Quick Takeaways

The digital landscape has been experiencing its most profound transformation since the dawn of e-commerce: AI search. By 2026, traditional search engine traffic is projected to decline by 25%, with AI-powered assistants and conversational agents intercepting customers before they ever reach your website. For CMOs and digital marketing leaders, this isn’t a distant threat; it’s the new reality already reshaping acquisition and growth strategies. Read on to learn more about why websites aren’t dead and how to think about AI search optimization.

The Restaurant That Forgot About Delivery

Imagine you’re running a renowned restaurant. For years, customers walked through your beautiful front doors, admired your meticulously designed dining room, and experienced your brand exactly as you intended. You invested heavily in that storefront, the lighting, the ambiance, and the path from entrance to table. It was your competitive advantage.

Then delivery apps appeared. Suddenly, most of your customers never saw your dining room. They ordered through third-party platforms, and your carefully crafted experience was reduced to food in a box. Some restaurants panicked and tried to block delivery altogether. Others thrived by recognizing a fundamental truth: the front door had moved.

This is precisely what’s happening to your website in 2026. And if you’re still optimizing primarily for traditional search traffic, you’re polishing the brass on the door fewer customers are using.

When the Front Door Moves

According to Gartner’s latest research, traditional search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 as AI chatbots and virtual agents become the new intermediaries between brands and buyers. But here’s what most analyses miss: this isn’t about search dying; it’s about search fragmenting across dozens of new surfaces where decisions happen before anyone clicks.

McKinsey’s data reveals that 50% of consumers now intentionally seek out AI-powered search engines, with the majority saying it’s their top digital source for making buying decisions. By 2028, an estimated $750 billion in U.S. revenue will flow through these AI-powered channels.

Think about what this means for your Acquisition and Growth teams. The assumptions underlying every pipeline model, every traffic projection, and every cost-per-lead calculation are all becoming obsolete simultaneously. And how we embrace AI search optimization matters.

The Zero-Click World and Optimizing for AI Search

Here’s the uncomfortable reality facing marketing leaders: zero-click searches are approaching 70% of all queries. AI Overviews now appear in approximately 60% of Google search results, with projections suggesting this will exceed 75% by 2028. When users get their answers directly on the search results page or through conversational AI, they don’t visit your website. They don’t become trackable visitors. They don’t enter your funnel.

For Acquisition teams built around website traffic as the primary metric, this creates an existential crisis. Deloitte predicts that by 2026, one-third of adults in developed countries will view at least one AI-generated search summary daily, but only 10% will use standalone AI applications. The search habits haven’t disappeared; they’ve just moved to interfaces where your brand needs to be present in a fundamentally unique way.

Botify’s research is even more stark: most high-intent queries, product discovery, comparisons, specifications, and troubleshooting are being resolved inside AI search engines without any click-through. Their mandate for brands is clear: “Stay visible without clicks.” If you aren’t mentioned in AI answers, you’re effectively invisible to potential customers, regardless of how good your content is or how high you rank traditionally.

The Conversational Commerce Revolution

But the disruption doesn’t stop at search. The entire purchase journey is being reinvented through conversational AI. Consider these data points: 57% of Gen Z and 48% of millennials now consult AI assistants when shopping online, and global chat-based spending is projected to exceed $32.67 billion by 2035.

This means your Growth teams aren’t just competing for visibility, they’re competing to be the source AI agents recommend when business buyers ask, “Who should I consider for enterprise marketing automation?” or “What’s the best digital transformation partner for mid-market manufacturing?”

Companies implementing AI-driven customer management are already seeing remarkable results: 50% increases in customer acquisition, 20% rises in upselling and cross-selling, and in some cases, 2,300% increases in AI-driven traffic. Meanwhile, those who don’t optimize for AI discover risk not just traffic decline, but complete invisibility in the buying journeys of their ideal customers.

The Path Forward: AI Search Optimization

The brands winning in 2026 won’t be the ones with the most website traffic. They’ll be the ones AI agents trust and cite. This requires a fundamental shift in how Acquisition teams think about digital presence. Instead of optimizing a single owned property (your website), you’re building an ecosystem of signals that teach AI who you are, what you solve, and why you’re credible:

• Original research and data that AI systems can’t find elsewhere.
• Structured content with proper schema markup that machines can parse
• Consistent entity definitions across all digital touchpoints
• Authority signals from media mentions, expert commentary, and genuine thought leadership
• Real customer evidence in the form of detailed case studies and outcome data

Businesses also need visibility wherever audiences are searching, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews. The old approach of ranking on page one is dead. The new approach is being the answer AI provides.

The Front Door Hasn’t Disappeared, It’s Multiplied

Here’s the paradox your Growth team needs to embrace: websites aren’t dying, but they’re no longer the only place customers experience your brand first. The front door has multiplied into dozens of potential entrances, some you control, many you don’t.

Smart restaurant operators didn’t fight delivery apps. They refined their food for travel, ensured their listings were perfect, and made sure every touchpoint, from app description to packaging, reinforced their brand. They recognized that while the experience had changed, the fundamentals of quality, consistency, and reputation mattered more than ever.

The same is true for your digital presence. The brands that will dominate aren’t the ones mourning lost traffic or trying to game AI algorithms. They’re the ones building genuine authority, creating content that deserves to be cited, and ensuring that whenever AI looks for a credible answer in their space, they’re impossible to overlook.

Your website will still matter enormously. But it will be a destination for pre-qualified, high-intent visitors who’ve already been introduced to your brand by AI. The front door has moved. The question is: are you standing at the new entrance?

Key Takeaways for CMOs

For CMOs and marketing leaders, the implications are profound and immediate. Here are a few potential steps to consider for reclaiming your search visibility and stabilizing your operations:

• Traffic will decline, but that’s not the whole story. Brands that optimize for AI visibility are seeing higher-quality, higher-converting visitors.
• Shift the budget toward AI visibility and authority-building. Companies investing in AI search optimization, structured data, and authoritative content are capturing a disproportionate share while competitors chase vanishing traditional traffic.
• Measure what matters in an AI-first world. Move beyond page views to track: AI citation rates, brand mention frequency in AI responses, and conversion quality from AI-referred traffic.
• Integrate Acquisition and Growth around AI-first principles. The highest-performing teams treat AI as infrastructure, not a tool, embedding intelligence into ICP definition, content strategy, channel orchestration, and performance measurement.
• Build trust signals AI can recognize. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), consistent brand voice, original research, and structured content architecture are the new currency of digital marketing.

