The B2B ecommerce trends with staying power and growth center on what customers want – as they should. Modern customers expect a seamless, omnichannel purchasing experience and it’s up to distributors to give them what they want – or risk the sale, and ultimately, the relationship.
While distributors see many B2B ecommerce trends impacting sales next year in fulfillment and supply chain, sustainability and talent acquisition, the reality is your baseline focus should be on one area: What do your customers expect from you? Understanding your customers on this deeper level is the best way to stay relevant, competitive and agile.
Technology is the great enabler behind these trends, empowering customers who are increasingly informed and aware of products, solutions and buying choices. Their expectations are high, which is a mandate for distributors who must adapt to their target audiences’ needs, wants and priorities if they’re going to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage.
Because of the technology and data available today, we can become even better at evolving with customer expectations. Keeping our finger on the pulse of customer demand is easier now because we have the digital tools to understand their journey. But how many distributors have digitally transformed enough to keep up with customer expectations – even if they have an ecommerce website?
Distributors seeking to stay on top of B2B ecommerce trends can look to Grainger, Ferguson, Medline and, of course, AmazonB2B for inspiration. But how can the average distributor adapt to customer expectations and the rapidly changing B2B ecommerce trends on the horizon?
Trend 1: Meeting Customers Where They Are
If the trend that matters is meeting customers where they live, the question becomes: Where is that, exactly? Modern customers surf mobile and desktop ecommerce, social media, forums and chats in addition to hitting traditional channels like email and phone. Omnichannel is an important B2B ecommerce trend for 2024. The benefit for distributors is that multichannel customers spend three times as much as single-channel buyers.
Distributors may look at omnichannel with dismay because they don’t have the digital tools yet to determine which channels really matter to their customers. Hint: Start with mobile.
Almost all (80% and growing) of B2B customers use mobile technology to research and buy products and services. While a mobile-first mentality may be a side-effect of consumer mobility, it is a B2B ecommerce trend distributors can capitalize on to capture sales. These organizations must focus on creating a seamless mobile experience for their customers as a first step toward appropriately harnessing the omnichannel.
Social media should also be a focus for meeting customers where they are. Gartner reports nearly 40% of B2B customers leverage social media when shopping. A recent survey of B2B marketing teams showed 79% rate social media channels as most effective, and nearly 40% said if they had the extra budget, they’d spend it on social.
Trend 2: Giving Customers the Research They’re Hunting For
This year, Forrester predicts 77% of B2B customers will purchase online. Why? Because the internet democratized consumer information. In distribution, this has likely been the biggest disruptor to traditional CSR and field rep sales relationships.
In traditional models, the sales rep visited the customer to give them a pitch. Today, our customers like to research product details, compare price points, consumer reviews and more before finalizing their purchase. The data tells us that B2B customers are 57% to 70% complete with their research before they contact a sales rep.
This B2B ecommerce trend requires distributors to become the primary resource for that research to capitalize on the 89% of B2B customers who say they are swayed by the information they find online. But distributors should not conduct content carpet-bombing. Instead, this trend reinforces the idea that you must know your customers to create the content that they find valuable. Yes, robust online content that informs as much as it sells is important. The approach must be strategic to shape the narrative that your organization is the resource your customers need.
Trend 3: Making It Personal Using AI
Personalization as a B2B ecommerce trend isn’t new. Customers want to feel like they have a 1:1 relationship with their vendors, suppliers and brands. Most distributors use email to personalize customer contact to great effect; email still has the highest ROI of any marketing channel. But we’ve recently heard the words “AI” as much as “personalization.” In 2024, B2B ecommerce will see these two trends collide to create new ways to shape the business shopping experience.
Increasingly, we see generative AI built into marketing tools. AI-powered email campaigns use deeper analytics to personalize the message beyond “Dear Tom.” AI analytics can assess customers’ browsing and buying patterns and automate lead-nurturing emails that get them to the sale faster. Dynamic content can lead industry-specific prospects toward the idea that you, not your competitor, are the subject matter experts. Chatbots can free up CSRs by answering the most common Q&As. The implications are staggering, and by all accounts, these tools are just getting started.
Trend 4: Hyper-Optimizing User Experience
eCommerce user experience (UX) is everything for distributors seeking brand differentiation. One point of distributor differentiation in ecommerce is creating the most intuitive, visually appealing website possible. Machine learning AI algorithms can help by creating an Amazon-like experience with helpful suggestions for the upsell (“Based on your order history, you may also like”). Chatbots can provide the instant gratification customers crave. Behind the scenes, powerful AI-driven analytics can predict customer order needs by reminding them it may be time to reorder a product. These are powerful B2B ecommerce trends that distributors must consider.
As a baseline, distributors must concentrate on user engagement by cleaning up navigation with more intuitive features. Ecommerce sites must go mobile-first to capitalize on rising purchases in this channel. Search functionality should be smarter, with better filters and self-populating keyword phrases. Other must-have ecommerce features for today’s customers include integration between online and offline storefronts. Distributors that prioritize these user-friendly features will set themselves apart. Forbes calls it a “consumer-grade sales experience.” What they mean can be summed up in one word: Amazon.
Trend 5: Prioritizing Agility
Things are changing fast out there, so capitalizing on these B2B ecommerce trends should be a top priority for every company. Customers will appreciate that when things change, you’re already one step ahead.
To increase your agility internally, look now at your business model. Examine the direct interplay between marketing and sales, manufacturing and sourcing and logistics fulfillment.
- How agile are your workflows?
- How quick is decision-making?
- How is cross-departmental communication?
Team cohesion and internal workflow efficiencies will greatly affect your ability to shift to rapid-fire changes in the supply chain, competitor encroachment and consumer demand. Looking internally to prioritize agility is just as important as adopting the latest intelligent technology.
Trend 6: Supply Chain Visibility and Operating More Sustainably
There is increasing evidence that B2B buyers are intentional in their selection of companies that care about sustainability. Already, 69% of B2B procurement teams work at companies that require their vendors to follow sustainable practices. Procurement is now viewed as a key part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and distributors should consider their relationships with vendors and best practices that focus on “green” initiatives.
But operating more sustainably should also encompass the sustainability of your supply chain. Distributors must leverage better technology to increase visibility into the supply chain product flow, inventory, customer demand and waste management. Cloud software with AI tools will help; new software offers predictive data models to help you stay ahead of the curve. Approaching logistics strategically shores up vulnerabilities in the supply chain to keep your company resilient to market changes.
What is the Future of B2B eCommerce in Distribution?
According to Forrester, the U.S. B2B ecommerce market will surpass $3 trillion by 2027. Evolving technologies will be integral in meeting demand. Distributors can again look to their customers for insights into what motivates them to buy and choose the tech tools that continue to give them exactly what they want.
Adapting your business model to changing times is relatively simple from this perspective. Keeping customers front and center will serve as the best guidepost for great business practices now and in the future.
Mohan Natarajan is a services practice leader and intrapreneur at Klizer. He has over 12 years of experience in e-commerce implementations and offering business solutions for distributors. Mohan manages the overall client relationship and client delivery operations.