How Top Online Retailers Future-Proof Their Business by Upgrading Their Tech Stacks

Your tech stack is more than just code, it’s the backbone of your e-commerce operation, directly impacting everything from page load speed to customer satisfaction. In a recent Shopify survey, 61% of merchants said they plan to upgrade core parts of their tech stack in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, retailers using modern tools like AI-driven personalization see up to a 20% increase in conversion rates. Why the urgency? Because in a market where expectations evolve faster than product catalogs, clinging to outdated infrastructure is no longer just inconvenient, it’s expensive.

In this guide, we’ll break down why online retailers are racing to modernise their tech stacks, the trends driving the shift, and how you can stay competitive by uncovering what technologies industry leaders are using, starting with a free browser extension like WhatRuns.

The Catalyst: A Fleet of New Technology

The past few years have significantly changed the software available for e-commerce platforms.

From artificial intelligence (AI) to enhanced data tracking abilities, these new technologies signify a leap forward in website development. Now, developers can implement a range of tools and features that weren’t available just 5 years ago.

Take KAU Media Group as an example. This performance marketing agency offers SmartChat as part of their e-commerce services, utilising human-led performance AI to talk directly to your customers.

While chatbots aren’t a brand-new concept, the AI integration in SmartChat is. This tech creates natural, personalised responses to queries and evolves independently, learning to give more valuable answers the more it’s used.

You don’t even have to go back 5 years for that advanced-level AI to be out of the picture, showing just how quickly website development is evolving.

Meeting Customers’ Changing Expectations

As the retail tech stack is enhanced with new capabilities, customer behaviour and expectations quickly change.

For example, the very first digital wallet (Google Wallet) was introduced to the world in 2011. It wasn’t until 2022 that it was rolled out across smartphones as Google Pay, at which point its popularity soared. Now, over 50% of UK consumers complete digital wallet transactions online, making it one of the most popular online payment methods - and all in the span of a few years.

This is just one example of how behaviour and expectations change rapidly in the world of online retail. Other clear shifts in the past few years include customers expecting:

• 24/7 customer service
• Next-day delivery
• Multi-channel support
• Proactive customer service
• Personalised messaging and marketing

What was once considered the peak of e-commerce customer service is now the very baseline of customer expectation, and retailers need to step up their game if they want to compete.

Scaling Your Business and Enhancing Services

Modernising your tech stack isn’t just about staying up to date. Upgrading your tools and features can improve your digital platform while helping your business scale.

The right e-commerce growth tools can streamline operations, reduce manual workloads, and open the door to new revenue opportunities. They can also help you build a more agile retail business, which is essential for ensuring growth in a competitive online industry where customer needs and intent can change at the drop of a hat.

To dig a little deeper, let’s look at some of the potential tech stack upgrades and what they can bring to your retail business:

• Automated inventory management: Automatically track stock levels and update availability in real-time, preventing overselling and triggering automatic replenishment of low-stock items.
• AI-driven product recommendations: Boost sales with personalised product recommendations, using individual customer purchase history for targeted on-page marketing.
• Headless CMS architecture: Headless e-commerce brings enhanced capabilities, including multi-channel content, globalisation, and the ability to edit your front-end without developer input.
• Multi-channel order management: Enable seamless ordering across channels and sync orders into a centralised platform.

Even minor back-end improvements can have an impact on your retail success. Faster website loading speeds, better mobile responsiveness, and smarter site search all contribute to a smoother customer experience and boost sales, loyalty, and word-of-mouth referrals.

How to Effectively Upgrade Your Tech Stack

With a fleet of new e-commerce technology trends, now is the perfect time to upgrade your tech stack. Whether meeting customer expectations or prepping to scale, we’ve put together some tips to help you get started.

Carry Out Competitor Research

Don’t want to get left behind? Stay up-to-date with what your competitors are doing to ensure you’re at the forefront of development.

In terms of upgrading your tech stack, monitoring when other e-commerce businesses start switching is a brilliant way of tracking changes. Knowing the software they’re switching to is a bonus for your business that can give you insights into changing customer demands and influential new tech.

Make competitor research easy with WhatRuns. Add our free extension to your browser and see exactly what tech stack your competitors are using, making market research a breeze.

Audit Your Current Tech Stack

Digital transformation in retail doesn’t necessarily mean overhauling your entire tech stack. You might only need to upgrade or change what isn’t working. Before making any decisions, conduct a full audit to identify:

• Which tools slow your business down
• The features that customers complain about
• Software that’s been difficult to integrate or customise
• Bottlenecks and data loss

This insight helps you focus on upgrading the areas with the highest impact, rather than chasing shiny new tools that may not solve your core problems.

Does Everything Integrate?

Your tech stack needs to be made up of complementary software and tools that slot together like puzzle pieces. Rather than focusing on what individual tech can do, look at how it fits into your wider system.

To reduce labour, explore clever APIs, plug-ins, and pre-built connectors that make data flow smoother. If you’re carrying out a software switch, find service providers that do a lot of the legwork for you. Kentico, for example, offers migration toolkits for switching your CMS.

Test Your Tech Stack

Rolling out a new system comes with its risks. Before going live, it’s crucial you thoroughly test your new tech stack to work out any niggles before they reach your customers.

You can do this in simulation environments, allowing your team to walk through the entire platform before giving your upgrade the green light.

Final Thoughts

Technology has evolved at lightning speed over the past decade, introducing entirely new software and tools to the world of online retail. If you’re considering upgrading your e-commerce tech stack to keep up and cash in on the benefits, we hope this article has given you a solid foundation to get started.

Ready to begin market research? Add WhatRuns to your browser and uncover the tech stacks of your competitors.