The future of digital presence isn’t about having the best website; it’s about being the brand AI trusts enough to recommend. For marketing leaders willing to lead this transformation, the opportunity is extraordinary. The front door has moved. Will you be there to greet your customers?

References and Inspirations

• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wilreynolds_ai-optimization-in-2026-heres-what-i-am-activity-7419437187718361088-b4d6
• https://www.mirakl.com/blog/top-5-ai-trends-in-b2b-reshaping-commerce-in-2026
• https://www.omnibound.ai/blog/b2b-marketing-strategies
• https://infuse.com/insight/ai-implementation-handbook-for-b2b-gtm-in-2026/
• https://www.demandgenreport.com/demanding-views/demand-gen-report-2026-trends-calltrackingmetrics-erika-rollins/51087/
• https://www.devstars.com/blog/2026-b2b-marketing-playbook/
• https://noblestudios.com/b2b/b2b-marketing-playbook-2026/
• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/natalie-marcotullio_a-convo-with-9-top-b2b-marketers-almost-activity-7415040040214679552-YnHm
• https://www.demandgenreport.com/demanding-views/demand-gen-report-2026-trends-gartner-marketing-practices-christy-ferguson/51078/
• https://whitehat-seo.co.uk/blog/inbound-marketing-trends
• https://www.lakeb2b.com/blog/b2b-growth-strategy-2026-ai-paradox/
• https://www.columnfivemedia.com/top-b2b-marketing-agency-for-ai-saas/
• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mark-mayo-649abb8_best-marketing-strategy-for-2026-marketing-activity-7414301267742814208-FzdV
• https://keomarketing.com/marketing-analytics-attribution-guide-150191-4

In the lead up to NRF opening its doors in New York City, industry leaders were already debating how artificial intelligence, shifting consumer expectations, and economic uncertainty would shape the year ahead. One theme rose above the rest. Retail is entering a renewed era where human connection is once again the driving force behind meaningful customer experiences.

To better understand these conversations, Justin Racine, principal and associate vice president of commerce, attended Retail’s Big Show. He walked away with a clear message that he later shared in CMSWire. Below are several of his key takeaways.

A Return to Basics With Advanced Tools

Justin described NRF 2026 as a return to something retailers have always known. People want to feel understood, valued, and connected. While the industry has spent recent years racing toward automation and efficiency, the conversations at NRF signaled a shift back to the emotional core of retail. This time, the tools supporting that shift are more advanced than ever.

Across sessions and show floor discussions, leaders emphasized that technology is not replacing the human element. It is amplifying it. Retailers are using modern capabilities to create experiences that feel more personal and more intuitive. Innovation and empathy are beginning to work together rather than compete for attention.

Artificial Intelligence as an Intimacy Engine

One of Justin’s strongest observations was the reframing of artificial intelligence. Instead of viewing AI as a tool for automation alone, many speakers described it as a way to deepen relationships. AI can help associates anticipate needs, respond with greater accuracy, and create interactions that feel tailored and thoughtful.

This perspective marks a meaningful shift. Retailers are no longer asking how AI can replace tasks. They are asking how it can elevate people. When employees are empowered with better insights, they can deliver service that feels more human.

The Power of Physical and Emotional Proximity

Justin also noted a renewed focus on closeness. Brands are working to get physically closer to their customers through store design and layout choices that feel warm and intuitive. They are also striving for emotional closeness by building trust and demonstrating empathy in every interaction.

This emphasis on proximity is becoming a competitive advantage. When customers feel seen and understood, loyalty grows. NRF made it clear that the brands winning in 2026 will be those that invest in relationships as intentionally as they invest in technology.

Consumers Still Seek Joy

Even with economic uncertainty shaping buying behavior, Justin observed that consumers continue to seek moments of joy. They are willing to spend when an experience feels meaningful. Retailers are responding by creating moments that spark delight, whether through a warm conversation with a sales associate or a surprisingly relevant recommendation powered by AI.

A Future Built on People and Technology Working Together

Justin’s reflections on NRF 2026 paint a picture of an industry recalibrating. The future of retail is not defined by technology alone. It is defined by the way technology and humanity support one another. NRF reinforced that the strongest brands will be those that use innovation to elevate people and create experiences that feel authentic and personal.

Retail thrives when it stays close to its roots. NRF 2026 was a reminder that human connection remains the heart of the industry and that the path forward is one where people and technology move together with purpose.

To read Justin’s full article, head over to CMSWire.

Learn more about our commerce expertise.

Learn more about our retail + distribution expertise

Justin Racine, Principal of Commerce Strategy, has covered some of the most memorable commerce, retail topics and customer experiences to hit our newsfeeds in recent years. He has written for CMSWire on a wide range of subjects and has previously been awarded Contributor of the Year, so it’s no surprise that he has once again earned the honor for 2025.

This year, Justin decoded the Manning brothers’ secret playbook for brand loyalty and urged the world to recognize how customers are using AI in their holiday shopping. He wrote about everything from Taylor Swift to KFC, but we wanted to know which articles readers shared, liked, and returned to the most. Below are the top five CMSWire pieces Justin published in 2025.

Number 5 – Alexa, Meet ChatGPT: New Ecommerce Customer Experience Party Has Better Snacks

Justin explores how the integration of conversational AI like ChatGPT with voice assistants such as Alexa will reshape commerce by creating more natural, personalized shopping experiences. With generative AI and voice-driven interfaces working together, brands can deliver seamless product discovery, recommendations, and transactions that feel like real conversations.

Number 4 – The Future for Your Consumers Isn’t Social Media, It’s Social Life

From the early days of dial-up to the rise of social media, being online has always been about discovering what’s happening and who’s involved. Justin explains how social media is evolving into what he calls “social life,” where AI-powered wearables and connected devices blend digital and physical interactions. Instead of likes and passive engagement, future platforms will emphasize real-time, interactive experiences that reshape how we shop, date, and socialize.

Number 3 – The Future of Customer Experience Is Built for AI, Not Humans

Justin spent much of the year writing about the future of customer experience, and his prediction is bold: humans are no longer the primary focus. He argues that autonomous AI agents will increasingly make decisions and purchases on behalf of consumers. To prepare, brands must overhaul product data, adopt composable commerce architectures, and support dynamic, AI-generated product pages that respond to real-time queries.

