## The Unit Economics Crisis: CAC and Signal Loss
The most immediate threat to
e-commerce store builders for ecommerce brands is not platform functionality but the profitability of the merchants using them. Research from SimplicityDX reveals that merchants now lose an average of $29 for every new customer acquired, a metric that has deteriorated significantly from a $9 loss in 2013
[1]. This represents a 222% increase in CAC over the last decade, driven largely by privacy changes that have degraded ad performance.
### Signal Loss and the Server-Side Pivot
The deterioration of client-side tracking—exacerbated by iOS updates and the deprecation of third-party cookies—has rendered traditional pixel-based attribution unreliable. Data indicates that brands relying solely on browser-based tracking miss up to 40% of conversion data
[2]. This invisibility forces ad algorithms to bid inefficiently, further inflating CAC.
In response,
ecommerce & retail software providers are moving tracking infrastructure from the browser to the server. Server-side tracking (SST) allows merchants to send conversion data directly from their backend to ad networks (Meta CAPI, Google Enhanced Conversions), bypassing browser restrictions. While Shopify has integrated some of these capabilities natively, the complexity of implementation remains high for mid-market merchants.
"Implication:" Platforms that fail to offer one-click server-side integration will see their merchants suffer from artificially inflated CAC, leading to higher churn rates as brands blame the platform for poor sales performance.
## The B2B Digital Mandate
While B2C faces headwinds, B2B commerce represents the largest growth opportunity for store builders. McKinsey’s B2B Pulse Survey indicates a fundamental shift in buyer comfort levels: 39% of B2B buyers are now willing to spend over $500,000 in a single digital transaction, and another 20% are willing to spend more than $1 million
[3].
Legacy platforms often fail to support the complexity of these transactions, which require:
* "Corporate Account Hierarchies:" Managing permissions for buyers, approvers, and administrators.
* "Price Lists:" Customer-specific contract pricing rather than MSRP.
* "Payment Terms:" Net-30/60 invoicing and credit limit management.
BigCommerce has aggressively targeted this sector with its "B2B Edition," reporting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6% for its B2B merchants between 2022 and 2024
[4]. This outpaces general ecommerce growth, validating the strategy of bundling B2B functionalities into the core SaaS offering rather than relying on disparate third-party apps.
## Compliance as a Service: The Merchant of Record Shift
Cross-border expansion is the primary lever for revenue growth for brands hitting domestic ceilings. However, the operational burden of global tax compliance—VAT registration, remittance, and local regulations—has become a significant barrier.
Platforms are responding by internalizing these liabilities through the Merchant of Record (MoR) model. An MoR assumes the financial and legal liability for the transaction, handling tax calculation and remittance on behalf of the merchant.
"Key Developments:"
* "Shopify Managed Markets:" Formerly "Markets Pro," this solution launched fully in mid-2024 to serve as the MoR for cross-border sales, allowing US merchants to offload international tax liabilities
[5].
* "Swell:" Integrates deep MoR capabilities to support subscription commerce, which is projected to grow at a 9.36% CAGR through 2034
[6].
By embedding MoR services, platforms transform compliance from a third-party consulting expense into a native platform feature, effectively locking in merchants who cannot afford the legal overhead of independent international expansion.
## The ADA Litigation Threat
Operational risk for
e-commerce store builders for ecommerce stores now includes a significant legal component regarding digital accessibility. UsableNet’s 2024 report highlights that 77% of all digital ADA lawsuits were filed against ecommerce websites
[7].
Crucially, the data shows that 41% of federal filings targeted companies that had already faced a previous lawsuit
[8]. This creates a dangerous cycle for merchants using templates or themes that are not WCAG compliant out of the box. The report also noted that over 1,000 lawsuits explicitly cited the presence of "accessibility overlay" widgets as barriers rather than solutions, discrediting the quick-fix tools often marketed to SMBs.
Store builders that do not enforce strict accessibility standards at the theme layer expose their user base to predatory litigation, particularly in litigious jurisdictions like New York and California.
## Platform Evolution: The Big Four Analysis
The competitive field has narrowed to four dominant architectures, each diverging in strategy to capture specific segments of the market.
