SFCC vs. Shopify vs. Commerce Tools vs. Adobe Commerce

    SFCC vs. Shopify vs. Commerce Tools vs. Adobe Commerce (Magento)

    In the rapidly evolving world of e-commerce, businesses face the critical decision of selecting the right platform to power their online presence. Among the top contenders in the market are SFCC (Salesforce Commerce Cloud), Shopify, Commerce Tools, and Adobe Commerce. Each of these platforms comes with its unique strengths and features, catering to diverse business needs and goals. In this comparison, we will explore the key attributes of these e-commerce giants, shedding light on their scalability, customizability, user-friendliness, and overall performance. 

    Learning Curve

    Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC)

     

    • Steeper learning curve due to its flexibility and advanced features.
    • Extensive documentation available but it’s a complex system requiring professional training.

    Shopify

     

    • Easier learning curve, great for beginners.
    • Intuitive interface with tutorials and extensive documentation available.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Moderate learning curve, it requires technical knowledge in terms of API management.
    • Provides strong support and tutorials to get the basics quickly.

    Adobe Commerce

    (Magento)

     

    • Steeper learning curve due to its robust and flexible nature.
    • Technical skills in PHP and experience with Magento (Adobe Commerce’s base platform) are beneficial.
    • Comprehensive documentation and training materials are available.

    Complex Customizations

    SFCC

     

    • Many complex customizations can be done easily

    Shopify

    • Complex customizations are difficult. 
      For example, customizing the Product display page (PDP) page with features like personalization or subscriptions would be difficult because the extension of the existing objects is not straight forward.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Highly flexible platform that allows for complex customizations
    • Provides a comprehensive set of APIs for developers to customize the platform
    • Supports headless commerce, allowing for greater flexibility in customizations
    • Requires technical expertise and knowledge of APIs for complex customizations

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Highly customizable platform with extensive customization options 
    • Offers a wide range of themes and templates for customization 
    • Provides a comprehensive set of APIs for developers to customize the platform 
    • Allows for complex customizations through the use of PHP and XML-based architecture

    Ease of Deployment

    SFCC

    • Trusted environment with unlimited scale.
    • In terms of headless architecture managed runtime provides the infrastructure to host, deploy, secure, scale, and monitor a storefront built with PWA Kit in a decoupled environment.

    Shopify

     

    • Easy. Associating a shop with a particular domain is simple. Auto DNS configuration option is available for many domain providers.
    • Headless implementations
      Deployment of the head needs to be taken care of separately. Infrastructure maintenance for the Head is an additional activity.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Offers API-first approach, allowing for flexibility in deployment.
    • A more developer-focused platform, potentially increasing complexity for non-technical users.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • With its high range of customizability, deployment can be time-consuming and complex.
    • Offers cloud hosting solution that can quicken the process, but still generally requires technical abilities for setup.

    Product Catalogue per Territory

    SFCC

     

    • Supports localization and international adaptability for products, promotions, catalogues, and more.
    • Multi-language and multi-currency support provided.

    Shopify

     

    • Single catalogue
    • Allows selling in multiple currencies and languages. –
    • Depends on third-party apps for extensive localization, may not provide as deep localization capabilities as others.
    • Custom objects such as Territories, Zip codes and Agents cannot be created in Shopify.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Supports multi-language and multi-currency catalogue management. 
    • Provides platform capabilities to create localized product catalogues.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Supports extensive localization with multi-language and multi-currency capabilities. 
    • Advanced localization, with region-specific pricing and support for different tax calculations.

    Pricing per Territory

    SFCC

     

    • Offers localization of price books, with support for multiple currencies. 
    • Allows setting region-specific pricing and tax regulations.

    Shopify

     

    • Single Price Book
    • Allows selling in multiple currencies but might require third-party apps for localized price books 
    • Does not natively support complex price book localization features.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Supports multi-currency price books and allows you to define region-specific pricing.
    • Can be complex to set up due to its more technical, API-based approach but delivers a high level of customization and localization.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Supports multi-currency price books and allows you to define region-specific pricing. 
    • Can be complex to set up due to its more technical, API-based approach but delivers a high level of customization and localization.

    Shipping Methods

    SFCC

     

    • Offers various shipping methods like standard, expedited, and overnight. 
    • Allows customization of available shipping methods. 
    • Allows for easy integration with shipping providers

    Shopify

     

    • Supports multiple shipping methods, including free, flat-rate, and calculated shipping. 
    • Integrated with numerous carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL. 
    • Option to integrate with third-party shipping apps for additional functionality.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Supports standard, expedited, and express shipping. 
    • Allows for customizable shipping methods and individual shipping profiles, but it may require developer skills.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Supports a variety of shipping methods like flat-rate, free, and table rates based on factors like weight, destination, and cart total. 
    • Has integrated shipping carriers such as DHL, UPS, FedEx, and USPS. 
    • Offers customizable shipping rules and restrictions using extensions.

    Near Real-Time Inventory

    SFCC

     

    • Supports near real-time inventory visibility across all retail channels.
    • Allows for real-time inventory updates but requires integration with an inventory management system.

    Shopify

     
    •  Offers near real-time inventory management.
    •  Automatically updates product availability across all sales channels in real-time.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Provides near real-time inventory tracking and updates. 
    • Supports multi-warehouse inventory tracking.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Supports stock management in real-time but requires integration with inventory management system for first-rate results. 
    • Extensions are available for advanced inventory management.

