BigCommerce has officially rebranded as Commerce.com Inc., a move that CEO Travis Hess describes as the company’s “rebirth” — marking a broader shift in direction aimed at positioning the firm for a rapidly evolving digital commerce landscape driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and data orchestration.
Travis Hess, CEO, Commerce.com Inc. (formerly BigCommerce) | Image Credit: Commerce
The company announced its rebrand last week and ahead of the its annual user summit. It reflects a sweeping internal transformation over the past year. Under Hess’s leadership, Commerce.com has integrated key acquisitions, replaced much of its senior leadership team, and shifted its focus from ecommerce platform functionality to business outcomes powered by AI and composable architecture.
More than 60 of the Top 2000 online retailers used BigCommerce as an ecommerce platform provider in 2024. Those 62 retailers combine for more than $4.1 billion in annual ecommerce sales last year. The Top 2000 Database is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking the largest online retailers in North America by their annual ecommerce sales.
Why BigCommerce decided to rebrand to Commerce.com
“We’ve rebooted the entire company,” said Hess in an interview with Digital Commerce 360. “It’s not just a new name — it’s a new model. The market is changing, and we needed a brand that reflects where commerce is going, not where it’s been.”
Hess joined BigCommerce in 2023 and later became CEO. He said the company had outgrown its legacy brand. The acquisitions of Feedonomics and Makeswift — previously siloed inside the business — are now central to Commerce.com’s integrated offering.
“I didn’t even know BigCommerce owned Feedonomics when I interviewed,” Hess said. “That told me everything I needed to know about how disconnected the story was. We had to unify the business.”
The company intends for the new brand, Commerce.com, to signal that it is no longer just a platform. It’s a data-driven, modular commerce engine, and the company designed it for a market that increasingly demands flexibility, speed, and intelligence.
How Commerce.com will deploy agentic commerce
A core component of the company’s strategy is what Hess and others call “agentic commerce.” It’s the next phase of digital retail that AI agents are driving. Those AI agents assist with product discovery, recommendations, pricing, and potentially transactions.
“Today, commerce begins with discovery — and discovery is moving to AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity,” Hess said. “If your brand isn’t visible there, you won’t be found.”
That’s where Feedonomics plays a key role. Known for its ability to optimize and syndicate product data across channels, Commerce.com is positioning Feedonomics technology as a critical asset in helping brands adapt to this shift in buyer behavior.
“We already have one of the top data optimization platforms in the world,” Hess said. “In the agentic world, where visibility is algorithmically determined, that gives us a major advantage.”
Commerce.com’s ecommerce platform
While Commerce.com still offers an ecommerce platform, Hess is candid that the company isn’t trying to compete head-on with market giants like Shopify.
“We’re not designed for simple and easy — that’s Shopify’s strength,” he said. “We’re focused on complexity. On helping brands navigate wholesale, marketplaces, owned sites and social without sacrificing margin or customer experience.”
Commerce.com’s strategy is intentionally modular. Companies can use Feedonomics or Makeswift without adopting the core ecommerce platform. Later this year, it will release a self-service version of Feedonomics to serve smaller businesses.
“Most of our Feedonomics clients don’t use our platform — and that’s fine,” Hess said. “It means our total addressable market is much larger, and we’re not trying to force a one-size-fits-all solution.”
Despite positive feedback from the market, Hess acknowledges that Commerce.com’s transformation is still a work in progress.
“I’ve said before — I feel like the kid getting wedgied in front of the class every day,” he said, referring to the company’s stock price. “There’s been no reason to grandstand. We haven’t earned it yet.”
But the urgency, he says, is real.
“This feels like Y2K,” he said. “There’s widespread anxiety in the market. Leaders know they must act, but they don’t know what to do. We want to be that guide.”
Commerce.com plans to highlight real-world applications of its agentic commerce strategy at its upcoming summit on Aug. 18 and 19, including partnerships and case studies from large enterprise clients.
“We’re not trying to be everything to everyone,” Hess said. “We’re focused on where the market is going — and building the infrastructure for brands to succeed there.”
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