Number 2 – The Absolute Top Moments From NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show

The National Retail Federation’s annual conference kicks off the year, and Justin’s recap is always a reader favorite. His 2025 takeaways highlighted how AI’s practical impact is now front and center in most retailers’ plans. He also emphasized the importance of the show floor embodying the essence of retail and noted several provocative discussions about the future of digital commerce.

Number 1 – What Red Lobster’s New CEO Teaches Us About Customer Experience Strategy

The most-read article of the year was Justin’s deep dive into the revival of a well-known seafood chain. He unpacked how Damola Adamolekun, Red Lobster’s new CEO, turned around a struggling franchise with small but meaningful changes. Updates to menus, ambiance, and overall experience led to significant improvements in customer satisfaction. Justin also highlighted how authenticity and transparency strengthened trust among both employees and guests, improving overall brand perception.

That’s a Wrap on Justin’s Top CMSWire Articles for 2025

If you can’t get enough of Justin’s insights, keep an eye out for his upcoming article covering NRF: Retail’s Big Show in early January. We’ll be sharing live coverage from the first few days of the conference, and if you plan to attend, be sure to meet Justin and the rest of our experts.

Moments of currency change are where fortunes are made and lost. In January 2026, Bulgaria will enter one of those moments. The country will adopt the euro and officially retire the Bulgarian lev, marking a major euro adoption milestone and reshaping how investors, banks, and global firms manage currency risk in the region. The shift represents one of the most significant macroeconomic transitions in Bulgaria’s modern history and is already drawing attention across FX markets.

To understand how dramatically foreign exchange movements can shift value, consider one of the most famous examples in modern financial history. In September 1992, investor George Soros, “the man who broke the British Bank,” bet against the British pound, anticipating that the UK’s exchange rate policy would collapse. The resulting exchange rate crisis, now known as Black Wednesday, became a defining moment in forex trading and demonstrated how quickly policy decisions can trigger massive market dislocations.

By selling roughly $10 billion worth of pounds, his Quantum Fund earned ~$1 billion in profit when the currency was forced to devalue. The trade earned Soros the nickname “the man who broke the Bank of England” and remains a lasting example of how quickly confidence and capital flows can move entire currency systems.

GBP/USD exchange rate from May 1992 to April 1993, highlighting the dramatic plunge during Black Wednesday. When George Soros famously shorted the pound, forcing the UK out of the ERM and triggering one of the most significant currency crises in modern history

To be clear, Bulgaria is not in crisis. The Soros example simply underscores how consequential currency decisions can be. Even when they unfold calmly and by design, currency transitions reshape the texture of daily life. The significance of Bulgaria’s transition becomes more clear when you consider what the lev has long represented. Safety. Families relied on it through political uncertainty and economic swings, saved it for holidays, passed it down during milestones, and trusted it in moments when little else felt predictable. Over time, the lev became a source of stability as Bulgaria navigated decades of change and gradually aligned itself with the European Union..

Its retirement feels both symbolic and historic. But for global markets, currency traders, banks, and companies engaged in cross border business, the transition is not just symbolic. It introduces real operational changes that require early attention. This article explains what is happening, why it matters, and how organizations can prepare.

Some quick facts help frame the scale of this shift.

Map of Bulgaria

Bulgaria has a population of roughly 6.5 million.

The country’s GDP is about 90 billion U.S. dollars (World Bank, 2024)

Its largest trade partners are EU member states, Turkey, and China.

Why Bulgaria Is Adopting the Euro

​​Although the move from the Lev to the Euro is monumental, many Bulgarians also see it as a natural progression. ​​When Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, Euro adoption was always part of the long-term plan. Adopting the Euro gives Bulgaria a stronger foundation for investment, more predictable trade relationships, and smoother participation in Europe’s financial systems. It is the natural next step in a journey the country has been moving toward slowly, intentionally, and with growing confidence. That measured approach fostered public and institutional trust, leading European authorities to approve Bulgaria’s entry into the Eurozone on January 1, 2026 (European Commission, 2023; European Central Bank, 2023).

How Euro Adoption Affects Currency Markets

Bulgaria’s economy includes manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and service sectors. Its exports include refined petroleum, machinery, copper products, and apparel. It imports machinery, fuels, vehicles, and pharmaceuticals (OECD, 2024). The Euro supports smoother trade relationships within these sectors and reduces barriers for European partners.

Once Bulgaria switches to the Euro, the Lev will quietly disappear from global currency screens. Traders will no longer see familiar pairs like USD to BGN or GBP to BGN. Anything involving Bulgaria will now flow through euro-based pairs instead. In practical terms, the Lev simply stops being part of the conversation.

For people working on trading desks or in treasury teams, this creates a shift in how risk is measured day to day. Hedging strategies built around the Lev will transition to euro-based approaches. Models that once accounted for Lev-specific volatility will have to be rewritten. Automated trading programs that reference BGN pricing will need to be updated or retired. Even the market data providers that feed information into these systems will phase out Lev pricing entirely.

And while Bulgaria may be a smaller player in the global economy, the retirement of a national currency is never insignificant. It ripples through the internal workings of trading floors, risk management teams, and the systems that support them . It is a reminder that even quiet changes in one part of the world can require thoughtful adjustments across the financial landscape.

Combined with industry standard year-end code-freezes, Perficient has seen and helped clients stop their Lev trading weeks before year-end.

The Infrastructure Work Behind Adopting the Euro

Adopting the Euro is not just a change people feel sentimental about. Behind the scenes, it touches almost every system that moves money. Every financial institution uses internal currency tables to keep track of existing currencies, conversion rules, and payment routing. When a currency is retired, every system that touches money must be updated to reflect the change.

This includes:

• Core banking and treasury platforms
• Trading systems
• Accounting and ERP software
• Payment networks, including SWIFT and ISO 20022
• Internal data warehouses and regulatory reporting systems

Why Global Firms Should Pay Attention

If the Lev remains active anywhere after the transition, payments can fail, transactions can be misrouted, and reconciliation issues can occur. The Bank for International Settlements notes that currency changes require “significant operational coordination,” because risk moves across systems faster than many institutions expect. 

