Foldable Bicycle Pioneer Brompton Future-Proofs Business with New Composable Ecommerce Site on BigCommerce
- BigCommerce's partnership with Brompton showcases the value of composable commerce for businesses.
- The new composable site leverages multiple BigCommerce partners for a composable commerce site, demonstrating the flexibility and scalability of the platform.
- Brompton's BigCommerce sites currently support sales in the UK and US, and the company plans to expand into additional European markets soon.
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The transition of Brompton to the BigCommerce platform represents a strategic move in the highly competitive ecommerce sector. This shift underscores the importance of agility and scalability in digital commerce, especially for a niche market such as foldable bicycles. Brompton's adoption of a composable commerce approach allows for rapid adaptation to market demands and consumer behavior changes, which is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge.
By leveraging a composable platform, Brompton can more effectively integrate various technologies such as Vue Storefront for the front-end, Bloomreach for content management and personalization and Algolia for search capabilities. This integration is expected to enhance the omnichannel customer experience, a vital aspect as consumers increasingly expect seamless interactions across multiple touchpoints. The focus on improved analytics and direct-to-consumer sales is likely to provide Brompton with valuable customer insights, enabling more personalized and efficient marketing strategies.
The potential increase in direct-to-consumer sales to 50% of Brompton's business could significantly impact revenue streams and profit margins. This direct engagement with consumers also facilitates the collection of first-party data, which is becoming increasingly important as privacy regulations tighten and third-party cookies are phased out.
Brompton's decision to employ a composable commerce architecture, backed by the MACH Alliance's principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native and Headless), represents a forward-thinking approach to e-commerce technology. This architecture is designed to provide a more flexible, scalable and resilient system that can evolve alongside the company's growth and shifting priorities.
The use of AI-powered personalization through Bloomreach and enhanced search capabilities via Algolia indicates a strategic emphasis on improving the customer experience through technology. The integration of Cin7's inventory management system, functioning as an ERP, suggests a commitment to operational efficiency and real-time inventory tracking, which is essential for meeting customer expectations in terms of product availability and delivery.
For stakeholders, the initial investment in a modern tech stack may lead to long-term savings through increased efficiency and reduced need for future significant overhauls. Additionally, the focus on a composable approach can shorten the time to market for new features and services, potentially driving innovation and customer satisfaction.
The announcement by BigCommerce about Brompton's platform migration is indicative of a broader trend where businesses are seeking to modernize their e-commerce infrastructure to drive growth. From a financial perspective, Brompton's investment in a new platform is a significant move aimed at boosting its direct-to-consumer channel, which is expected to contribute to half of its business in the coming years.
This strategic pivot has the potential to improve Brompton's financial performance by increasing sales volumes, enhancing profit margins through reduced reliance on intermediaries and lowering transaction costs. The enhanced analytics capabilities should lead to better decision-making and targeted marketing, which can help optimize return on investment for marketing expenditures.
While the short-term costs associated with the transition to BigCommerce may affect Brompton's financials, the long-term benefits such as increased customer loyalty, higher conversion rates and the potential for international expansion into additional European markets could outweigh these initial expenses. Investors should monitor the effectiveness of this new platform in driving sales and the company's ability to execute its digital transformation strategy.
MACH Alliance structure and BigCommerce partner ecosystem gave Brompton confidence in composable approach after struggling with previous platform
After struggling for years with its previous ecommerce platform and tech stack, Brompton sought a new platform that offered flexibility and the ability to scale as the company grows and its priorities shift.
“Our old system arguably could have been called composable, but it wasn’t purpose-built that way,” said Oliver Boardman, IT and digital director at Brompton. “The components didn’t work together well, and we didn’t have nearly as much flexibility as we needed. BigCommerce showed us that they could provide a true composable platform capable of scaling with us and our customers.”
The bicycle purchasing journey includes both online and offline touches. Customers shop around to compare different models, specifications, availability and prices, but they also want to ride different models before making a decision.
“The bike purchase is very omnichannel,” said Boardman. “We’ve recently launched a 28-day satisfaction guarantee in the
Brompton wanted the flexibility to support storefronts in different markets as ecommerce expands rapidly beyond the
Built on BigCommerce, the new commerce site leverages multiple BigCommerce partners for a composable commerce site. Global market-leading front-end solution Vue Storefront powers the front-end. E-commerce experience provider Bloomreach serves as Brompton’s CMS, driving AI-powered personalization across the site. Search capabilities from Algolia sit on top of Bromptom’s Cin7 inventory management system, which effectively functions as its ERP.
“Our previous system had a variety of pieces that didn’t work well together, so the idea of taking a composable commerce approach required careful assessment,” Boardman said. “We took our time confirming the various components would work well, and knowing that BigCommerce was a member of the MACH Alliance gave us a lot of confidence. Knowing we were following the MACH blueprint and that the components were compatible was a huge factor, and BigCommerce and its partners all came to the table early in the process to identify potential barriers and explain how they would work together to do what we needed.”
Brompton’s BigCommerce sites currently support sales in the
“Brompton has delivered a best-in-class customer experience based on the foundations of a modern, composable technology stack that creates new opportunities for innovation and speed to market,” said Mark Adams, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA at BigCommerce. “This demonstrates that companies of any size and scale can benefit greatly from moving on from their legacy technology platforms, but what matters most is that Brompton is now empowered with the technology and tools to fire up the digital experience creating more inspiration, more loyalty and more value for their customers.”
"Brompton is an incredible example of the value composable commerce can offer businesses," said Tjeerd Brenninkmeijer, executive vice president of EMEA at Bloomreach. "They join a growing list of companies taking a flexible, future-proof approach to their e-commerce experience, and alongside our MACH Alliance partners, we're pleased to help them bring AI-powered personalization to life across their new site."
"Brompton is paving the way with their forward-thinking adoption of composable commerce," remarked Patrick Friday, CEO of Vue Storefront. "Their approach exemplifies the kind of innovative, customer-centric strategy that Vue Storefront and our MACH Alliance partners excel in supporting. Brompton's dedication to a flexible, scalable and future-proof digital presence resonates with our mission. We're proud to join forces with Brompton in this Frontend-First transformation, leveraging our Frontend as a Service technology and expertise to enhance their customer journey."
Brompton joins a growing group of cycling brands on the BigCommerce platform, including Yeti Cycles, Cambiobike and Mango Bikes.
About BigCommerce
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240124065291/en/
Brad Hem
pr@bigcommerce.com
Source: BigCommerce
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