What Is Digital Commerce?

Introduction

Most of today's purchases touch a mix of websites, apps, and behind-the-scenes systems, whether someone's buying a pair of shoes or restocking parts for a factory line. Digital commerce is the buying and selling that happens through those digital channels, along with the content, services, and systems involved before and after the transaction. This article covers how digital commerce works, common models, its benefits and challenges, what to look for in a platform, and how Liferay DXP fits into a broader digital transformation.

What Is Digital Commerce?

Digital commerce encompasses every interaction involved in buying and selling through websites, apps, portals, and other digital channels. It enables businesses to move nearly every part of that relationship online, forming a digital commerce ecosystem where content, transactions, and service all connect. Customers research products, check account-specific pricing, place an order, renew a subscription, track a delivery, and request service, all part of the same ongoing customer interaction, even though the steps might happen days or weeks apart.

To the customer, all of that can feel like one continuous relationship with a brand, with products and services online and available whenever it's convenient. Behind the scenes, separate systems are usually managing the product data, payments, inventory, orders, and fulfillment that make each moment possible, and customers benefit most when none of that complexity ever shows.

What Is the Difference Between Digital Commerce and Ecommerce?

The terms are often used interchangeably, so the distinction can feel academic, but there's a useful difference worth knowing. Ecommerce usually refers to online transactions themselves, the actual buying and selling. Digital commerce refers to something wider, the whole experience surrounding that transaction, before and after the sale.

Picture an online order that also involves detailed product content, personalized account information, delivery updates, and self-service if something goes wrong. The transaction itself, running through an ecommerce platform, is ecommerce. Everything wrapped around it is digital commerce. The digital commerce vs ecommerce distinction really comes down to scope, not a rule every business applies the same way, and it applies just as much to a brick-and-mortar retailer adding online ordering as it does to a brand with no physical store at all.

Traditional commerce, buying through a physical store rather than a screen, still holds its own advantages. Customers get to take products home immediately upon purchase instead of waiting for a delivery. That immediacy comes at a cost, though. Traditional commerce also requires high capital investment in physical locations and inventory that digital channels don't carry in the same way.

How Does Digital Commerce Work?

The exact steps shift depending on what's being bought and by whom, but most digital commerce journeys follow these steps:

1. Discovery. A buyer finds a product or service through search, marketing, a digital catalog, or a portal, often across phones, tablets, and other digital devices.
2. Evaluation. They review product information, availability, pricing, and relevant content, often pulled from product, inventory, and customer account systems behind the scenes.
3. Purchase. The digital channel captures the order and connects with payment and order systems as needed, whether that means a credit card, digital wallets, or other digital payments.
4. Fulfillment. Inventory, warehouse, shipping, or service systems carry out the order and provide the information needed for status updates.
5. Post-purchase service. The buyer tracks the order, manages their account, requests help, or places another order, drawing on purchase history and information from order and service systems.

Integrations are what keep all of this consistent across the entire customer journey, and they're often what determines whether a business sees repeat purchases or a one-time sale that never comes back.

What Are Common Digital Commerce Models?

Not every business buys or sells digital commerce the same way. A few models show up again and again:

• B2C commerce. Businesses sell to individual consumers through online stores, apps, or other digital channels, the kind of online shopping most people do every day.
• B2B commerce. Businesses sell to other businesses, often with account-specific catalogs, pricing, purchasing roles, and approvals layered on top.
• D2C commerce. Brands sell directly to consumers through channels they manage themselves, a type of B2C commerce defined by who's doing the selling rather than a separate category on its own.

These models overlap more than the labels suggest. A brand might run its own ecommerce websites and pursue online sales directly, while also appearing in digital retail marketplaces and working with online retail partners at the same time.

What Channels Do Businesses Use for Digital Commerce?

Where a buyer discovers a product and where they actually complete the purchase are often two different places entirely. Common channels include:

• Websites and mobile apps. Let buyers discover offerings, review information, and make purchases directly. Mobile devices already account for 51% of website traffic, according to Statista, so a storefront that doesn't work well on a phone is turning away more than half its potential audience.
• Customer and partner portals. Give buyers access to account-specific information, ordering, and self-service.
• Social media platforms. Help buyers discover offerings and, where supported, make purchases without ever leaving the app.
• Third-party marketplaces. Let sellers reach customers through a digital marketplace that they don't operate themselves.

These are channels, not business models, and a buyer might discover a product on social media, purchase it through a mobile app, and manage the order later through a customer portal. In today's digital commerce world, newer digital commerce trends are starting to blur these lines even further. Conversational commerce through chat and messaging apps, and digital platforms built around virtual and augmented reality, are just two examples of what's reshaping what a channel even means.

What Are the Benefits of Digital Commerce?

