Why retailers are consolidating systems to move faster

Australian and New Zealand retailers are consolidating fragmented ecommerce, inventory, and POS systems into unified platforms to cut operational costs and improve speed amid tight margins and rising customer expectations. Shaun Broughton of Shopify highlights how legacy integrated stacks now create inefficiencies, forcing CFOs to treat system fragmentation as an operational issue rather than just a tech cost." "article": "Australian and New Zealand retailers are shifting away from complex, multi-platform commerce systems toward unified commerce models to address inefficiencies. Over the past decade, retailers built integrated stacks linking ecommerce, inventory, point-of-sale (POS), and customer databases through middleware, but these systems now create coordination gaps, duplicate processes, and high maintenance costs. The pressure to consolidate stems from tighter profit margins, frequent promotions, and high customer expectations for fast delivery. Shaun Broughton, managing director APAC and Japan at Shopify, notes that while integrated stacks supported rapid digital expansion, they now hinder agility. Fragmented data, misaligned inventory, and delayed campaign execution directly impact revenue in a price-sensitive market. Retailers are now evaluating fragmentation across three key areas: duplicated spending in overlapping systems, maintenance lock-in consuming technical resources, and lost growth opportunities due to tied-up capacity. Teams spend excessive time reconciling data and managing workarounds, reducing operational efficiency. Broughton describes this as a 'fragmentation tax,' where inefficiencies accumulate beyond just technology costs. Unified commerce systems aim to streamline workflows by centralizing core data and processes within a single platform. This approach allows retailers to launch campaigns faster, make real-time adjustments, and reduce execution risks. In a promotion-driven market, timing is critical, and unified systems help maintain consistency while cutting operational overhead. CFOs in Australia are increasingly viewing system consolidation as an operating model decision rather than a standalone tech investment. The total cost includes not just licenses and middleware but also the ongoing effort to keep fragmented systems aligned. Retailers must now weigh whether maintaining legacy stacks is sustainable or if transitioning to unified platforms will deliver long-term efficiency gains.