Beyond the technical updates, the disappearance of the Lev also carries strategic implications for multinational firms. Any organization that operates across borders, whether through supply chains, treasury centers, or shared service hubs, relies on consistent currency identifiers to keep financial data aligned. If even one system, vendor, or regional partner continues using the old code, firms can face cascading issues such as misaligned ledgers, failed hedging positions, delayed settlements, and compliance flags triggered by mismatched reporting. In a world where financial operations are deeply interconnected, a seemingly local currency change can ripple outward and affect global liquidity management and operational continuity.

Many firms have already started their transition work well in advance of the official date in order to minimize risk. In practice, this means reviewing currency tables, updating payment logic, testing cross-border workflows, and making sure SWIFT and ISO 20022 messages recognize the new structure. 

Trade Finance Will Feel the Change

For people working in finance, this shift will change the work they do every day. Tools like Letters of Credit and Banker’s Acceptances are the mechanisms that keep international trade moving, and they depend on accurate currency terms. If any of these agreements are written to settle in Lev, they will need to be updated before January 2026.

That means revising contracts, invoices, shipping documents, and long-term payment schedules. Preparing early gives exporters, importers, and the teams supporting them the chance to keep business running smoothly through the transition.

What Euro Adoption Means for Businesses

Switching to the Euro unlocks several practical benefits that go beyond finance departments.

• Lower currency conversion costs
• More consistent pricing for long-term agreements
• Faster cross-border payments within the European Union
• Improved financial reporting and reduced foreign exchange risk
• Increased investor confidence in a more stable currency environment

Because so much of Bulgaria’s trade already occurs with Eurozone countries, using the Euro simplifies business operations and strengthens economic integration.

How Organizations Can Prepare

The most important steps for institutions include:

1. Auditing systems and documents for references to BGN
2. Updating currency tables and payment rules
3. Revising Letters of Credit and other agreements that list the Lev
4. Communicating the transition timeline to partners and clients
5. Testing updated systems well before January 1, 2026

Early preparation ensures a smooth transition when Bulgaria officially adopts the Euro. Ensure that operationally you’re prepared to accept Lev payments through December 31, 2025, but given settlement timeframes, prepared to reconcile and settle Lev transactions into 2026.a

Final Thoughts

The Bulgarian Lev has accompanied the country through a century of profound change. Its retirement marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in Bulgaria’s economic story. For the global financial community, Bulgaria’s adoption of the Euro is not only symbolic but operationally significant.

Handled thoughtfully, the transition strengthens financial infrastructure, reduces friction in global business, and supports a more unified European economy.

References 

Bank for International Settlements. (2024). Foreign exchange market developments and global liquidity trends. https://www.bis.org

Eichengreen, B. (1993). European monetary unification. Journal of Economic Literature, 31(3), 1321–1357.

European Central Bank. (2023). Convergence report. https://www.ecb.europa.eu

European Commission. (2023). Economic and monetary union: Euro adoption process. https://ec.europa.eu

Henriques, D. B. (2011). The billionaire was not always so bold. The New York Times.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). Economic surveys: Bulgaria. https://www.oecd.org

World Bank. (2024). Bulgaria: Country data and economic indicators. https://data.worldbank.org/country/bulgaria

In today’s marketing landscape, speed and precision aren’t luxuries—they’re expectations. Real-time engagement has become the baseline, and marketers need tools that can respond the moment a customer acts.

Having worked across a range of marketing automation platforms, I’ve seen how each handles this challenge differently. What stands out in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys is how it brings real-time responsiveness and data-driven decision-making into a single, unified flow without excessive workarounds or patchwork integrations.

This post shares how real-time journeys can simplify campaign delivery, improve timing, and enhance how teams design and manage customer experiences, particularly when the pressure is on to scale fast and stay compliant.

Why Real-Time Journeys Are a Game Changer

In many traditional platforms, journey logic runs on scheduled evaluations or requires syncing data between systems. Real-time journeys flip that: they listen to user actions as they happen and respond without delay.

This means cleaner architecture, less manual upkeep, and better alignment between marketing and sales.

Key Advantages

Event-Based Triggers That Actually Work

Form submissions, link clicks, custom interactions—they all kick off journeys in real time. No batch processing or lag.

Segmentation That Doesn’t Live in a Silo

Unlike other tools where segmentation often lives outside the campaign builder, CIJ uses unified Dataverse data. I can build segments based on behaviors, preferences, and even CRM activity without exporting lists or building middle-layer syncs.

Clear, Flexible Branching

From a user experience standpoint, the journey builder is intuitive but also powerful. I can design complex logic with conditions, delays, and channel preferences, and the flow stays clean and understandable.

Built-In Consent Management

Compliance and consent aren’t afterthoughts. They are built into every journey. This simplifies cross-channel delivery while keeping you on the safe side of privacy regulations.

Channel-Ready (and Expandable)

Out of the box, you can orchestrate journeys across email, SMS, push notifications, and even custom channels if needed.

Example Use Case: Real-Time Inquiry Follow-Up

Let’s say you work for a university admissions team. Your marketing strategy includes a lead form where prospective students can request information about academic programs. These inquiries need to be followed up quickly and efficiently—ideally with personalized communication and a clear path toward scheduling a campus visit.

Here’s how a real-time journey in Dynamics 365 could automate that experience:

• A student fills out the “Request Info” form on your website
• Within seconds, they receive a personalized email acknowledging their request
• If they click a specific CTA (like “Schedule a Visit”), they’re routed into a journey branch that sends visit prep material
• If they don’t click after 2 days, they receive a gentle follow-up email
• Behind the scenes, the contact’s record is updated, and an alert is logged in CRM for the admissions advisor

No manual intervention. No delays. No data syncing. Just a clean journey that responds to interest in real time, while keeping your team informed.

Why This Matters

If you’re in marketing ops or campaign strategy, real-time journeys simplify things you’ve likely hacked together before:
– Real-time reactions without external tools
– Unified data access without integration overhead
– Journey paths that are scalable, visual, and respectful of consent

This isn’t just a shift in tooling. It’s a shift in how we build customer experiences.

Final Thought

With real-time journeys, I’m not just building email campaigns. I’m designing responsive experiences that meet users where they are. If you’ve worked with other automation platforms, you’ll feel the difference right away.

