What Is an Open Platform in Ecommerce?
An open platform is a tool built to expose its data and functionality to the rest of your stack, through native connectors, APIs or an MCP connection, rather than locking it behind its own interface. The distinction matters because a closed tool caps its value at whatever you can do inside its UI. An open one compounds, because every other system you connect can act on what it knows.
Why the Brands Plugging In Get More, Not Less
This Playbook comes from my conversation with Ed Hallen, co-founder of Klaviyo. I sat down with him at K:SYD right after he came off stage, and I made a point of pushing him on the pricing changes, how you manage and minimise the impact, and what the whole thing says about where SaaS pricing is heading. That cost only moves one way, and I know from our community it’s the talking point right now.
But the part that stuck with me was how he thinks about open platforms. You’d assume a vendor would want you living inside their UI. The data says the opposite.
“Brands who are users of the MCP, they end up driving more value. It doesn’t decrease the amount of time they spend in Klaviyo, it tends to be supplemental, and their overall value generation gets higher.”
- Ed Hallen, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Klaviyo
That isn’t a pitch for one platform. It’s the reason some brands quietly get more out of the same monthly spend while others keep buying tools to solve problems the tools they already own could handle.
Put Your Tech Budget Where the Value Is, Not on the Fringes
When you go through that bill, the real question isn’t just whether you use each tool. It’s whether it’s pointed at a part of the business that actually matters. It’s easy to end up with spend spread thin across a dozen tools, each polishing a corner, when the same money behind one area could move the whole number.
So look at where your revenue and your margin actually come from, and check your best tools are aimed there. If a big slice of your revenue comes from repeat customers, that’s where a retention or clienteling tool earns its keep, far more than a widget tweaking a page a sliver of your traffic ever sees. The clearest example of backing the customers who matter most came from Incu, who put their tech and their effort straight behind their VIPs.
“There’s one store, our Galleries women’s store, that’s been elite in the way they’re using Wishlist. The ratio of VIPs coming in has got to 30 to 40 percent, which is really high for our business.”
- Doug Lowe, Incu
So this week, line up where your tech spend goes against where the business actually makes its money. And if you don’t have time to do that yourself, get your team to walk you through how they use every item on that bill. The gaps show up fast.
Chase the Connections, Not the Next Tool
The value lives in your data moving between platforms, not in any single platform doing everything. No one tool does it all, and the brands that accept that early stop hunting for the magic all-in-one and start wiring up what they have.
Here’s a worked example. Connect your customer service helpdesk to your email and SMS platform. Now a returns conversation or a sizing question isn’t just a support ticket, it shapes the next message that customer gets. The service moment becomes a revenue moment, because the two systems finally share what they know. This is exactly how the team at Elite Supps describes their stack, where each tool has a job and they all hand off to each other.
“Yes, we have a lot of softwares, but it creates one experience and they are all supporting each other.”
- Johan Nyberg, Elite Supps
One caveat, from Gavin Ballard’s episode on composable commerce. Watch the walled gardens. Some providers resist integration, so when you assess a tool, ask exactly how it connects to your stack and whether those walls are likely to get higher. Then map where your customer data sits in separate boxes, and build one bridge between two of them.
Run Your Integrations at Two Speeds
Switch on the easy connections today, and resource the hard ones like the project they actually are. A lot of the value you’re missing is one click away. Native connectors, app-store integrations, an MCP connection. These are often a 30-second job that’s been on the list for six months because something more urgent kept jumping the queue.
The other speed is the deep work, and that one earns its time. Plugging an ERP or a POS system into your front end is not a quick install, and treating it like one is where brands come unstuck. The honest version of what that deep work takes came from Keeyu, whose whole business is connecting messy retail stacks.
“If their tech stack matches the pre-built integrations that we have but if their tech stack doesn’t match, it’s about 10 or 15 days worth of work.
- Jevon Le Roux, CEO and Co-founder, Keeyu
This connects straight back to Ed. The brands adopting the deeper integrations weren’t getting less from their platform, they were getting more. So book 30 minutes to switch on what you already have, then put the bigger work on the roadmap with the time it deserves.
The Takeaway
You’re not really paying for tools. You’re paying for what they do once they’re switched on and talking to each other. A platform you use half of, sitting in a stack that doesn’t share its data, is the most expensive software you own, because you’re paying full price for a sliver of the return. As the AI tools keep multiplying and overlapping, the operators who win won’t be the ones with the longest list. They’ll be the ones getting the most out of the list they already have.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you reduce ecommerce software costs without cutting tools? Start by auditing your bill line by line rather than looking at the total, and check whether each tool is pointed at a part of the business that actually drives revenue or margin. Most operators find spend spread thin across tools polishing minor corners, plus platforms they use a fraction of. Switching on features and integrations you already pay for usually returns more than cutting a subscription.
What is MCP and why does it matter for ecommerce platforms? MCP is a protocol that lets AI tools connect directly to a platform’s data and functionality, outside that platform’s own interface. It matters because it turns a closed tool into an open one. Klaviyo’s own data shows brands using the MCP generate more value overall, not less, because the access is supplemental to what they already do in the UI.
Should ecommerce brands buy an all-in-one platform or connect best-of-breed tools? No single tool does everything well, and brands that accept this early stop hunting for the magic all-in-one and start wiring up what they have. The practical approach is letting each tool own a job and hand off cleanly to the next, so search, nudges, lifecycle messaging and product data all support one experience rather than competing in the same session.
How long does an ecommerce systems integration actually take? It depends entirely on whether a pre-built integration exists for your stack. Native connectors and app-store integrations are often a 30-second job. Custom work is different: Keeyu quotes roughly 10 to 15 days of engineering when a retailer’s systems don’t match their existing integrations, and connecting an ERP or POS to your front end should be resourced as a real project rather than a quick install.
Based on Episode 644 of the Add To Cart podcast with Ed Hallen, Co-founder of Klaviyo. Join the Add To Cart community for free.
In this Playbook:
- Point your tech budget at the parts of the business that actually make the money, not the fringes
- The value lives in your data moving between platforms, not in any single tool doing everything
- Run your integrations at two speeds, easy wins today and the deep work as a real project
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