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Comparing Adobe Commerce vs. Salesforce: The Ultimate E-commerce Face-Off

  • DATE PUBLISHED (22/2/2023)
  • READ TIME (5MIN)

Choosing between Adobe Commerce and Salesforce can be daunting, especially regarding eCommerce platforms. With so many factors to consider, it can be hard to know where to start. But fear not, as I am here to help. 

This blog explores the key differences between Adobe Commerce vs. Salesforce, two of the most popular eCommerce platforms. 

We'll be weighing the pros and cons of each platform and helping you make an informed decision about the right choice for your business. So, let's get started!

Top 5 Reasons Why Salesforce is the Best Choice for Your Business

When choosing the right e-commerce platform, there are plenty of options to consider. However, in the battle of Adobe vs. Salesforce Commerce Platform, it's worth noting some exceptional features that make Salesforce stand out as the leading SaaS platform in the market.

Here are five reasons why:

1. Hassle-Free Maintenance and Security: 

While Adobe Commerce is an open-source platform with a lot of flexibility, it also requires constant security patches and updates, which can be overwhelming for businesses. With Salesforce's SaaS platform, you don't have to worry about maintaining your hosting stack or managing security updates. Instead, salesforce takes care of everything, so you can focus on growing your business.

2. Seamless BOPIS Integration: 

Salesforce's B2C platform offers a smooth user experience for customers who want to buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS). With features like local inventory display and flexible pickup location options, Salesforce makes it easy for businesses to integrate their online and offline operations seamlessly. In comparison, Adobe Commerce requires more work to achieve the same level of BOPIS user experience.

3. A Comprehensive Suite of Tools and 360° Customer View: 

Salesforce's suite of tools provides valuable insights into your customer's buying journey, allowing you to serve them better. In addition, with a 360° customer view, you can create personalized marketing campaigns and tailor your approach to specific audience segments. This means better engagement, increased loyalty, and higher revenue.

4. Exceptional Customer Success Managers: 

While Adobe Commerce has a strong support team, Salesforce's customer success managers (CSMs) take things to the next level. With timely resolutions to your issues and proactive communication, Salesforce's CSM program ensures you get the support you need to succeed.

5. Built-In A/B Testing, Personalization, and Merchandising Capabilities: 

Salesforce's SaaS platform comes with advanced merchandising scheduling and A/B testing capabilities right out of the box. While Adobe Commerce requires additional tools to achieve the same level of functionality, Salesforce's solution is fully integrated, reducing the need for extra costs and maintenance.

Top 5 Reasons You Should Choose Adobe Commerce Over Salesforce

From its powerful SEO capabilities to its robust customization options, Adobe Commerce offers many features that can help take your e-commerce business to the next level. 

So, without further ado, let's dive into why picking Adobe (powered by Magento) in the Magento vs. Salesforce Commerce Platform comparison battle might be the right choice for you.

Open-Source Flexibility: 

While Salesforce's SaaS platform offers good flexibility, Adobe Commerce's complete open-source flexibility leaves no doubt that any desired functionality is achievable. Additionally, Adobe Commerce can customize and fully build the necessary functionality for businesses with non-typical eCommerce needs or extreme complexity.

B2B & B2C in one Package: 

B2B and B2C commerce come with their complexities. Still, Adobe Commerce simplifies the process with workflows, user permissions, shared catalogs, requisition lists, and quoting features built into the platform.

Salesforce does have a b2b2c version, but the capabilities are less robust than those of Adobe Commerce. Adobe Commerce is the ideal platform for businesses looking to manage b2b and b2c needs in the same site or multisite environment.

PWA Studio: 

The superfast progressive web app or headless experience is now necessary, and Adobe Commerce's PWA studio is the best tool for achieving it. Although Salesforce acquired its own PWA front-end called Mobify in 2020, Adobe's PWA studio has been built ground up for much longer and is further ahead in capabilities.

Third-party Support: 

Adobe's massive marketplace for third-party modules and integrations makes life much easier for businesses, allowing them to install modules instead of building them from scratch over weeks. Unfortunately, Salesforce's marketplace doesn't match Adobe's because it operates on a strict pay-to-play model, which keeps the ecosystem smaller.

According to developer feedback on popular forums, Salesforce's modules are only 70% ready to use, requiring much customization. This leads to slower implementations and additional costs if not managed carefully.

The Community: 

Adobe Commerce has a robust platform community that offers off-the-shelf modules, educational resources, and bug fixes. In addition, the community contributes to building new functionalities and helps the platform improve faster. This support is essential for businesses leveraging the platform's full potential.

eCommerce Businesses Perfect for Salesforce Commerce Platform

While there are numerous factors to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform, here are a few examples of where Salesforce Commerce excels:

If You Have an Extensive Product Catalog 

Managing it can quickly become overwhelming. Even if you have a good ERP or PIM to collect your data, the merchandising and linking of similar products typically happen on the eCommerce platform. This is where Salesforce's Einstein artificial intelligence engine comes in handy. Einstein can analyze your customer's behavior and product data to provide recommendations for bundling and promoting similar products.

