Moving to a unified model doesn’t happen overnight, but it is a structured journey. The goal is to move toward a modular, scalable infrastructure.
Step 1: Audit your tech stack
Before buying new software, you need to find the cracks in your current one. Map out every point where a customer interacts with you. Where does the data stop? If a customer changes their email address in your physical store’s loyalty programme, does your email marketing tool know about it? If not, you’ve found a silo.
Step 2: Choose a central system
You need a platform that acts as the hub for your business. This is typically a combination of a robust ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and a sophisticated PSP (Payment Service Provider). The key is integration. Ensure your tools have open APIs that enable them to communicate with one another without constant manual intervention.
Step 3: Consolidate your payments
The easiest entry point into unified commerce is through your payments. By partnering with a provider that handles online, in-app, and in-person transactions, you instantly gain a comprehensive understanding of customer behaviour.
Implementing unified commerce | Real-world examples
At Mollie, we’ve helped thousands of European businesses move past the limitations of fragmented systems. Here is how three of them fixed their engine.
plnktn, a subscription-based service specialising in algae-based nutrition and skincare, needed a setup that could scale across Europe without adding massive administrative overhead.
By partnering with Mollie, they successfully unified payments across their online store and their recurring subscription channels. This integration didn’t just simplify the checkout; it streamlined their entire backend. By offering multiple local payment methods through a single system, they reduced operational friction, increased renewals, and expanded their reach across the continent with confidence.
We Are Jolies is a French brand specialising in ethical, colourful lingerie and apparel. As the brand grew from a digital-native startup to opening its first physical boutique in Paris, they faced a classic challenge: their online and in-store payment systems were entirely separate.
By choosing Mollie for their unified commerce strategy, We Are Jolies integrated their Shopify-powered online store with Mollie terminals in their boutique. Now, they have a single source of truth for all sales data. This setup doesn't just eliminate manual reconciliation – it allows them to provide a consistent, high-quality experience for their community, whether they are shopping from their sofa or visiting the Paris flagship.
The BBQ Experience Centre is a specialist retailer with a thriving online presence and high-end physical showrooms. Originally, they faced the classic omnichannel struggle: their ecommerce platform provided rich data, but their in-store purchases remained anonymous and disconnected.
By integrating Mollie’s unified commerce solution, they consolidated their online and offline payment streams into one dashboard. This allowed them to link in-store payments directly to inventory and customer profiles. Now, whether a customer is buying a high-end grill in person or ordering accessories on their phone, the experience is consistent, and the business data is always accurate.