Justin Racine, Principal of Unified Commerce Strategy at Perficient, was recently featured on the Wholesale Change podcast hosted by Jonathan Bein and Brian Hopkins of the Distribution Strategy Group. In the episode, Justin shared how AI is reshaping the B2B customer experience and what distributors need to do to stay competitive.

Explore our Artificial Intelligence expertise and services.

Changing Expectations in B2B

In this interview, Justin opened with a powerful reminder: “You’re only as good as your last best experience.” Today’s B2B buyers expect the same ease and personalization they experience as consumers. Many distribution portals still feel outdated, making it difficult for buyers to complete large, complex orders efficiently. With platforms like Amazon and AI tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot changing how people discover and purchase products, distributors must modernize their digital experiences or risk falling behind.

How AI Is Transforming Commerce

Justin outlined three major ways AI is changing the order experience:

1. Generative Commerce: AI can create personalized shopping experiences based on a user’s behavior, purchase history, and preferences. Instead of browsing static product pages, buyers interact with intelligent systems that curate content and recommendations in real time.
2. Autonomous Agents: Tools like ChatGPT can send agents to brand websites to gather product information and return it to the user. This shifts the focus from traditional SEO to AI discoverability. If a site isn’t optimized for these agents, it will be skipped.
3. AI-Driven Marketplaces: Buyers may soon place orders directly within AI interfaces, bypassing traditional e-commerce sites. To stay competitive, distributors must adopt flexible, API-first architectures and ensure their product data is clean, complete, and accessible.

Human Connection Still Matters

Despite AI’s growing capabilities, human relationships remain essential. Justin emphasized that customer service and sales roles are evolving, not disappearing. For example, salespeople didn’t go away because of digital commerce, their role just changed. The same holds true with customer service and generative commerce: As much as you can make an autonomous agent or agentic agent feel like a human, oftentimes people still want to talk to a real person, maybe a customer service rep that they’ve known and worked with before. It’s not just pricing or a good experience but rather because of a personal relationship built over time that drives the psychology of B2B brand loyalty.

AI can handle routine inquiries, allowing reps to focus on high-value interactions and relationship-building. The key is blending AI efficiency with human empathy.

What Distributors Can Do Now

Justin offered practical advice for distributors looking to modernize:

• Start with customer feedback. Use surveys and direct conversations to identify pain points and opportunities.
• Invest in AI tools. Implement chatbots and product information management systems to improve service and personalization.
• Think like a software company. Embrace composable, API-first solutions that can adapt to new channels and technologies.

The future of B2B commerce is dynamic, data-driven, and increasingly powered by AI. Success depends on understanding your customers and building systems that serve them both digitally and personally.

Watch the full interview to learn how Perficient is helping businesses lead in the age of generative commerce.

We are proud to share that Perficient has been recognized among notable providers in The Commerce Services Landscape, Q3 2025, Forrester’s authoritative overview of 40 global providers authored by Principal Analyst Chuck Gahun. We believe this recognition highlights Perficient’s role as a systems integrator driving innovation across the commerce ecosystem.

Why This Recognition Matters

We believe Forrester’s inclusion reflects more than market presence. To us, it signals our strategic alignment with the future of enterprise commerce. As organizations shift from legacy platforms to intelligent AI-first ecosystems, Perficient is helping clients reimagine how value is created, sustained, and scaled.

Forrester asked each provider included in the Landscape to select the top business scenarios for which clients select them and from there determined which are the extended business scenarios that highlight differentiation among the providers. Perficient is shown in the report for having selected B2B2B commerce, B2B2C commerce, and Extended Reality and Augmented Reality Commerce as the top reasons clients work with us out of those extended use cases. Notably, Perficient was only one of three providers included in the Landscape to have selected Extended Reality and Augmented Reality Commerce. We believe this is a differentiator for us.

We were also listed with a focus on three industries:

• Manufacturing and production of consumer products
• Manufacturing and production of industrial products
• Retail

What This Means for Perficient and Our Clients

Several themes have emerged from within the commerce landscape that Perficient is poised to take by storm, especially as it relates to taking an AI-first approach to client’s challenges and goals.

AI-First Differentiation: There is a need for providers to move beyond buzzwords and clearly define what AI-first means. Perficient’s focus on operationalizing AI through proprietary intellectual property and composable architectures positions us to lead this shift.

Vertical-Specific Solutions: It is important to tailor AI offerings by industry. Our deep expertise and work across several industry verticals, notably commerce work for manufacturing and retail clients, reflects this strategic direction with solutions that drive real outcomes in product discovery, engagement, and experience.

A New Lens on Customer Journeys: Intelligent commerce is transforming the customer experience from AI-integrated search to immersive product journeys, and Perficient is building the infrastructure for what comes next.

Outcome-Based Engagements: As clients demand measurable impact, our ability to structure engagements around business outcomes powered by AI-driven insights sets us apart.

Embrace the New Era of AI-First Commerce

We believe Perficient’s inclusion in the Forrester landscape is more than recognition. For us, it is a signal to enterprise leaders that we are ready to help them transform legacy systems into intelligent platforms, activate AI across the full commerce lifecycle, and deliver personalized immersive experiences that drive growth.

Whether you are navigating B2B complexity, scaling retail innovation, or exploring extended reality commerce, Perficient is the partner to help you lead with confidence.

Ready to build what comes next in commerce? Let’s talk about how AI-first transformation can reshape your business.

Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. For more information, read about Forrester’s objectivity 

My 30-year technology career has taught me many things…and one big thing: the companies that treat technology as a cost center are the ones that get blindsided. In manufacturing, that blindside is already here — and it’s wearing the name tag “AI.”

For decades, manufacturers have been locked into rigid systems, long upgrade cycles, and siloed data. The result? Operations that run on yesterday’s insights while competitors are making tomorrow’s moves. Sound familiar? It’s the same trap traditional IT outsourcing fell into — and it’s just as deadly in the age of smart manufacturing.

The AI Advantage in Manufacturing

Oracle Fusion AI for Manufacturing Smart Operations isn’t just another software upgrade. It’s a shift from reactive to predictive, from siloed to synchronized. Think:

• Real-time anomaly detection that flags quality issues before they hit the line.
• Predictive maintenance that slashes downtime and extends asset life.
• Intelligent scheduling that adapts to supply chain disruptions in minutes, not weeks.
• Embedded analytics that turn every operator, planner, and manager into a decision-maker armed with live data.

