Salesforce to add digital commerce capabilities with US$2.8bn Demandware acquisition

The purchase will allow Salesforce to offer Commerce Cloud and get into e-commerce

Salesforce.com is moving beyond CRM and into e-commerce with the acquisition of cloud service provider Demandware.

It will use the purchase to kick-start a new field of business, the Salesforce Commerce Cloud, it said Wednesday.

The company already has its Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Analytics Cloud.

By rebranding Demandware Commerce Cloud as its own, Salesforce will be able to combine e-commerce, order management, point-of-sale, store operations and predictive intelligence into its own platform.

Commerce Cloud will allow Salesforce customers to connect with their own clients in new ways, the company said, while Demandware customers will gain access to sales, marketing and analytics functions from Salesforce. Demandware customers include L’Oreal and U.K. retail chain Marks & Spencer.

"There are so many ways it accelerates our mission to transform retail," Demandware CEO Tom Ebling said in a conference call to discuss the deal.

Being part of Salesforce will add to Demandware's credibility when approaching large accounts, he said.

It will also help the company expand to new countries. "We've just got started in places like Japan and Italy but there are many other untapped geographies for us," he said.

A third area where it will benefit is omnichannel marketing, helping retailers engage customers everywhere. "The combination of CRM capabilities, knowledge of the customer, with the commerce engine will be a way to accelerate that capability," he said.

Salesforce's Chief Product Officer Alex Dayon said the deal will increase its customers' insight into their business.

"Our customers' information systems are going to be powered by data. You need a complete view of your customers. Having commerce as part of the CRM platform is important," he said during the same conference call.

He hammered home the need for more data in response to a question about Salesforce's ad targeting capabilities.

"For us it's all about the data, whether you use your own data, your own targeting, or whether you connect to companies like Google or Facebook," he said.

The companies expect to close the deal, worth around US$2.8 billion net of cash acquired, before August, subject to customary closing conditions.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in