Do We Really Get Benefits by Wrapping SAP Commerce REST APIs with GraphQL in SAP Commerce Application

We all know that SAP Commerce cloud is yet to provide graphQl API and we're all working through its provided OOTB REST API or create custom one to fulfil business needs. We're often asked "Is it really worth wrapping SAP Commerce REST APIs with GraphQL".

There are two scenarios actually.

A. Spartacus implementation

B. Non-Spartacus custom frontend Implementation

Let us deep dive into opportunities or if any needs to wrap REST API with GraphQL for

A. Spartacus implementation:

If we're implementing pure Spartacus with SAP OCC only, we should never think of it, it's a full waste of resources, time and effort. In most Spartacus implementations, GraphQL is not required — and may not add much value unless you’re integrating with non-SAP systems or building highly customized storefront logic.

Why we shouldn't: Spartacus Already Does the Heavy Lifting

Spartacus is tightly coupled with SAP Commerce REST APIs (especially OCC v2) and already provides:

• Out-of-the-box REST integration layers

• Typed models for products, pricing, cart, orders, etc.

• Interceptors, facades, and services to orchestrate calls

• Lazy loading and caching strategies

GraphQL would just duplicate what’s already efficiently handled by the Spartacus framework.

But there are scenarios where we might need to consider to bring graphQl even if we're using Spartacus :

1. We need to aggregate data from multiple systems:

Example:

• Product from SAP Commerce

• Inventory from a separate WMS system

• Price from a microservice

2. We’re building a hybrid or composable storefront

If we’re mixing Spartacus with:

• Other frontend frameworks

• Custom mobile apps

• React components inside Spartacus

3. We want to standardize APIs across multiple brands/sites

• Different SAP Commerce backends or non-SAP platforms

• Central API team offering a unified GraphQL contract to all frontends

When GraphQL is Not Worth It in Spartacus:

• We’re using only SAP Commerce and no external data sources

• We don’t have severe performance bottlenecks due to complex functionality implementation

• Client prefers with SAP’s recommended architecture and wants to stay “as standard as possible”

GraphQL makes sense in Spartacus only in advanced or hybrid architectures, not in typical implementations

B. Non-Spartacus custom frontend Implementation

At first glance, it seems redundant. After all, GraphQL still calls the underlying REST APIs, receives full payloads, and just filters the response to return only the requested fields. So how does this help?

What benefits we can get:

GraphQL still depends on REST in this case. But here’s where it adds real architectural and performance benefits:

• Data Aggregation: GraphQL allows you to fetch multiple datasets (e.g., product, price, stock, promotion) through one query, instead of separate REST calls.

• Frontend Simplification: Your UI layer makes just one API call, receives only the data it needs, and avoids having to stitch responses from multiple REST endpoints.

• Network Efficiency: Especially in mobile or slow networks, reducing the number of roundtrips (5 REST calls → 1 GraphQL query) improves performance.

• API Governance: GraphQL acts as a secure, abstract layer, shielding clients from backend complexity or API versioning.

Real-World Example: Product Detail Page in B2B Commerce

When a B2B buyer opens a Product Detail Page, the frontend needs to display:

1. Product information (name, description, images)

2. Customer-specific pricing

3. Real-time stock availability

4. Applicable promotions

5. Related products

Using SAP Commerce REST APIs:

We’d typically make 5 separate API calls:

• /products/{code}

• /products/{code}/price

• /stock/{code}

• /promotions

• /products/{code}/references

Using GraphQL:

We make 1 API call:

GraphQL behind the scenes fetches all required data, orchestrates REST calls, and responds with exactly what the frontend requested.

Even if we’re still using SAP REST APIs under the hood, GraphQL adds strategic value by improving API structure, reducing frontend complexity, and enabling better user experience.

I’ve personally experienced working SAP B2B Commerce solutions where GraphQL wrapping greatly enhanced performance, reduced frontend complexity, and supported composable integration patterns.