Spotlight

Report:

The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Solutions For B2C, Q2 2024

How does Forrester define the Commerce Solutions For B2C market in 2024?

Most enterprise businesses selling directly to consumers online already have a B2C commerce solution. An outsized proportion replatformed since 2020 to mitigate sudden market changes. This evaluation serves both as a retention guide for current customers and a buyer's guide for new selections. The market shows little new logo opportunity beyond attrition between vendors. Customers must become their own retention advocates, working to identify new value-adds from commerce vendors and external actions to complement their solutions and avoid replatforming.

Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Solutions For B2C, Q2 2024 in 2024

How did the Commerce Solutions For B2C market evolve in 2024?

What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?

What are the common features of top products in the Commerce Solutions For B2C space?

No common features specified.

Scope Exclusions

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting

Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of nine B2C commerce solution providers across 32 criteria. It assesses vendors' current offerings, strategies, and market presence to help B2C digital professionals understand how each provider measures up. The evaluation covers key commerce capabilities including practitioner UX, product catalog management, merchandising, personalized search, cart and checkout, order management, and more. It also examines vendor strategies around vision, innovation, partner ecosystems, pricing flexibility, and customer retention approaches.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: This research should be used by B2C digital professionals who are either selecting a new commerce solution or assessing their current vendor's capabilities and retention strategy. It serves as both a buyer's guide for businesses preparing for commerce solution selection and a retention assessment tool for current customers. Businesses can use the Excel-based vendor comparison tool to adapt criteria weightings to their specific needs and compare vendors based on their unique requirements.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: All vendors must provide core B2C commerce functions including: web/mobile checkout, product catalog management, promotions management, search and merchandising, and customer profile management. Additionally, vendors must have at least $20 million in B2C product revenue and demonstrate an existing enterprise global client base with multi-region focus and evidence of mindshare and adoption among Forrester clients.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

A:

  • B2C product revenue below $20 million threshold
  • Incomplete core B2C commerce functionality (missing web/mobile checkout, product catalog management, promotions management, search and merchandising, or customer profile management)
  • Lack of enterprise global client base
  • Single-region focus without multi-region presence
  • Insufficient evidence of mindshare, use, or adoption among Forrester clients
  • Materials not provided by February 28, 2024 evaluation deadline
  • Declined participation in Forrester Wave evaluation process

Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?

A:

  • Assess vendor's approach to retention and continuous value delivery
  • Evaluate ability to proactively add value through process improvements, functionality enhancements, and cost-saving measures
  • Consider streamlined integration capabilities with complementary solutions via app stores or deep partnerships
  • Review pricing flexibility and transparency including limitations on rate increases
  • Examine partnership strength through transparency, collaboration, and codevelopment opportunities
  • Assess vendor's UI monitoring and continuous user experience improvements
  • Evaluate flexibility in renewal agreements including adjustments for functionality usage and professional services costs
  • Consider if you're migrating from legacy on-premises monolithic architecture to modern cloud-native solutions
  • Assess need for strategic tech additions versus full replatforming
  • Evaluate complementary functionality offered at no additional charge

Q: How has the Commerce Solutions For B2C market evolved in 2024?

A:

  • Mass replatforming since 2020 to mitigate sudden market changes
  • Limited new logo opportunity with most enterprise businesses already having B2C commerce solutions
  • Strong customer retention with most reference customers expecting to use their solution for another 3-5 years
  • Shift from replatforming to strategic tech additions targeting specific goals
  • Vendors bringing creative retention efforts through functionality enhancements at no additional charge
  • Focus on streamlined integrations with complementary solutions via app stores and deep partnerships
  • Increased pricing transparency with limitations on price increases and price reductions
  • Growing opportunities for codevelopment projects and rapid response to functionality requests
  • Migration from legacy on-premises monolithic solutions to modern cloud-native solutions
  • Consolidation of customer-facing tech while adding strategic pieces like dedicated commerce search

Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?

A: Current Offering (vertical axis) measures the strength of each vendor's existing product capabilities across 22 criteria including UX, functionality, architecture, and support. Strategy (horizontal axis) evaluates the strength of vendors' market strategies across 8 criteria including vision, innovation, partner ecosystem, adoption rates, and pricing models. Market Presence (bubble size) reflects vendor revenue and customer base size.

Reference

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