### Shopify: The Enterprise Pivot
Shopify continues to dominate the SMB and mid-market with a 29% market share in the United States and 10.32% globally
[9]. However, its strategic focus has shifted entirely to the enterprise to combat the "graduation" problem where successful merchants migrate to Salesforce or custom builds.
* "Horizon Design System:" Launched in Summer 2025, Horizon introduces a new rigorous design foundation intended to reduce technical debt for scaling brands
[10].
* "Commerce Components:" By breaking its monolithic stack into modular APIs, Shopify is directly challenging Salesforce and commercetools for Fortune 500 contracts.
* "Sidekick AI:" The introduction of Sidekick attempts to reduce the operational overhead of store management, offering an AI assistant that can execute tasks rather than just answer questions
[11].
### Salesforce: The Agentic Future
Salesforce reported Q4 FY2025 revenue of $10.0 billion, up 8% year-over-year
[12]. The company is betting its future on "Agentforce," a pivot from passive CRM tools to autonomous AI agents.
Unlike generative text tools, Agentforce agents are designed to execute complex workflows independently—processing returns, managing inventory, or handling customer service inquiries without human intervention
[13]. This "Agentic Enterprise" model aims to justify Salesforce's high total cost of ownership (TCO) by promising significant labor cost reductions.
### BigCommerce: The Developer's Choice
BigCommerce has doubled down on composable commerce, attempting to be the backend of choice for headless builds. The release of "Catalyst", a Next.js storefront based on React, provides a reference architecture designed to speed up headless implementations
[14].
By acquiring Makeswift, BigCommerce is attempting to solve the primary drawback of headless commerce: the inability of marketing teams to make changes without developer support. Catalyst aims to merge the flexibility of headless with the visual editing capabilities of a monolith.
### Wix: The Agency Standard
Wix has successfully moved upmarket with "Wix Studio", a platform specifically engineered for agencies and enterprises. Key 2025 updates include an AI coding assistant that allows developers to generate and refine JavaScript directly within the IDE
[15]. By targeting the agency layer, Wix bypasses individual customer acquisition, securing high-volume partnerships that drive steady subscription revenue.
## The Hidden Costs of Migration
For organizations looking to switch
e-commerce store builders for ecommerce businesses, the financial reality often exceeds initial estimates. Data suggests that 70% of digital transformation projects exceed their budget, with replatforming initiatives prone to 10-25% revenue disruption during the transition period
[16].
The "hidden tax" of migration is the opportunity cost: marketing freezes, SEO ranking drops (which can take 3-6 months to recover), and the diversion of engineering resources from feature development to infrastructure parity. Agencies reporting on 2025 trends note that brands must multiply quoted migration costs by 2.5x to account for these operational disruptions
[17].
## Future Outlook: 2025 and Beyond
The trajectory of the ecommerce platform market is defined by consolidation and autonomy.
1. "Agentic Commerce replaces Interface Design:" As Salesforce's Agentforce demonstrates, the value proposition is shifting from "easy to build a store" to "the store runs itself." We will see Shopify and BigCommerce race to deploy autonomous agents that handle merchandising, pricing adjustments, and fraud detection autonomously.
2. "The Death of the Mid-Market Monolith:" Platforms will bifurcate further. Solutions will either be highly opinionated, all-in-one stacks (Shopify, Wix) or completely decompled backends (BigCommerce, commercetools). The middle ground—flexible monoliths—will disappear as maintenance costs become unsustainable.
3. "Regulatory Moats:" The complexity of global tax compliance, privacy laws (GDPR/CCPA), and accessibility requirements (ADA) will make it impossible for new, small platform entrants to compete. The incumbent platforms will solidify their positions not through features, but through their ability to shield merchants from legal and financial liability.
The operational challenge for the next decade is not building the store; it is building the automated systems that allow the store to survive a high-CAC, high-regulation environment.
