When it comes to developing SaaS products for online stores, one of the first important considerations is the integration with eCommerce platforms. Different approaches exist regarding how to do the integration. Certain companies go for native API integration with eCommerce platforms. Others, for faster data transfer, opt for bridge integration.
There is no definitive “right” or “wrong” approach, each one simply solves a different need. Understanding when a direct API connection is worth it versus when bridge integration is a better fit will greatly influence your scaling capabilities, as well as the agility with which your product processes data from numerous platforms.
In this article, we will cover both of these approaches, explain how they differ, and support your SaaS solution in selecting the one that aligns with your business goals.
The Limitations of Native APIs
Native eCommerce APIs are the first thing developers look at when building an integration. They are authoritative, often well-supported, documented, and maintained by the platform. However, they also come with certain limitations:
- Multiple Requests for One Operation
For example, you have a SaaS product and one of the features is to fetch complete order details such as order totals, customers, products, and shipping. Native API integration with eCommerce platforms typically requires multiple requests rather than a single call to perform that action. This means one logical operation for your SaaS product turns into three or more requests at the platform level. This would add unnecessary load to the store’s server as the platform is required to process the numerous API calls, execute its business logic, and fetch the data. In contrast, bridge integration directly fetches raw data and externally processes the data, thereby reducing the load on the store and speeding up the whole process.
- Rate Limits and Performance Bottlenecks
Most native APIs enforce rate limits to protect the platform’s infrastructure. While this is understandable, it creates bottlenecks for SaaS applications that need to sync large datasets or perform frequent updates. A marketing automation tool fetching customer lists or an inventory sync service processing thousands of SKUs may quickly hit those limits.
- API Specifics
Another case can be illustrated with Magento's inventory endpoint. This endpoint requires SKU as an identifier in place of product ID. If the SKU has special characters, poorly configured servers can fail to process the request, leading to integration problems. Bridge integration does not face this issue because it bypasses API constraints and directly pulls data from the database.
Example: Getting Product Data from Magento 2 API
When a SaaS product chooses a native API integration with eCommerce platforms it needs to perform 153 separate API calls in order to retrieve a full product record from the store.
When multiplied by hundreds or thousands of products, this quickly impacts performance and server load.
How Bridge Integration Works
A bridge integration acts as a single access point for multiple platforms. Rather than interacting with each native API individually, your application connects to the bridge which:
Aggregates and normalizes data: The bridge takes care of converting different API responses into one unified structure.
Executes multi-queries: Instead of several native requests, the bridge uses one or two optimized calls to fetch everything in one or two requests.
Provides extended data access: The bridge is not constrained by what is available through the native API, and, therefore, can fetch extra fields or relevant information.
Example: Product Retrieval via Bridge
Using bridge integration with the eCommerce platform you make two requests to get product info from Magento 2 platform.
It returns the data in a single, normalized JSON object containing order, customer, and product data.
Performance Comparison
We ran tests on retrieving full product details using both methods:
Result: Bridge integrations are up to 10–30x faster for complex operations. The more elements you try to extract, the greater the advantage of bridge integration.
When to Use Each Approach
Native API integration: Suitable for early-stage or single-platform apps where performance is not the top priority.
Bridge integration: Best for SaaS products that need to support multiple platforms, handle large data volumes, and less complicated integration.
API2Cart: eCommerce Integration Solution
API2Cart provides a unified API to connect SaaS apps with 60+ popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces. Unlike traditional native API integrations, it allows to integrate with eCommerce platforms via bridge connection.
API2Cart Connection Bridge enables connecting stores built on platforms like Magento, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Shopware without relying on their native APIs. It works directly with the store’s database, which provides:
High speed – queries are executed directly, bypassing the platform’s entire codebase.
Low server load – all data is processed on API2Cart’s side.
Flexibility – new methods can be added without updating the bridge itself.
Extended data access – including data not available through standard platform APIs.
The bridge is fully secured using unique signatures and encryption. It can be installed manually, automatically via API, or through a plugin, making store connection quick and simple.
This enables SaaS developers to concentrate on creating product features, rather than optimizing data retrieval systems or contending with platform-specific API limitations.
Contact us if you want to know more about eCommerce API integration via API2Cart. We provide a 14-day trial, so you can test our functionality to see how your SaaS can solve your business needs.
Top comments (4)
useful info! thanks
thank you!
Appreciate the examples. Thanks for your post!
thanks!