Unified Commerce
Unified commerce describes the next stage in the development of retail:
All channels - online, stationary, mobile and via partners - are connected in such a way that customers have a consistent, seamless experience at all times. Prices, information, stock and services are identical and transparent everywhere.
Why is this important?
- Customers expect simplicity, speed and reliability.
- Companies benefit from more efficient processes and better data.
- Future trends such as AI, sustainability and platform economies are hardly conceivable without unified commerce.
Current:
At the CompetenceCenter for Leadership Experience at the HWG Ludwigshafen, we have been working intensively on the topic of unified commerce since the summer semester 2025.
Our approach: students work in research seminars on specific issues that are both scientifically sound and practical.
In the summer semester 2025 & winter semester 25/26 , the following topics, among others, were or will be examined:
- Platform strategies: opportunities and risks for manufacturers
- Data governance and customer trust
- Retail operating models 2030
- Unified commerce & sustainability
- GenAI in unified commerce
- Cybersecurity beyond compliance
- Internationalization of UC architectures
- Human-machine collaboration in retail
- Ethics & responsibility in UC
- Commerce-as-a-Service
- Voice Commerce & Conversational Interfaces
- Unified commerce in B2B markets
- Unified commerce in stationary retail
- Loyalty programs and gamification
- Open commerce & interfaces/ecosystems
This will provide the first in-depth insights into a highly topical subject area that will shape retail in the coming years.
Announcement: new business management seminar in summer semester 2026: Ambient Intelligence in Retail
Following our in-depth exploration of unified commerce, we are going one step further in the summer semester 2026:
In the new seminar, we are looking at ambient intelligence as the next stage of development in retail.
While unified commerce integrates channels and makes data consistently available, ambient intelligence enables the leap to adaptive, AI-driven retail environments. The aim is to understand how intelligent sensor technology, real-time data and AI can not only make processes more efficient, but also increase sales and personalize the customer experience.
Students work on current issues - practical, scientifically sound and with a view to the future of retail.
Interested parties are invited to actively participate and develop new perspectives on the role of AI in retail.
An overview of the seminars, Bachelor's and Master's theses already completed can be found in the link below.
These theses offer initial in-depth insights and show how our students address and scientifically investigate current trade issues.