This isn’t about replacing people — it’s about giving them superpowers. Read more from Oracle here.

Proof in Action: Roeslein & Associates

If you want to see what this looks like in the wild, look at Roeslein & Associates. They were running on disparate, outdated legacy systems — the kind that make global process consistency a pipe dream. Perficient stepped in and implemented Oracle Fusion Cloud Manufacturing with Project Driven Supply Chain, plus full Financial and Supply Chain Management suites. The result?

• A global solution template that can be rolled out anywhere in the business.
• A redesigned enterprise structure to track profits across business units.
• Standardized manufacturing processes that still flex for highly customized demand.
• Integrated aftermarket parts ordering and manufacturing flows.
• Seamless connections between Fusion, labor capture systems, and eCommerce.

That’s not just “going live” — that’s rewiring the operational nervous system for speed, visibility, and scale.

Why Standing Still is Riskier Than Moving Fast

In my words, “true innovation is darn near impossible” when you’re chained to legacy thinking. The same applies here: if your manufacturing ops are running on static ERP data and manual interventions, you’re already losing ground to AI‑driven competitors who can pivot in real time.

Oracle Fusion Cloud with embedded AI is the equalizer. A mid‑sized manufacturer with the right AI tools can outmaneuver industry giants still stuck in quarterly planning cycles.

Where Perficient Comes In

Perficient’s Oracle team doesn’t just implement software — they architect transformation. With deep expertise in Oracle Manufacturing Cloud, Supply Chain Management, and embedded Fusion AI solutions, they help you:

• Integrate AI into existing workflows without blowing up your operations.
• Optimize supply chain visibility from raw materials to customer delivery.
• Leverage IoT and machine learning for continuous process improvement.
• Scale securely in the cloud while keeping compliance and governance in check.

They’ve done it for global manufacturers, and they can do it for you — faster than you think.

The Call to Action

If you believe your manufacturing operations are immune to disruption, history says otherwise. The companies that win will be the ones that treat AI not as a pilot project, but as the new operating system for their business.

Rather than letting new entrants disrupt your position, take initiative and lead the charge—make them play catch-up.

Nowadays, as businesses choose the right ecommerce platform, it is challenging, but selecting the right platform is a crucial decision for any business that wants to grow online. Two very popular platforms are discussed in this blog. I am comparing two e-commerce technologies, specifically Magento (Adobe Commerce) and Optimizely Configured Commerce, in terms of their technology features.

Magento and Optimizely Configured Commerce are widely used e-commerce platforms and content management systems (CMS) that allow businesses to build and manage online stores. Both have different technologies, features, and serve different business purposes. This blog helps us choose e-commerce platforms

Two popular choices are:

• Magento (Adobe Commerce) – Flexible and works for both B2C and B2B.
• Optimizely Configured Commerce – Explicitly built for B2B.

Both are powerful, but they serve different needs. Let’s break them down so you can decide which fits you best.

Magento (Adobe Commerce)

Magento is a popular open-source eCommerce platform. Magento, now known as Adobe Commerce, is a leading e-commerce platform acquired by Adobe in 2018. It offers powerful, customizable tools for building and managing online stores, supporting both B2C and B2B models. With rich out-of-the-box features, seamless integrations, and scalable architecture, Adobe Commerce helps businesses deliver exceptional shopping experiences.

Why Businesses Choose Magento

• Almost everything can be customized – design, features, and workflows.
• Packed with tools for products, payments, shipping, and marketing.
• Works well for both small and large businesses.
• Huge global developer community.

Magento offers two versions: Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce. Actually, Magento Open Source is ideal for developers and small businesses that want complete control and flexibility without licensing costs. Adobe Commerce, on the other hand, is built for enterprises that need advanced features, scalability, and integration with Adobe’s ecosystem.

Magento Open Source

Magento Open Source is free, fully customizable, and has a plethora of extensions available on the Magento (Adobe Commerce) Marketplace. Smaller companies and those who are just entering the e-commerce field find it a significant advantage that the platform is free, allowing them to start developing their store with no upfront platform costs. If they need to add more features and functionalities, they can easily do so by using extensions from the marketplace, many of which are also free. And because Magento Open Source can easily be expanded with new features, medium-sized companies also consider it an ideal platform for their needs.

Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce is the enterprise edition of Magento Open Source, a fully featured, subscription-based eCommerce solution from Adobe. It comes with advanced features out of the box, but it is also fully customizable and easily integrates with third-party extensions. Large businesses that require those advanced capabilities, value 24/7 customer support, and want the option for cloud infrastructure opt for Adobe Commerce. The platform is robust, scalable, and secure, and allows eCommerce companies to manage multiple brands, currencies, and geographies from a single platform. Adobe Commerce supports both B2C and B2B business models.

Please see the screenshot of the Magento (Adobe Commerce) Dashboard.

Optimizely Configured Commerce Cloud

Optimizely Configured Commerce is a cloud-based B2B eCommerce platform designed specifically for manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers. It helps businesses sell complex products and services online while managing customer-specific pricing, product configurations, and ordering workflows.

History of Optimizely Configured Commerce

Optimizely Configured Commerce, known initially as Insite Software, was designed for B2B e-commerce, focusing on extensive product catalogs, complex pricing, and ERP integration.

In 2020, it became part of Episerver, and in 2021, the company rebranded to Optimizely. The platform moved to the cloud, got stronger personalization tools, and adopted an API-first approach.

Who it’s for: Manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers with complex ordering processes.

Why Businesses Choose Optimizely

• Built-in personalization and product recommendations.
• Advanced B2B account features (contract pricing, order approvals).
• Real-time ERP  integration.
• Mobile-friendly and API-ready.
• Fast, intelligent search.

There are two options available to use Optimizely Configured Commerce: the SDK (Software Development Kit) and Cloud, which is fully managed by Optimizely and is explained in short below.

1. SDK (Software Development Kit) – For companies that want complete control

• Build and test locally.
• Ideal for custom integrations and workflows.
• Best for unique business needs.

2. Cloud – Fully managed by Optimizely

• No server maintenance.
• Automatic scaling and updates.
• Focus on running your business, not the tech.

