Skip to content
Adobe Commerce Storefront

Search is only available in production builds. Try building and previewing the site to test it out locally.
Essentials

How it all works together

This page explains how the different Adobe Commerce components work together. Think of Adobe Commerce as four main layers:

  1. Adobe Commerce Core – The transactional commerce engine (PaaS or ACCS)
  2. Commerce Services – Multi-tenant SaaS services for catalog, search, and recommendations
  3. Adobe Commerce Optimizer (ACO) – Next-generation SaaS merchandising and catalog layer
  4. Storefront layers – Headless frontends built with Edge Delivery Services, AEM, or custom apps

Commerce application and services view

This diagram shows how Commerce Core, Commerce Services, and Optimizer work together to power storefronts:

Loading diagram...

How data flows

Catalog data flow:

  • Commerce Core exports catalog data → Commerce Services Connector → Catalog Service / Live Search / Product Recommendations
  • Storefronts call GraphQL APIs on commerce.adobe.io for product data, search, and recommendations

Cart and checkout flow:

  • Storefronts handle cart/checkout via Commerce Core GraphQL APIs
  • Payment processing uses Payment Services SaaS APIs

Event flow:

  • Storefront Events SDK captures user behavior (page views, add-to-cart, purchases)
  • Events flow to Product Recommendations, ACO metrics, and Adobe Experience Platform

Experience Cloud ecosystem view

This diagram shows how Commerce integrates with the broader Adobe Experience Cloud:

Loading diagram...

Integration points

Commerce → Experience Platform:

  • Experience Platform Connector sends commerce data (orders, customers, products) to AEP
  • Storefront Events SDK captures behavioral events for analytics and personalization

Experience Platform → Commerce:

  • RTCDP segments shared back to Commerce for personalization
  • Journey Optimizer sends personalized offers and campaigns to storefronts

Content integration:

  • AEM Assets provides media and content to enrich Commerce catalogs
  • AEM Sites can serve as the full storefront or provide content to Commerce-powered storefronts

Component overview

Adobe Commerce Core

The transactional commerce engine that handles:

  • Catalog management – Products, categories, attributes, pricing rules
  • Cart and checkout – Shopping carts, quotes, checkout flows, payment processing
  • Orders and fulfillment – Order management, invoices, shipments, returns
  • B2B features – Company accounts, negotiable quotes, requisition lists
  • CMS – Page Builder, content blocks, widgets
  • Promotions – Cart rules, catalog price rules, coupons

Deployment options:

  • PaaS – Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure or on-premises
  • ACCS – Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (fully managed SaaS)

Commerce Services

Multi-tenant SaaS services that extend Commerce Core:

  • Catalog Service – Read-optimized catalog APIs for fast product data retrieval
  • Live Search – AI-powered search with facets, synonyms, and merchandising
  • Product Recommendations – ML-powered product recommendations using Adobe Sensei
  • Payment Services – SaaS payment processing, settlement, and reporting
  • Channel Manager – Marketplace integrations (Amazon, Walmart)
  • Store Fulfillment – Omnichannel fulfillment capabilities

These services receive catalog feeds from Commerce Core via the Commerce Services Connector and expose GraphQL APIs through commerce.adobe.io.

Adobe Commerce Optimizer (ACO)

Next-generation SaaS merchandising layer built on the Composable Catalog Data Model (CCDM):

  • CCDM – Flexible catalog data model supporting multiple data sources
  • Merchandising Services – Catalog channels, policies, and rules
  • ACO Studio – Unified UI for merchandising and optimization
  • ACO Catalog APIs – GraphQL APIs for product discovery, search, and recommendations

ACO can front Adobe Commerce, ACCS, or third-party commerce backends. It handles catalog, search, and recommendations while cart/checkout may remain in the backend system.

Storefront layers

Headless frontends that connect to Commerce:

  • Edge Delivery Services – Composable storefronts using drop-ins and blocks
  • AEM Sites – Full-featured CMS with Commerce integration via CIF
  • PWA Studio – Progressive Web App framework for custom storefronts
  • Custom headless apps – Any frontend framework connecting via GraphQL

All storefronts use the Storefront Events SDK to capture behavioral data for analytics and personalization.

Eventing and extensibility

Storefront Events SDK:

  • Captures user behavior (page views, product views, add-to-cart, purchases)
  • Sends events to Product Recommendations, ACO metrics, and Adobe Experience Platform

Adobe I/O and App Builder:

  • API Mesh for aggregating multiple APIs into a single endpoint
  • App Builder for custom integrations and extensions
  • Webhooks for real-time event notifications

AI and optimization

Adobe Sensei:

  • Powers Product Recommendations with ML algorithms
  • Enhances Live Search ranking and relevance
  • Provides explainable AI for merchandising decisions

LLM services:

  • AI-powered merchandising optimization in ACO Studio
  • Future integration with AEP Agents for conversational commerce experiences

Data flow summary

  1. Catalog data: Commerce Core → Commerce Services Connector → Catalog Service / ACO → Storefronts
  2. Cart/checkout: Storefronts → Commerce Core GraphQL APIs → Order processing
  3. Events: Storefronts → Storefront Events SDK → Product Recommendations / ACO / AEP
  4. Personalization: AEP → Segments → Commerce → Personalized storefront experiences
  5. Content: AEM Assets → Commerce catalogs → Enriched product data

This architecture enables composable commerce where you can mix and match components based on your needs, whether using full Adobe Commerce, third-party backends with ACO, or hybrid approaches.