Headless Commerce
E-commerce architecture that separates the frontend presentation layer from backend commerce functionality via APIs.
Definition
Headless commerce decouples the customer-facing experience from inventory, checkout, and fulfillment systems. This separation allows brands to customize frontends while leveraging robust commerce backends.
The architecture enables omnichannel experiences where the same commerce engine powers websites, mobile apps, kiosks, and IoT devices with consistent functionality.
Why It Matters
Headless architecture provides flexibility for brands seeking unique digital experiences without building commerce infrastructure from scratch. It reduces time-to-market for new channels and touchpoints.
For marketing teams, headless enables rapid experimentation with customer experiences without backend development bottlenecks.
Examples in Practice
A fashion brand uses Shopify's headless APIs with a custom Next.js frontend for complete design control. A B2B company connects headless commerce to its existing ERP for unified inventory management.
Headless implementations typically integrate content management, commerce, and search through composable API layers.