If you want to understand comparison  more in detail, please read the full blog Difference Between Optimizely Configured Commerce SDK and Cloud

Optimizely Configured Commerce includes a built-in CMS for adding and managing pages and content. It offers two options: Classic CMS, which is older and based on AngularJS, and Spire, which is newer and built on React.js. Spire is faster, easier to use, and simpler to update. For more details, please read the blog Optimizely Configured Commerce in-built CMS Details

Please see the screenshot of Optimizely Configured Commerce Admin Dashboard.

Magento (Adobe Commerce) vs Optimizely Configured Commerce – Feature Comparison

Technology Stack Comparison – Magento (Adobe Commerce) vs Optimizely Configured Commerce

Frontend Technology Comparison

Architecture Comparison

Cloud & DevOps Comparison

Security & Compliance Comparison

Magento (Adobe Commerce) vs Optimizely Configured Commerce: Which One Should You Choose?

Business Type & Use Case

• Magento (Adobe Commerce) is ideal for:
  • Businesses needing deep customization
  • Companies with strong in-house development teams
  • Retailers focused on B2C commerce
  • Multi-store operations with complex catalogs
• Optimizely Configured Commerce suits:
  • Mid-market to enterprise B2B companies
  • Organizations seeking fast deployment and ease of use
  • Strong and built-in CMS
  • Businesses prioritizing mobile optimization and AI-driven personalization
  • Those needing built-in ERP/CRM integrations

Conclusion

Choosing between Magento (Adobe Commerce) and Optimizely Configured Commerce ultimately comes down to your business goals, technical capabilities, and customer needs.

• If your business demands maximum flexibility, custom workflows, and supports both B2C and B2B, Magento offers a robust platform with deep customization and a vibrant developer ecosystem.
• If you’re a B2B-focused organization looking for a streamlined, cloud-based solution with CMS built-in features and easy integration with ERP and CRM systems, Optimizely is purpose-built to meet those needs.
• Understand Maximizing B2B Success with Optimizely Commerce

Read more about Magento (Adobe Commerce), read the official document, and Optimizely Configured Commerce, so read the official document

Both platforms are powerful. The key is to align your choice with your long-term strategy, internal resources, and the experience you want to deliver to your customers.

If you wish to launch your Optimizely Configured Commerce site, one of our first steps will be setting up your cloud project. This step is crucial, as it forms the technical backbone of your eCommerce environment and ensures everything starts off on the right foot.

Provisioning a cloud project involves setting up and configuring all the essential cloud resources needed to run your Optimizely-powered eCommerce site. This includes components like compute power, storage, databases, and networking—all of which are handled by the Optimizely Infrastructure team once you submit a project setup request. Think of it as laying the digital foundation for your online store. The goal is to ensure your site is secure, high-performing, and scalable—whether you’re launching your business or expanding it.

When you’re using Optimizely Configured Commerce, getting the cloud provisioning right is essential. It ensures that your platform is set up to meet the unique demands of your business, making sure your site can handle whatever traffic or sales volume comes its way.

What Does “Provisioning an Optimizely Configured Commerce Cloud Project” Mean?

In simple terms, provisioning means setting up your environments—Sandbox and Production—on Optimizely’s cloud infrastructure. These environments are where your site gets built, tested, and eventually launched.

• Sandbox is your staging area—a safe space for testing features and reviewing changes.
• Production is the live version of your website—the one your customers will use to shop.

As an implementation partner, our Perficient team’s job goes beyond just overseeing the technical setup. While Optimizely handles the actual provisioning of cloud resources, we manage all the coordination and ensure both environments are configured securely and correctly. More importantly, we also help you customize the platform to fit your specific business needs—this includes tailoring the base theme to align with your branding and configuring or extending native features, so your commerce experience reflects how you operate. Our goal is to make sure your site doesn’t just work—it works exactly how you need it to.

What Happens in Sandbox vs. Production?

Sandbox is your testing ground. It’s where we’ll review features, try out CMS changes, and ensure everything works before going live. This environment is updated regularly with the latest code and builds.

Important notes:

• Sandbox is not meant for permanent content—it’s for testing only
• You can’t use custom domains in Sandbox
• Everything created here should be treated as temporary

When you’re ready to launch, we’ll move approved content into Production, and that’s where your site officially goes live.

Production, on the other hand, is the live, customer-facing version. Once your site is launched, any content updates should be made directly in Production, not Sandbox. For compliance and security reasons, Optimizely does not allow copying content from Production back into Sandbox.

What We’ll Need From You

To kick things off, we’ll gather a few key details from you. These are submitted through Optimizely’s official Project Initiation Form, which we’ll fill out on your behalf during onboarding.

Here’s what we’ll ask for:

• Email addresses for deployment and outage notifications
• Authorized team members who should have project access
• Your public-facing production domain name (URL)
• Access to your GitHub repository (we’ll help set this up)

We’ll also install the Optimizely Build Service in your repository to handle automated deployments.

Don’t worry—our team will walk you through each part of this and handle the form submission.

Where Is Everything Hosted?

Optimizely uses a hybrid cloud setup for new customers:

• Azure hosts the application and database
• AWS handles file storage and search functionality

This ensures your site has strong performance, security, and scalability across the board.

Working with GitHub

During onboarding, we’ll help you set up a GitHub repository. This is where we store your site’s code and manage updates. We’ll make sure that:

• Your repo includes a proper production branch
• Required files like extensions.dll and versionInfo.yaml are in place
• The versionInfo.yaml for Production matches Sandbox exactly

This setup helps keep everything in sync and allows Optimizely to deploy your updates smoothly.

Basic pipeline

Workflow Pipeline

Conclusion

Provisioning a cloud project for Optimizely Configured Commerce is the first significant step toward launching a reliable, scalable, and high-performing eCommerce site. While Optimizely handles the heavy lifting behind the scenes, our team ensures the entire process is smooth, secure, and tailored to your business needs. From setting up your environments to configuring the platform and customizing it to match your brand—we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Once the groundwork is laid, you’ll be well-positioned to launch with confidence and grow without limits.

In this section, we focused primarily on generating read-only credentials and how to use them to connect to the database.

Generate Database Credentials

The Mission Control tool generates read-only database credentials for a targeted instance, which remain active for 30 minutes. These credentials allow users to run select or read-only queries, making it easier to explore data on a cloud instance. This feature is especially helpful for verifying data-related issues without taking a database backup.