    'Back in Stock' Notifications

    SFCC

     

    • Natively does not support back- in-stock notifications. 
    • Functionality can be added through customization or third-party integrations.

    Shopify

     

    • Does not provide this functionality natively.
    • This feature can be added through several available apps in the Shopify marketplace.

    Commerce tools

     

    • No native support for back in stock notifications.
    • Feature can be added as a customization or with third-party integrations.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Allows customers to subscribe to stock alerts for out of stock products natively.
    • Extensions are available to extend this feature with more functionality.

    Enterprise Integrations

    SFCC

     

    • Provides seamless, built-in integrations with other Salesforce products like Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and more.
    • Offers a marketplace of pre-built integrations with enterprise software systems.

    Shopify

     

    • Offers an extensive range of pre-built enterprise integrations via its app marketplace. 
    • Connects with ERP systems, accounting software, email marketing tools, and more.
    • Usually requires a middleware and could be a complex process

    Commerce tools

     

    • Provides API-based architecture allowing for seamless integration with any enterprise systems. –
    • Native integrations are minimal, most integrations require custom development.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Magento’s API and extension system provide plenty of options for integrating with enterprise systems. 
    • Large marketplace of extensions for ERP, CRM, PIM, and other system integrations.

    Headless Option

    SFCC

     

    • Provides headless commerce capabilities
    • Supports API-first approach for seamless integration 
    • Front-end solution: React Library, Chakra-UI
    • Back-end for front-end: Managed Runtime

    Shopify

     
    • Has recently made moves towards headless commerce with Shopify Plus
    • Doesn’t have as comprehensive support for headless commerce as some other platforms, especially for complex storefronts  
    •  Front-end solution: Hydrogen
    •  Back-end for front-end: Oxygen

    Commerce tools

     

    • Inherently headless architecture
    • Offers flexible APIs for custom integrations

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Supports headless architecture
    • Provides extensive APIs for personalizing and modifying the front-end experience

    Hybrid Storefront Support

    SFCC

     

    • Incremental roll out of headless pages
    • Hybrid deployments are enabled, and the session is maintained as SLAS module works well in both worlds Headless and Traditional mode.

    Shopify

     

    • Shopify Plus supports headless commerce allowing merchants to build custom storefronts.
    • Shopify can handle bulk architecture but its performance and efficiency can be a concern with very large catalogues.
    • While it supports a hybrid storefront, it may not be as advanced or flexible as dedicated enterprise solutions.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Dedicated support for headless commerce architecture, enabling complete separation of the front-end and backend systems.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Supports headless via Adobe’s Experience Manager that provides flexibility for creating custom frontend experiences.
    • Excellent support for bulk architecture due to robust and scalable infrastructure.
    • Adobe Commerce strongly supports a hybrid storefront with rich features and customizations.

    Enterprise Point of View

    SFCC

     

    • Highly scalable and robust, suitable for large organizations.
    • Provides a wide range of integrations and customizations.
    • Employs artificial intelligence for personalized customer experiences.
    • High cost deter smaller businesses.

    Shopify

     

    • Considered user-friendly with an intuitive interface.
    • Only Shopify Plus can accommodate large enterprise requirements efficiently.
    • Offers a range of plug-and-play apps for customization.
    • Charges transaction fees unless using Shopify Payments.
    • For integrations involving Realtime sync for orders / queuing a complex model recommended by Shopify needs to be followed

    Commerce tools

     

    • API-first approach is very suitable for enterprises requiring customization. – Microservices architecture provides flexibility and scalability. 
    • Does not offer out-of-the-box storefront, requiring more development work. 
    • Can be integrated into any existing system due to its headless nature.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Extremely flexible with a wide range of features, suitable for large e-commerce companies.
    • Requires a significant development effort and a longer time to market.
    • Offers capabilities for B2B and international commerce.
    • Higher total cost of ownership, from setup and maintenance to hosting and security.

    Customer Segmentation

    SFCC

     

    • AI-powered Einstein tool provides personalized product recommendations based on customer behavior and preferences. 
    • Allows advanced segmentation of customer groups to deliver more tailored experiences.

    Shopify

     

    • No support for recommendations based on customer types.
    • Various apps (like Recommendify and Limespot) are available to offer recommendations, but they don’t come with the core platform.
    • Shopify Plus allows for more advanced customer segmentation and personalization.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Flexible API allows for the creation of sophisticated recommendation engines, but it may require additional development. 
    • Supports customer group segmentation but may need external tools or customized development for more complex needs.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Out of the box, the platform supports customer segmentation and personalized recommendations. 
    • Advanced capabilities like AI-driven product recommendations require additional setup or third-party solutions.

    Cart / Checkout Customizations

    SFCC

     

    • Allows for complex customizations in both the cart and checkout process.
    • Offers the flexibility to create dynamic shopping experiences based on customer groups.

    Shopify

     

    • Customization in the cart and checkout is limited in basic Shopify plan.
    • Shopify Plus offers more intensive customization options, including checkout experiences tailored to customer segments.

    Commerce tools

     

    • Due to its headless architecture, allows for extensive customizations in the cart and checkout flow.
    • Flexibility to create fully personalized shopping experiences based on different customer segments.

    Adobe Commerce

     

    • Offers extensive customization options out of the box. 
    • Ability to create custom shopping experiences for different customer groups or segments.