This can be especially powerful for fashion or home decor brands, where products are often grouped into a "look" or "family" of products.

Adding Salesforce Commerce to your tech stack is a no-brainer if you're already using other tools from Salesforce. Salesforce has put a lot of effort into ensuring the integrations between their various products work well out of the box, making adding a new tool to your existing tech stack much more effortless than selecting a third-party tool.

If You're Running Physical Retail Stores

And it would be best to have a robust buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) solution. But, again, Salesforce Commerce has got you covered. While you'll need multiple tools to make this work well, BOPIS is one of Salesforce's primary strengths, and it's worth considering if this is a big need for your business.

Salesforce Commerce also offers powerful personalization features, which can help you deliver more relevant content and products to each customer.

For example, you can use their customer groups to limit the scope to specific customers or leverage their page builder, A/B testing tools, or Einstein's artificial intelligence to fine-tune the content and products delivered to each customer.

If you're in the B2B Space and Need a Flexible Platform

To handle your specific needs, Salesforce Commerce may be a good choice.

While it may not have the most robust B2B functionality, it's reasonably flexible, considering its SaaS architecture. Plus, if they have everything you need or you can custom-build the missing pieces, it might be simpler to leverage Salesforce Commerce than some of the more robust open-source alternatives.

eCommerce Businesses Perfect for Adobe Commerce Platform

If You're Looking for a Platform that can Handle Highly Customized or Complex Sites 

Adobe Commerce should be at the top of your list. This open-source platform offers unparalleled flexibility for businesses that want to craft a unique user experience and fine-tune every aspect of the buyer's journey, including checkout.

With Adobe Commerce, you can realize your vision of how your eCommerce should operate, even if you have complex data, high SKU counts, or complicated buying journeys.

If You're a Hybrid B2B and B2C Business 

Adobe Commerce is an excellent fit for your project. Its B2B and multi-store implementation makes building a single site that serves both markets and runs two sites from the same backend code easy.

With the platform's flexibility and power, you have many options for setting up and configuring this hybrid approach, so it should support many use cases out of the box.

For Businesses Already in the Adobe Ecosystem 

Adobe Commerce makes perfect sense as your platform of choice. Integrating with Adobe Commerce is seamless if you use Adobe's Experience Manager or another enterprise offers. The platform's integrations between their various products work well out of the box, making adding a new Adobe tool to your existing tech stack easier than selecting a third-party tool.

If You're Looking to Create a Non-Typical Buying Experience

Adobe Commerce's flexibility will come in handy. While most eCommerce platforms are designed to appeal to the masses, Adobe Commerce's flexibility allows you to build out a custom solution to meet your unique needs.

For example, if your products require a lot of configurations or you need a "wizard" to guide customers through their options, Adobe Commerce lets you build it out just like you want without limitation.

If You Operate in Heavily Regulated Industries

Adobe Commerce's ability to be downloaded and installed at your host of choice gives you a huge advantage when it comes to compliance. With public sentiment and laws constantly changing, businesses may get short notice that they're being kicked off a SaaS platform or have their payment processor account closed.

Adobe Commerce's open-source platform allows you options, such as changing payment processors or hosts, without being stuck without alternatives.

Conclusion

It seems like both Adobe Commerce and Salesforce have a lot to offer businesses looking to optimize their e-commerce operations. But which one is the clear winner?

It's not that simple, unfortunately. 

Choosing between Adobe Commerce and Salesforce depends on your business needs and goals. 

For example, if you're looking for a highly customizable platform with strong SEO capabilities, Adobe Commerce might be the way to go. But, on the other hand, if you're more focused on marketing and customer relationship management, Salesforce could be the better choice.

It's about evaluating your priorities and choosing the platform that aligns with them.

It's important to research, talk to vendors and experts, and consider factors like pricing, scalability, integrations, and support. And remember that both Adobe Commerce and Salesforce are constantly evolving, so what works best for you today may be different from what works best for you tomorrow.

And who knows, maybe we'll be comparing a whole new set of e-commerce platforms in a few years.

FAQs

Which is better, Adobe Commerce or Salesforce? 

Deciding between Adobe Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Platform is no easy choice. Both have unique strengths and are equally powerful in their ways. It ultimately comes down to your business needs and priorities to determine which is better for your online store.

Is Salesforce the same as Abode Commerce? 

No, they are not the same. While both can help you fly in the eCommerce space, they have different capabilities and strengths. For example, Adobe Commerce is a highly customizable platform with strong SEO capabilities, while Salesforce is a cloud-based platform renowned for its marketing and customer relationship management features.

Which CMS is the best: Adobe Commerce or Salesforce?

Adobe Commerce has an intuitive interface & flexible integration option, while Salesforce provides comprehensive analytics & advanced reporting capabilities. These features are important differentiators, but they are not exclusive to either platform.

Choosing the right CMS between Adobe Commerce vs. Salesforce depends on your business needs, goals, and priorities. First, evaluate both platforms in terms of their overall functionality, scalability, pricing, integrations, and support.