Steps to generate database credentials

1. Log in to Mission Control.

2. Navigate to the Customers tab.

3. Select the appropriate Customer.

   

4. Choose the Environment for which you need the credentials.

   

5. Click the Action dropdown in the left pane.

6. Select Generate Database Credentials.

   

7. A pop-up will appear with a scheduler option.

   

8. Click Continue to initiate the process.

9. After a short time, the temporary read-only credentials will be displayed.

Once the temporary read-only credentials are generated, the next step is to connect to the database using those credentials.

To do this:

1. Download and install Azure Data Studio
   Download Azure Data Studio

2. Open Azure Data Studio after installation.

   

3. Click “New Connection” or the “Connect” button.

   

4. Use the temporary credentials provided by Mission Control to connect:

   • Server Name: Use the server name from the credentials.

   • Authentication Type: SQL Login

   • Username and Password: As provided in the credentials.

5. Once connected, you can execute SELECT queries to explore or verify data on the cloud instance.

For more details, refer to the official Optimizely documentation on Generating Database Credentials.

For Part I, visit: Optimizely Mission Control – Part I

In modern enterprise systems, stability and fault tolerance are not optional; they are essential. One proven approach to ensure robustness is the Circuit Breaker pattern, widely used in API development to prevent cascading failures. HCL Commerce takes this principle further by embedding circuit breakers into its HCL Cache to effectively manage Redis failures.

 What Is a Circuit Breaker?
The Circuit Breaker is a design pattern commonly used in API development to stop continuous requests to a service that is currently failing, thereby protecting the system from further issues. It helps maintain system stability by detecting failures and stopping the flow of requests until the issue is resolved.

The circuit breaker typically operates in three main (or “normal”) states. These are part of the standard global pattern of Circuit Breaker design.

Normal States:

1. CLOSED:

• At the start, the circuit breaker allows all outbound requests to external services without restrictions.
• It monitors the success and failure of these calls.

2. OPEN:

• The circuit breaker rejects all external calls.
• This state is triggered when the failure threshold is reached (e.g., 50% failure rate).
• It remains in this state for a specified duration (e.g., 60 seconds).

3. HALF_OPEN:

• After the wait duration in the OPEN state, the circuit breaker transitions to HALF_OPEN.
• It allows a limited number of calls to check if the external service has recovered.
• If these calls succeed (e.g., receive a 200 status), the circuit breaker transitions back to  CLOSED.
• If the error rate continues to be high, the circuit breaker reverts to the OPEN state.

Circuit breaker pattern with normal states

Special States:

1. FORCED_OPEN:

• The circuit breaker is manually set to reject all external calls.
• No calls are allowed, regardless of the external service’s status.

2. DISABLED:

• The circuit breaker is manually set to allow all external calls.
• It does not monitor or track the success or failure of these calls.

Circuit breaker pattern with special states

Circuit Breaker in HCL Cache (for Redis)

In HCL Commerce, the HCL Cache layer interacts with Redis for remote coaching. But what if Redis becomes unavailable or slow? HCL Cache uses circuit breakers to detect issues and temporarily stop calls to Redis, thus protecting the rest of the system from being affected.

Behavior Overview:

• If 20 consecutive failures occur in 10 seconds, the Redis connection is cut off.
• The circuit remains open for 60 seconds.
• At this stage, the circuit enters a HALF_OPEN state, where it sends limited test requests to evaluate if the external service has recovered.
• If even 2 of these test calls fail, the circuit reopens for another 60 seconds.

Configuration Snapshot

To manage Redis outages effectively, HCL Commerce provides fine-grained configuration settings for both Redis client behavior and circuit breaker logic. These settings are defined in the Cache YAML file, allowing teams to tailor fault-handling based on their system’s performance and resilience needs.

 Redis Request Timeout Configuration

Slow Redis responses are not treated as failures unless they exceed the defined timeout threshold. The Redis client in HCL Cache supports timeout and retry configurations to control how persistent the system should be before declaring a failure:

timeout: 3000           # Max time (in ms) to wait for a Redis response
retryAttempts: 3        # Number of retry attempts on failure
retryInterval: 1500    # Specifies the delay (in milliseconds) between each retry attempt.

With the above configuration, the system will spend up to 16.5 seconds (3000 + 3 × (3000 + 1500)) trying to get a response before returning a failure. While these settings offer robustness, overly long retries can result in delayed user responses or log flooding, so tuning is essential.

Circuit Breaker Configuration

Circuit breakers are configured under the redis.circuitBreaker section of the Cache YAML file. Here’s an example configuration:

redis:
  circuitBreaker:
    scope: auto
    retryWaitTimeMs: 60000
    minimumFailureTimeMs: 10000
    minimumConsecutiveFailures: 20
    minimumConsecutiveFailuresResumeOutage: 2 
cacheConfigs:
  defaultCacheConfig:
    localCache:
      enabled: true
      maxTimeToLiveWithRemoteOutage: 300

Explanation of Key Fields:

• scope: auto: Automatically determines whether the circuit breaker operates at the client or cache/shard level, depending on the topology.
• retryWaitTimeMs (Default: 60000): Time to wait before attempting Redis connections after circuit breaker is triggered.
• minimumFailureTimeMs (Default: 10000): Minimum duration during which consecutive failures must occur before opening the circuit.
• minimumConsecutiveFailures (Default: 20): Number of continuous failures required to trigger outage mode.
• minimumConsecutiveFailuresResumeOutage (Default: 2): Number of failures after retrying that will put the system back into outage mode.
• maxTimeToLiveWithRemoteOutage: During Redis outages, local cache entries use this TTL value (in seconds) to serve data without invalidation messages.

Real-world Analogy

Imagine you have a web service that fetches data from an external API. Here’s how the circuit breaker would work:

1. CLOSED: The service makes calls to the API and monitors the responses.
2. OPEN: If the API fails too often (e.g., 50% of the time), the circuit breaker stops making calls for 60 seconds.
3. HALF_OPEN: After 60 seconds, the circuit breaker allows a few calls to the API to see if it’s working again.
4. CLOSED: If the API responds successfully, the circuit breaker resumes normal operation.
5. OPEN: If the API still fails, the circuit breaker stops making calls again and waits.

Final Thought

By combining the classic circuit breaker pattern with HCL Cache’s advanced configuration, HCL Commerce ensures graceful degradation during Redis outages. It’s not just about availability—it’s about intelligent fault recovery.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the official documentation here:
HCL Commerce Circuit Breakers – Official Docs