## References
"Sources:"
1. [archiveresale.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFSKOGaAVmZ6OAy2JERe6ZQNBexnjk5wWQv_fZnW9Xm0g7K7BOykfW7CL7a13PmfmqBQt8C-5I98Jp_Ts1nTGShEEwQKDwQ05gI2a0ZBt3x_PPRlrr2LZGjCvjAFkxHMDjVdXKlqLGjaWiA8SC4iYxO8cvfAOrzoIQaVt5j3HellmO6q_T8oe4P0SWqXqvcrS51pyuef0qKAz0C62k=)
2. [businessofapps.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFRD1cD3p7X_2ny6MibjzvdvjE-G2ue34qsI3X7ukzOdr0aLA14vhS0QBfb_wcUdXGgL7X2n-jqCs1xFc5pdp_R_u2llwcGbU3tH3E5s4LniF4JmARw6IC5a-rX27Q116BLBnK9_FlXfyQclLfaI3YlsBggr9fh6eKjqVN2iQ1j2OHfPtc-ZaBOxlXkoTp9A2PcAg==)
3. [swell.is](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQER08dhZWOB7hO1RhMi71JBmwlaXGkxQ0L2_5aRkpDG6LQ2Bb4mPq4UdyRxY-MKBhHnoc2_xCOnTgqxkoM_kAf5EYVyUGMmfpxcNMKiIW7-gitK6uVBdewP9dolb4Xzf_6lTiUTx5MGVk9bj0kMrsw=)
4. [moderndiplomacy.eu](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFzGCJ0qnAtWN9PdipxbiBBqppYYAUKRmmNhV6RX-Nqxw3G6FLVxK-AsVmgOUlsBbX0BzN3Px4IHFlU87kG8fj51OoP9sYQi-BTnLJaRph5-3WYcF2jVhQI_6rfCgYdwt6TgWQ_mNHe3pTo0HujIwfAeGdzPmzdNN-udRTdWF4=)
5. [majordigital.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEs2t5lfXusGGgGcyIVpqHrTNnOHHa0gBqPFxyHQm_uy_FbIyv9L11VFtD_45-ugh9GLKhkZn1MPsssS8G2NlwYkofEZ5NC5QUr-4RXv3Z9jtSu_79ObHStvPKFGJenG3PAEuVKyNKJgAZbqNIwMU1KpGsSi2n3VZDULFP-RI1bEH_gMmHPJtkTHCIZm2rindHZWGUpgFrkQaUW-rsDde1_9Q==)
6. [bettercommerce.io](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFPEjn4IUAslTw3xqDhNYBzIGk9q0-7RdSdb5YSWusI1G_lm8cOx9G060reF83rr2orwUMukgi8xxhi6UNJuNNc-lnjyjkV1pQo_vUarmQTLeIw2dvQCFk1B4cPOwSb63JyJH1enEHQ-AHYBLa2pYWmhnL0kc7YqYPJqIAQ)
7. [boldcommerce.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEBSi8UcaX7ZzK-sIq60ReXk0xIfvImjdIu3djVa1UgR-ZfOI_rzs-HRqynM6JCjaCGr6NK3X0ZoFVVsWtDvKGkEN4vbLy25TeXuuH8GptAVjkHU-BPoXXBkNw7JKcBrXUMFfMoN7YtQCvHr2eMaxbXLi-i4HzkSy-1dhdmZPQwOA==)
8. [census.gov](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFrUvQe1WBYokk_ntXUVb8c-NsURIgQ9IXbfabNl9saz5_4P2b6R2ERPQzEvaEiEIHFXlUsUx_MEXh-T2d3xd0A9PRHBNbSA0Y6-hkC0Yc4pj1xAcWV1Gw4RDBjUBG4nsSdgg==)
9. [digitalcommerce360.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGGSK7cEGh_3K0qx00v86-EMVQ9olozIEMPBQe58AzR78qmbTVvo94fdQKZ9yrRaKjASnXvqPwZTma3XJAkuQ1tgCXIyQzthy4ufyWDwmsu8J3QuF6s7OrtqT32mY0Rm5iBL3mq6Cj7fJ3U9KlrOpjrahXIwe9nasykqogEMUaz)
10. [stlouisfed.org](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFvRxiXzH7-R9EUEqBWgar8SyX3SJS0TZMkSiQ7brJbZB16OYh7tuEILYoFS_pIGRV4TSKQHNAg0WyWs2pQ0Hto5SlepBktuu0NJ9VFazc2tbDui4m7OPd2KTmBAgRN-Q==)
