9-minute read

How to Choose an Enterprise Ecommerce Platform

May 2, 2022

As your business grows into an enterprise-level operation, you need a robust, feature-rich e-commerce platform that can manage multiple stores, support distinct customer experiences, and handle worldwide shipping and fulfillment. There are dozens of e-commerce platforms on the market, but only one will actually fit your business.

Last verified: September 6, 2026.

This guide breaks down how to evaluate enterprise-level e-commerce platforms — the framework for choosing between them, plus honest comparisons of where Shopify, Commercetools, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and BigCommerce Enterprise actually differ.

Choosing the platform is the first decision; moving to it without losing revenue is the harder one. How to replatform without losing revenue covers the seven disciplines that decide how a migration goes.

And if the platform you're leaving is the one shaping the plan, it probably shouldn't be — the enterprise guide to migrating to Shopify makes the case that the destination platform, not the origin, is where the expertise that determines success actually lives.

How to Choose an Enterprise E-commerce Platform

Decide what features you need
Understand why you have decided to replatform
Identify what is wrong with your current platform
Ask yourself what features you would like to have
Determine whether your current third-party APIs will work
Determine which APIs you plan to add

As you can see, there are many different enterprise-level e-commerce platforms to choose from. If you’re not sure which is ultimately right for you, consider the below factors. These will help you pick the best enterprise e-commerce platform for your business needs.

Decide What Features You Need

First, consider the core features you deem absolutely necessary for your enterprise e-commerce platform. By determining your “must-haves”, you can eliminate platforms that don’t have these features from your list.

Multi-store capabilities (B2B/Wholesale)

Top-tier e-commerce platforms should let you manage multiple stores simultaneously, especially if you run a B2B or wholesale business. Single-dashboard e-commerce tools are excellent for their convenience and accessibility.

International Commerce Features

Good e-commerce platforms for enterprise-level businesses should include international commerce features. These features will enable you to handle international orders and customer management tasks more easily, plus organize your sales and shipping around the globe.

API Capabilities

The best enterprise-level e-commerce platforms include access to application programming interfaces through tokens. Your IT team can then access the API and tweak the platform specifically for your needs.

More customization means you can better serve the needs of your target audience and your chosen platform will be even better for your unique requirements.

Subscription Capabilities

If you already run a subscription-based enterprise-level business, subscription capabilities are must-haves for your enterprise e-commerce software. With subscription tools, you’ll have a payment gateway that allows you to automatically bill and/or invoice your customers periodically, such as on weekly, monthly, or annual bases.

ERP Integrations

Enterprise resource planning tools are perfect for big e-commerce platforms with scaling ecommerce businesses. These tools will help you manage your orders, customer data, and enterprise-level planning across your online store(s) as your scalability needs increase on the back-end of things (in addition to storefronts, of course).

Understand Why You Have Decided To Replatform

After determining what features you must have, consider why you need to replatform in the first place. You might need to replatform for the following reasons:

You need something more affordable
You need a platform with different tools
Your business has grown or scaled beyond the capabilities of your current platform

By identifying your reason(s) for replatforming, you’ll be able to determine the best new e-commerce platform for your business.

Identify What is Wrong with Your Current Platform

Similarly, you can and should identify the core issues affecting your current platform.

For example, if your current platform doesn’t let you manage multiple ecommerce websites from the same dashboard, that means you’ll need to replace it with an e-commerce platform with this functionality, such as Shopify.

Shopify lets you manage multiple ecommerce sites from the same primary location, enabling easier enterprise-level store management.

Ask Yourself What Features Would You Like to Have?

Just like it’s important to identify your must-have features, you should also identify the features you’d like to have in a top-tier platform. Features that are nice to have, such as Shopify’s omnichannel e-commerce tools, can help you break ties between platforms that are similar on the surface.

Determine Whether Your Current Third-party APIs Will Work

If you already rely on third-party tools for one or more business functions, you need an e-commerce platform that plays nice with those tools. Therefore, be sure to check which integrations an e-commerce platform allows before shifting to it fully.

Determine Which APIs You Plan to Add

Lastly, try to predict what integrations you may add in the future. That will let you choose a great e-commerce platform for your enterprise business in the coming years, not just in the next few months.

The Platforms Worth Considering

Shopify
Commercetools
Salesforce Commerce Cloud
BigCommerce Enterprise

Here's a short read on where each one stands today, with a link to the full comparison where we've already done the deep dive.

Shopify

Shopify remains the default answer for most enterprise replatforms — a fully managed, PCI-compliant platform with the broadest partner and integration ecosystem, plus a genuine enterprise tier (contractual SLAs, a dedicated account team, Shopify Professional Services) for businesses that need more than Plus. For the full three-tier breakdown — Standard Shopify, Plus, and the Enterprise/Commerce Components tier — see Shopify Enterprise vs. Shopify Plus.

Commercetools

Commercetools is a fully composable, API-first backend with no storefront of its own — the right fit if you're building a custom front end and want maximum architectural control, and the wrong fit if you want a platform that just works out of the box. See Shopify vs. Commercetools for how to tell which model actually fits your situation.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is priced on a revenue-share model tied to GMV, and Salesforce has raised list prices twice in recent years across its Enterprise portfolio — a cost structure that scales differently than Shopify Plus's flat subscription. See Shopify Plus vs. Salesforce Commerce Cloud for the full pricing and fit comparison.

BigCommerce Enterprise

BigCommerce Enterprise is the most operationally similar comparison to Shopify Plus — both are managed SaaS platforms that bundle hosting and infrastructure into the subscription — though BigCommerce doesn't publish Enterprise-tier pricing and no reliable independent estimate exists. See Shopify Plus vs. BigCommerce Enterprise for an honest comparison of platform fit and ecosystem.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Shopify Plus and Shopify Enterprise?

Shopify Plus removes the ceilings on the standard platform — checkout customization, native B2B, higher API limits. The Enterprise tier is a negotiated commercial relationship layered on top of Plus, adding contractual SLAs, a dedicated account team, and access to Shopify Professional Services. See Shopify Enterprise vs. Shopify Plus for the full breakdown.

Should I choose a composable platform like Commercetools instead of Shopify?

Only if you're already committed to building and maintaining a custom front end and have the engineering team to support an API-first backend with no storefront included. Most enterprises are better served by a managed platform. See Shopify vs. Commercetools for the full comparison.

How much does an enterprise e-commerce platform cost?

It varies widely by model. Shopify Plus and Enterprise pricing is negotiated; Salesforce Commerce Cloud is priced on a percentage of GMV; Commercetools and BigCommerce Enterprise are usage-based with no published list price. Ask any vendor for total cost of ownership over three years, not just the platform fee — implementation and ongoing engineering usually dwarf it.

What third-party APIs should I check before replatforming?

Start with whatever your business can't run without — ERP, OMS, subscription billing, tax, and any custom integrations tied to revenue. Confirm each one has a supported, current integration with your target platform before you commit, not after.

What To Do Next

Shopify is the strongest all-around choice for most enterprise businesses, but the right platform ultimately depends on your specific requirements, your third-party stack, and why you're replatforming in the first place — which is exactly what the framework above is for.

If you're ready to scope the move, talk to an architect about your requirements, or see how we scope a systems replatform.