Retailers face GBP £7 billion cost rise as commercetools adapts

The retail sector is preparing for a substantial increase in operational costs, with a projected annual impact of GBP £5 billion rising to GBP £7 billion as new regulatory measures take effect later in the year.

Rising National Insurance Contributions and an increase in the National Living Wage are placing additional strain on businesses, particularly retailers facing a forthcoming packaging tax and extensions to producer responsibility legislation due in October. Industry observers note that these cost escalations force businesses to focus on operational efficiency to sustain customer service.

In response to these challenges, commercetools has introduced new features designed to support businesses in navigating these pressures while maintaining agility, scalability, and a customer-centric approach. The company's Spring 2025 edition of Compilations showcases a range of additions to its commerce platform, targeting key areas such as customer experience, operational flexibility, and workforce efficiency.

According to commercetools, one of the core elements in this release is a unified commerce offering. The commercetools InStore solution now supports online and in-person retail channels from a single backend system. This integration is already operational with retailers such as Jaycar, who aim to deliver consistent customer experiences across all touchpoints.

Another notable feature is an artificial intelligence-based tool for creating product data models, which is intended to simplify the development and management of complex product catalogues. This caters to retailers handling extensive and intricate inventories across various channels.

An upgraded Import API has also delivered efficiency improvements, streamlining data management tasks within the commercetools platform. The company reports that within one week of launch, 25% of customers had adopted the new API, reflecting a positive response regarding productivity gains.

The platform update includes features targeting customer loyalty and repeat business, such as "Buy & Get" and "Best Deal" promotions. It also includes new logic to deliver high-impact offers that increase average order value and retention. Gift card support has also been introduced.

Advancements for business-to-business (B2B) customers have been implemented, including shareable purchasing lists to facilitate collaborative procurement and recurring order functionalities for subscription-based transactions. The expanded ability to create up to 500 unique customer groups is designed to enhance the precision of promotional and pricing campaigns.

On the operational side, Payment Hub offers no-code payment service provider integrations to give retailers further flexibility at checkout stages. Inventory management also sees enhancements, with new features for stock reservation and real-time availability updates aimed at improving conversion rates and sales accuracy.

Expanded tools for bulk editing, streamlined discount management, and system performance monitoring compatible with leading application performance monitoring solutions address workforce empowerment. Improvements in digital maturity for B2B teams include enhanced permissioning, quote editing, and search functionality for business units, all delivered without requiring bespoke system development.

Shiri Mosenzon Erez, Chief Product Officer at commercetools, commented on the motivations behind the new features: "We're building the future of commerce by listening closely to what our customers need now and anticipating where they want to go next. From faster launches to smarter commerce capabilities in areas that matter most, like payments and promotions, we are working hard so our customers can be best positioned to win in their markets."

"We are passionate about commerce and innovation. There is a broad shift towards an experience that is fully generated, not only agentic commerce, so businesses will have the autonomy to adapt, personalise, and grow on their own terms — we are working towards this — the architects of commerce innovation!"

The company indicates that its latest round of enhancements is a response to persistent external pressures on retailers and rapid changes in consumer expectations and technology. The objective is to equip enterprises with the infrastructure to execute quickly, scale efficiently, and deliver differentiated experiences that foster customer loyalty and repeat business.

Commercetools says the Spring 2025 Compilations update is available to its platform users and continues to reflect its stated commitment to supporting enterprise customers as they adapt to changing market demands.