11. [pymnts.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFZSDrh4Tm_M08W7GW9Nw5SsHKIJ-qN__jGxnkaCc25HlzEgY9iOCixo6Q38A_Fw7_okBjbochjDcczOIBsiPdZ8Zwbs5jMTzIPu_xSn4L_DikDZUOyPCrm7-dU3YRU2eALDClRBwVPXINQA5NEat0na0vk7Rhyjcr-oHHcf2kjPoa1tmC2sU7Pnz4t0DYQZOmZic0Rpr8FrTXF858kts7YKD_DvsELk1uhz4xWo5A=)
12. [mynewitguys.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQF-CAe7r3X5qGhUAzv3eLpboXYbchBINsHj1GTISbDI8_DxjQrfIiQXbWnVHMo-gUvbAvqkwiTlO0PWGqcEjkbZVhAngDnE4nodQpEg1SRlzUwxIMdK4_CJZ23Q16-ba8gT80-yHUQ_MF-D3piGEKSSQvTW0rnoE0CUsD1eBjIb4uv3POvsTs5b)
13. [idc.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGYd6QlQT-XUYfp5VibI4YN2GbYmBXyDB5dJ5EpLmK_vvWoqe2UKMgjbALTYu3vye6aRtRI6IabNEwA-Vcj3u7tTUdU5W8BeGgKB7wN1Z_2xR6sFuOSfexA0j2jqmasku9NeUorQHwFSIyd)
14. [fortunebusinessinsights.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQHRkswmdBuMMx0CKHHABgR-r351fyJahwwnXNVCBv0xxLr4UCmmqBltCArC5UL3iZX9HW63wM4qi31jTXxwvdF2tQGcfGqqPYuWW_dWQOvEMbktoNJG7kOaaMx_wwgZBzUdVk_-ihIYlaEcX76OJpvDY95pvuvXFRbwFsK4LfI=)
15. [marketsandmarkets.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQHgEoQl-j9B4uWmmBdmzY9WNhry4sXHVt58kCj5fFetSBVx8ngV1jhkQJhPSBgM8G4bg9LUp3U9Yg6XTrY1fx31t3Cj80fm_4LnRTvQ9pLGB_rJpemCwZyHtepU3_Kt7Up3qlfP97-sHzIX1gcPoyuw24jbx-WGDj6OImtvPAcpltC7oaNqBvtcXC65-6j9_g==)
16. [grandviewresearch.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQH3-V1ZD4aeE1pPOhVy4IkxI4-5nAdjmerDtFWWtL8Ey0Wr3RavGEoy9L7OicG4naF3jOJ3QJrMQtQmQAawKFlitKZDh47DW69M3N34wjPR5R606GfmZFzfuQgMcKZzsu7muFRGEmCmeIC29cQyVTIEwIri1C5YDwbrC3-y2q2O5eslwAqlPo-q99I_)
17. [snsinsider.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEfB0Ez_OuVFwMEpS-AFPpOKbt9sk_Dm5O9cmmEKoXZH-0jD-qFsn7rxaLIB2NkZ-eWymoVUSO4yb8YWuFp7r4e1QkMOxmAunJYYOPYBgWyiWMadd8fEbYAbciL0WMX7uSXxkBzoa1vrQK4YEC5dESL0x6fbMe8UBo=)
18. [upcounting.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQHqEXqiL9uByFzOU3YMMCZ1o6FecgwAiTmqJkc8yUJdHxw07gN6ATYs8uke3irUdYialjaawi6tW5aQIZ2MfJu-SD-QYCdDBfSCWvMGcrATw83NBVMOFGi5jNxQhycu2RstN8a5Dsz3yScMM6hwMH7AldGVXuBfXMU7fwLmeAPgQAU=)
19. [loyaltylion.com](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFe_EhKj1TsCzfbEYrPX3l_JBIZtEkczTkzXTv44qvRS5Jd_ntukToLajV3P4sefeaa-ltAUYP0-VtOnLcf-o2rmSz-r-RlveMH_9wpnv2QuuS45k6fJY_WibSRV7zCEaK6QYuE6oHf7do2GEgU)
20. [phoenixstrategy.group](https://.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFDDINeubxsPsLiX_T-6Ehp1V0T196hPM0GvrgatV4_yZRIkMSu1ndUG3JYfY5EiKjKUa0BhXQu13dT5eaLM_Nh2YGOp4K-9EacwOetoaGjs3dWMWAWPsVNPESoxJbpM96TeJf3e-x5fRG91LCWfQlGkYOb9pC4say5M--ybeI8IhagVg==)
