eCommerce Re-Platforming in 2025: When, Why, and How to Do It Right

The ecommerce landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With global ecommerce sales projected to surpass $8 trillion by 2027, businesses must adapt to stay competitive. Changing consumer expectations, emerging digital channels, and new technologies demand that companies rethink their digital commerce strategies to remain agile and scalable. However, many businesses find themselves stuck with outdated, rigid platforms that limit their growth and innovation potential.

This is where re-platforming comes in. But how do you know when it’s time to re-platform? How does re-platforming differ from migration or refactoring? What steps can you take to execute a successful re-platforming strategy while minimizing downtime and risk?

In this article, we’ll explore:

• The key benefits and challenges of re-platforming.
• A step-by-step approach for a smooth transition.
• Real-world success stories.

If you’re considering an ecommerce platform change, this article will help you make a decision. And for a deeper dive into planning and execution, download our full Re-platforming Guide and Total Cost of Ownership Guide to access expert insights on how to future-proof your ecommerce operations.

It is the process of migrating an online business from one platform to another to improve scalability, flexibility, and performance. Unlike a simple migration, which primarily transfers data and existing functionality, re-platforming involves a shift in technology stack, ensuring businesses can adapt to market demands and customer expectations.

As ecommerce grows increasingly complex, businesses must decide whether their current platform can support long-term goals. If your platform limits innovation, struggles with performance, or incurs high maintenance costs, re-platforming may be the best path forward.

Re-platforming is often confused with other digital transformation strategies, but it's important to understand the key differences:

• Re-platforming: Moving to a new platform while preserving essential business processes, typically to gain flexibility, performance improvements, and modern capabilities.
• Migration: A more basic transfer of data, settings, and functionality from one system to another, usually without major changes to architecture.
• Refactoring: Involves rewriting or restructuring an existing system’s code to improve maintainability or scalability without changing platforms.
• Rehosting: Moving a system to a new hosting environment, such as from on-premise servers to the cloud, without altering the underlying architecture or functionality.

Many businesses initially consider refactoring or migration as alternatives to full-scale re-platforming. However, these approaches often fail to address fundamental technology limitations.

For example, monolithic legacy platforms may allow minor updates through refactoring, but they cannot adapt to modern ecommerce needs such as headless commerce, microservices, or omnichannel integration. Likewise, migrating to a slightly improved version of the same system does not resolve long-term scalability issues.

In contrast, re-platforming offers a clean break from outdated systems, giving businesses access to:

• Faster time-to-market with new features.
• Improved performance and reliability.
• Greater agility in responding to customer needs and market trends.

By choosing an adaptable, future-proof platform, companies can ensure that they won’t need to re-platform again in just a few years—a common pitfall for businesses that make incremental changes instead of adopting transformative solutions.

Below are the key reasons why companies make the switch, supported by B2B ecommerce re-platforming statistics and insights.

Many legacy platforms lack the flexibility and performance required to support ecommerce operations. As businesses scale, they experience slow performance, integration challenges, and security vulnerabilities.

• A study by Zoovu and Forrester Research revealed that 65% of surveyed companies reported that B2B ecommerce is "broken" at their organization.
• A 2023 survey by Digital Commerce 360 found that 27% of companies are looking to switch ecommerce platforms.
• A report by Explodingtopics highlighted that 53% of organizations consider finding the right technology solutions as a major concern in workplace transformation.

For example, an online retailer with an expanding product catalog may face slow website performance and degraded user experience. A modern platform with a headless architecture can eliminate these roadblocks, ensuring scalability and high-speed performance.

Maintaining outdated platforms is costly, requiring constant updates, security patches, and workarounds for missing functionalities.

• An article by Mechanical Orchard cites a 2018 Deloitte survey indicating that the average enterprise spends 57% of its IT budget on supporting business operations. 
• A report by Workday, citing a Forrester survey, found that nearly 60% of CTOs consider their legacy technology stacks both too costly and inadequate for modern applications.

By re-platforming, you can reduce your long-term expenses by moving the ecommerce stack to a modular, cloud-based solution that eliminates expensive customizations.

Customers expect fast, and highly personalized shopping experiences. A rigid platform can hinder your business’s ability to meet these expectations.

• Vogue Business highlighted that 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand with personalized offers, emphasizing the role of personalization in customer experience.
• According to Salesforce's "State of the Connected Customer" report, 73% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations.
• According to a study by Think with Google, 40% of consumers will leave a page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load on a mobile device.

Re-platforming enables you to leverage AI-driven personalization, omnichannel integrations, and real-time inventory updates to improve user experience and increase customer retention.

Outdated ecommerce platforms pose serious security risks, leaving businesses vulnerable to cyber threats, data breaches, and non-compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

• A recent report by Solveda indicates that the ecommerce industry is the most vulnerable to cyberattacks, accounting for more than 32.4% of attacks in various forms.
• Additionally, outdated IT support can lead to increased downtime, reduced productivity, and heightened cybersecurity vulnerabilities, including exposure to ransomware, phishing scams, and data breaches.

Migrating to a new platform with built-in security features ensures better compliance, improved fraud protection, and real-time threat monitoring.