Why is digital commerce important? Because it reshapes customer expectations and what businesses can actually deliver, on both sides of the transaction. Consumers expect convenience now, and meeting that expectation is central to digital commerce strategies across the board. Some of the clearest benefits include:

• Convenient purchasing. Buyers get access to products and account information whenever they need it, not just during business hours.
• Better product discovery. Useful content, product descriptions, catalogs, and search help buyers find relevant products faster. Baymard Institute found that 50% of sites failed to show adequate information in product listings, making it harder for buyers to identify relevant products.
• Customer self-service. Buyers can manage orders, accounts, and routine requests online without waiting for a phone call, which supports customer retention over time.
• A consistent customer experience. Buyers see accurate pricing, availability, and order details across sales and service channels without repeating themselves.
• More insight into buying behavior. Customer analytics help businesses understand where existing customers engage and where they run into trouble.

None of this automatically means more sales, lower costs, or guaranteed business success on its own. Those outcomes still depend on execution, the technology, and how well a business acts on what it learns, though brands that get it right tend to see real gains in customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and business growth over time.

What Challenges Come With Digital Commerce?

Digital commerce brings its own set of problems alongside the benefits. Some of the most common challenges include:

• Disconnected systems. Inaccurate product, inventory, pricing, or order information leaves buyers confused and employees scrambling to fix the same mistake twice.
• Complex catalogs and account structures. Buying can get genuinely difficult when catalogs and account rules pile up, especially in B2B commerce.
• Poor coordination. When checkout, fulfillment, and service don't talk to each other, the customer experience takes the hit first.
• Data privacy and security. Businesses have to manage customer data, consent, security, and access appropriately, and mistakes here carry real consequences. Security risks include payment card data breaches and identity theft, either of which can undo years of earned trust in a single incident.
• Content upkeep. Content and commerce teams need a workable way to keep digital experiences current, or the storefront starts to feel stale fast.

What Capabilities Should a Digital Commerce Platform Have?

Not every digital commerce platform needs to do everything, and the best digital commerce solutions match the business model and buying process rather than chasing every feature available. Look for:

• Digital storefronts and product catalogs. Present offerings to buyers across desktop and mobile devices in a way that's easy to browse and understand.
• Product content, search, and discovery tools. Help buyers evaluate options instead of guessing.
• Checkout and payment connections. Let buyers complete purchases through the payment processing methods the business already supports.
• Customer accounts and self-service. Give buyers a place to handle orders and routine requests on their own.
• B2B pricing, purchasing roles, and approval workflows. Support account-specific buying where the business model calls for it.
• Personalization. Tailor relevant products or content based on whatever customer information is actually available.
• System integrations. Connect with PIM, ERP, OMS, CRM, shipping, supply chain management, and service systems to keep consistent product data moving between the buying experience and the operational processes behind it.
• Analytics, security, and scalability. Understand performance, manage access and data, support operational efficiency, and grow across sites or channels without starting over.

Create Connected Digital Commerce Experiences With Liferay DXP

Liferay DXP brings commerce, content, customer portals, and self-service together into one connected digital experience, so buyers can find products, access account information, place orders, and manage purchases without bouncing between disconnected tools.

With Liferay DXP, businesses can offer:

• Digital catalogs built around real product content
• Account-based buying with role-specific pricing and permissions
• Approval workflows for B2B purchasing
• Order history and self-service for buyers managing their own accounts
• Integrations that connect the storefront to existing systems

Order management, shipping, accounting, and other business systems can stay exactly where they are. Liferay DXP connects to them rather than replacing them, so the buying experience customers see stays consistent even as everything behind it keeps running the way it already does.

Bring the Digital Commerce Experience Together

See how Liferay DXP brings commerce, content, and customer relationships together in one place. Explore the Liferay Commerce overview to see what a connected digital commerce experience could look like for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Commerce

What is an example of digital commerce?

Picture someone discovering a jacket through a social ad, comparing colors and reviews on the brand's site, buying it with a saved card, then tracking the shipment and starting a return two weeks later when the fit's wrong. Every step happens through a digital channel, and it all needs to feel like one continuous experience, even though different systems are handling each piece.

Does digital commerce include B2B sales?

Yes. B2B buyers research products, check account-specific pricing, place orders, and manage purchasing approvals through digital channels just like consumers do, often with more complexity layered on top. Purchasing roles and approval workflows tend to matter more here than they do in a typical consumer purchase.

What systems does digital commerce need to connect with?

The usual list includes PIM, ERP, OMS, CRM, payment providers, shipping services, and customer service tools, though exactly which ones matter depends on what the business sells and how it operates. Fewer systems can mean a simpler setup, but most growing businesses end up connecting most of them eventually.

How do businesses measure digital commerce performance?

Conversion, order completion, repeat purchasing, customer engagement, and self-service use are all common measures, though which ones matter most depends on the business's actual goals. A subscription brand might care more about repeat purchases, while a B2B seller might focus more on order accuracy and approval speed.