The online platform Location Insider has published a Shoptech guide. In it, technology decision-makers from successful retailers were asked about the most important trends in e-commerce. Also present: CTO Atul Bhardwaj.

Atul Bhardwaj: I see three big trends. First: in-house development. If assortment, price and delivery times in online shops are largely identical, then technical details make a difference. So for example: Do I get really useful recommendations? Do I really find the decisive information quickly on product pages? In order to be the decisive bit better here, we decided to develop ourselves again instead of using standard systems, wherever it makes a difference for our customers.

Secondly: APIs, i.e. defined interfaces. Defined interfaces are the key to success if you want to innovate in many areas simultaneously. It's like at home: If you want install a new washing machine, it needs to be clear what the connections for electricity, fresh water and waste water look like. Otherwise, the bathroom will be under water afterwards. At MediaMarktSaturn, we have divided our software development into around 100 individual products, each of which is worked on by a team. Each of these product teams is constantly working on new features. Good interfaces (APIs) are therefore indispensable here.

Three: Cloud. Technology can only reach its full potential if it is scalable. Our online shop, for example, must work just as fast on a Black Friday as it does on any other day of the year - in 14 countries. To ensure that this succeeds, we are consistently switching to the Google Cloud. Hardly anyone has as much experience with large amounts of data as Google. At the same time, we can focus our own resources on what we do best: Enabling great shopping experiences.

The complete Shoptech guide is available here.

The complete interview can be found here.