Most ecommerce businesses must integrate multiple sales channels—B2B, B2C, mobile commerce, social commerce, and marketplaces. An outdated platform limits these opportunities.

• According to Accenture, the social commerce market is projected to reach $1.2 trillion in 2025.
• A study by the Aberdeen Group found that companies with strong omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers, while those with weak omnichannel strategies retain only 33%.

Re-platforming empowers you to enter new markets, connect multiple storefronts, and provide a unified shopping experience across all customer touchpoints.

As technology and customer behavior evolve, businesses need a platform that can grow with them. Re-platforming provides the flexibility to integrate technologies like AI, machine learning, and blockchain.

• Forbes highlighted that 87% of tech leaders plan to increase AI investments by 50% or more in 2025, reflecting a broader trend toward modernizing technology infrastructures.
• PwC's 2024 Cloud and AI Business Survey highlighted that top-performing companies are leveraging AI and cloud technologies to achieve measurable value, including improved profitability and increased productivity. 

By adopting a composable and API-driven architecture, you can future-proof your digital infrastructure, ensuring long-term adaptability.

From technical complexities to cost overruns, you must anticipate potential roadblocks and plan proactively to mitigate risks. Below, we explore the most common ecommerce re-platforming mistakes and challenges and provide solutions.

Data migration is one of the most critical and complex aspects of re-platforming. Moving vast amounts of product data, customer records, and order histories without errors or delays requires careful planning.

Forbes highlighted that only 36% of data migration projects stay within their forecasted budget, and just 46% are delivered on time, indicating that a significant majority face budget overruns or delays. Additionally, another research stated that 64% of data migrations overrun their forecasted budget.

Solution: Invest in robust migration tools and conduct a thorough audit before re-platforming. IBM highlights the importance of a comprehensive migration strategy, which includes data cleansing, backups, and phased migrations to reduce risk. Using automated data migration solutions can also ensure data integrity.

Re-platforming requires significant investment—not just in acquiring new technology but also in customizations, integrations, and training. Without careful planning, costs can quickly escalate beyond initial estimates.

McKinsey highlighted that 25% to 40% of large technology programs exceed their budgets or schedules by more than 50%. Moreover, a Forrester report found that many firms lack a clear understanding of the operational costs of implementing new platforms, leading them to significantly underestimate the true costs.

Solution: Evaluate the total cost of ownership (TCO) before selecting a platform. This includes licensing, hosting, third-party integrations, and maintenance. Platforms with modular architecture and predictable pricing models can help companies avoid unexpected expenses. For a deeper analysis, refer to our TCO Guide.

Many companies halt innovation during re-platforming, slowing down business growth. Delays in launching the new platform give competitors time to roll out new features and gain market share.

A study by Boston Consulting Group revealed that approximately 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail to achieve their objectives. Similarly, McKinsey & Company reported that less than 30% of digital transformations succeed, underscoring the significant challenges organizations face in these endeavors.

Solution: To minimize disruption, adopt an agile re-platforming approach. Instead of waiting for a fully-featured platform, launch an MVP within 3–6 months that includes essential functionalities. Additional features can be introduced incrementally after go-live.

A phased re-platforming approach—replacing key components like product catalogs, order management, and checkout systems separately—can help you maintain operations while transitioning.

Switching platforms often disrupts a website’s SEO performance. A platform that is not optimized for SEO can make it difficult for your website to rank well in search engine results, limiting your visibility and reducing traffic. For example, a case study highlighted by Sitebulb reported a 40% drop in traffic post-migration due to missed redirects and broken links resulting in a £35,000 revenue loss.

Solution: Re-platforming can help you choose a platform that offers SEO-friendly features such as meta tags, sitemaps, and mobile optimization. You should conduct an SEO audit before and after re-platforming, ensuring that all 301 redirects, metadata, and structured data are correctly implemented. Tools like Google Search Console can help track traffic fluctuations and resolve issues in real time.

Additionally, running the new platform in parallel with the old one for a brief period allows teams to monitor performance and make necessary adjustments before a full transition.

A new platform often means a steep learning curve for employees, causing productivity dips and resistance to change. If not handled well, employees may struggle with the new system, leading to operational inefficiencies.

CIO highlights that a lack of quality data and accessibility are significant factors contributing to the stalling or failure of digital transformation initiatives. Additionally, a podcast by Razorleaf references a McKinsey statistic indicating that 70% of digital transformation projects fail due to employee resistance, underscoring the critical importance of effective organizational change management.

Solution: Early involvement of the team is key to adoption. Conduct training sessions before launch, making sure employees are comfortable with the new system. It is also necessary to provide detailed documentation and live support for internal teams; and create incentives for employees to engage with the new system by linking adoption success to performance reviews.

Choosing the wrong ecommerce platform can lead to vendor lock-in, where businesses become overly dependent on a single provider, limiting future flexibility.

Gartner's research indicates that 80% of tech buyersexperience some form of post-purchase regret, often stemming from internal conflicts within buying teams. Additionally, Gartner emphasizes the importance of taking an enterprise-wide approach to contract management to avoid inefficiencies and regrets associated with piecemeal, department-by-department strategies.

