consumer growth.
ASOS adjusted its returns strategy through its digital platform, introducing targeted fees for serial returners while keeping the overall shopping experience simple and flexible. This move reduced operational costs from excessive returns while showing that a platform can be adapted quickly in response to shifting shopper behaviour. Agile replatforming gave ASOS the ability to update processes without disrupting the wider customer journey.
Amazon continues to enhance its Prime ecosystem by layering in new loyalty features, delivery options and streaming benefits. Their platform-first, agile mindset allows them to continually test and roll out improvements at scale. This demonstrates that replatforming is not only about initial migration but also about building a structure that supports ongoing innovation.
Together, these examples show that agile ecommerce replatforming can achieve:
Replatforming does not need to be stressful.
At Sherwen, we help retailers take a lean and agile approach that makes migrations achievable in a matter of weeks.
Our method begins with aligning all stakeholders, from board level to operations.
We then prioritise the features that will unlock the greatest business value, such as frictionless checkout, streamlined returns and integrated loyalty.
Once live, we continue to support with conversion optimisation, user experience testing and accessibility improvements.
By focusing on essentials first and iterating from there, retailers can launch faster, reduce risk and start seeing results sooner.
Not convinced? Check out our client case studies and see the results for yourself.
Retailers often have the same questions when weighing up a move to a new platform.
Here are the answers to some of the most common queries about agile ecommerce replatforming, checkout, and the post purchase journey.
Ecommerce replatforming is the process of moving an online store from one platform to another so it can deliver better speed, features and customer experience.
It is time to replatform when your site becomes slow, integrations are clunky, features take too long to add or maintenance costs are rising faster than sales.
Agile replatforming focuses on launching a lean version quickly and then improving it in phases, while traditional replatforming waits for a perfect launch before going live.
A frictionless checkout minimises the steps needed to complete a purchase and includes features such as one click buying, mobile wallets and buy now pay later.
The post purchase experience includes everything that happens after checkout, such as delivery tracking, returns, refunds, loyalty rewards and customer support.
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