Solution: Prioritize modular, API-driven platforms that allow easy integrations and reduce reliance on a single vendor. Open-source and headless solutions offer greater flexibility, so that companies can evolve their technology stack as needed.

Customers dislike sudden changes in user experience. A poorly executed re-platforming project can lead to confusion, frustration, and customer churn. A study by Gomez.com found that 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.

Solution: Communicate proactively about upcoming changes, offering

1. Email notifications and website banners to inform customers about the new platform.
2. Soft launches and beta testing to let select customers experience the new platform first.
3. Live support to address concerns in real-time.
4. A user experience design ensures continuity, making the transition intuitive rather than disruptive.

Monolithic architecture is a standard approach where all components of a webstore are interconnected, causing any backend modifications to impact the entire solution. As a result, rebuilding the entire ecommerce system becomes the only way to implement any small changes.

SaaS solutions are cloud-based software licensed through subscriptions and fully controlled by providers, requiring their confirmation for any changes. This is ideal for smaller businesses with slow growth and basic feature needs.

Modular architecture, such as Virto Commerce, offers the flexibility to build solutions according to individual specifications without disrupting existing storefront features.

Having an ecommerce re-platform consultant or a trusted partner can be important for several reasons. Here are a few:

1. Expertise

An ecommerce re-platforming consultant has expertise in the ecommerce industry and understands the various platforms available. If your team doesn’t have enough experience on building strong and complex systems, consulting some expert can help a lot.

2. Saving time and money

Re-platforming is a significant investment. An expert in ecommerce re-platforming can help you find out and identify potential costs and savings in the migration process, provide recommendations and help you meet your business requirements while saving time and minimizing disruption to your business.

3. Risk Mitigation

During the re-platforming, unexpected issues can potentially arise. An ecommerce re-platform consultant can identify potential issues and provide solutions to avoid them.

1. Build the Right Team

Assemble a team that includes a project sponsor, product owner, technical and subject matter experts. Learn more about what each role entails in the full guide.

2. Define Goals

Establish clear short-term and long-term objectives, such as improved site speed, increased conversions, or expanded market reach. Measurable KPIs are essential for tracking progress.

3. Select the Right Platform

Evaluate platforms based on factors such as Total Cost of Ownership, flexibility, and vendor support. For a detailed comparison, explore our How to Choose an eCommerce Platform Guide.

4. Define the Re-Platforming Approach

Decide whether your project will follow a Big-Bang Approach (complete replacement at once) or an Incremental Approach (phased migration). You can read more about approaches in our Re-platforming guide.

5. Develop and Test an MVP

Focus on replicating the core functionality of your current platform while addressing its limitations. This approach minimizes risks and ensures continuity.

6. Transition Seamlessly

Adopt a phased or incremental migration strategy to reduce disruptions. Running the old and new platforms in parallel can help address issues before full deployment.

7. Optimize Continuously

Post-launch, focus on continuous improvements to maintain a competitive edge. Regular updates and feature enhancements make sure your platform evolves with your business.

De Klok Dranken is a major wholesaler of beverages and food for hospitality businesses in the Netherlands. The company needed a re-platforming from the heavy SAP solution to leverage the adoption rate, improve CX and disrupt the growing competitors.

From the variety of platforms, the customer has chosen the Virto Commerce platform and Innovadis technology integrator. A headless and modular solution from Virto was the perfect option as it could easily integrate with the existing tools and functions of De Klok, provide data import and export, and enabled many innovations, now and in the future.

In a few weeks, the solution was deployed, and for several years as of now, it serves products from 80% of De Klok vendors. During this time, De Klok has integrated with other solutions, added new functionalities, and reached the fastest time-to-value possible. Now, it is the leading beverage distributor with 80% of general adoption rate and great perspectives.

Lavazza by Bluespresso, a leading distributor of Lavazza coffee products, faced the challenge of managing two distinct business models—B2B and B2C—within a single ecommerce ecosystem. Their existing infrastructure required handling thousands of product variations, personalized pricing for over 2,500 B2B clients, and integration with other digital tools. The lack of flexibility in their old platform led to inefficiencies, duplicate work, and limited innovation capabilities. To enable future growth, they decided to re-platform.

After evaluating multiple options, they selected Virto Commerce as their preferred solution, partnering with rb2, an experienced ecommerce implementation expert. By leveraging Virto's capabilities, they built a fully configurable ecommerce experience that supported multi-language, multi-currency operations while maintaining personalized pricing and promotions for different customer segments.

Order management, invoicing, and real-time product catalog updates are now handled through one system, reducing administrative work and improving agility. With access to real-time customer data and advanced analytics, account managers can now proactively respond to customer trends and optimize their sales strategy.

Explore additional case studies on our Case Studies Page.

Re-platforming is a transformative opportunity to modernize your digital commerce strategy and position your business for long-term success. By addressing current challenges, adopting a scalable platform, and focusing on continuous improvement, you can achieve enhanced performance, cost efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Ready to take the next step? Download our Re-platforming Guide and connect with our experts to learn how Virto Commerce can help you achieve your goals!