There are many reasons why the B2B e-commerce world is elated and will be enjoying unprecedented levels of growth in the future. Although the ever-present nature of the digital community is a factor, we can’t forget that the global pandemic has forced almost every real-world transaction to shift towards the virtual domain. Therefore, we must expect some massive changes throughout the remainder of 2021.
What should businesses of all sizes be on the lookout for, and how will these evolutionary progressions affect the industry as a whole? We have covered all in this blog post.
B2B Ecommerce Stats
Before going into the trends, let’s find out the numbers regarding the top B2B e-commerce trends.
Around 50% of B2B companies prefer blogging as their premier marketing strategy. Similarly, 40% of organizations are looking towards email newsletters and curating social media content. Digital content marketing techniques have supplanted print brochures and ads, and the B2B audience is now finding various brands across different channels.
Further, over 30% demand for digital content comes from IT audiences, followed by HR, marketing, executives, and education.
This is an increase of 3% from last year, but it should be of no surprise provided that technology is on rampant growth, and this is an area in which many businesses are taking a keen interest.
B2B buyers are expecting varying efforts from vendors on the digital front, including:
- 45% prefer customized portal content
- 44% are searching for a simple-to-use ROI calculator
- 38% are looking for AR options
- 33% desire video chat options
B2B Ecommerce Trends
An Enhanced Focus on the User Experience
The UX or user experience has always been a core component of every e-commerce website or platform. This observation has become more eminent than ever before. A healthy amount of transactions are being handled by individuals and a considerable amount of technical knowledge (millennia’s, for instance).
Therefore, clumsy or outdated solutions are fading away quickly out of the digital dinosaur. In addition, B2B customers develop expectations that their unique requirements will be addressed promptly. Thus, we are seeing a sharp rise in personalized services that businesses are molding around their organization (or the customer) in question.
Quick Order Fulfilment
This is arguably the most recognizable and main intention of any reputable B2B e-commerce platform. Order fulfillment should be designed for the timely satisfaction of orders. Don’t live in any delusion that an order processed slowly will not have any detrimental impact upon the buyer’s perception. On the contrary, it can be a decisive factor on the customer. Next, he will come to your store as rapid order fulfillment garners customer loyalty.
Firms employing legacy architecture are at the risk of becoming inefficient. Therefore, 2021 is all set to redefine the methods in which tedious orders are completed.
Automated Promotion Solutions
It has been revealed that 58 percent of B2B manufacturers are keeping it in their priority to adopt automatic promotion or marketing systems in 2021. This fact must not be any surprise to anyone who has even an iota of knowledge regarding the progression of the online community. However, the significant difference is that smaller firms are now starting to appreciate the significance of automation.
The main goal of automated marketing is to dispense with several in-house approaches that seem to have lost their plot. A perfect example of this is manual data entry.
Businesses, including TPR material suppliers, which can adopt agile software platforms will streamline their in-progress marketing campaigns. Further, they can allocate more resources to other significant concerns such as pipeline management, customer engagement, and CRM in general.
More Flexible Payment Options
As we read this blog post, credit cards are still the mainstay of online payments if we talk about the B2B community. Nonetheless, you should note that other options are also gaining ground. Examples of alternatives include some cryptocurrencies (to a lesser extent) and e-wallets.
Considering that customers are now becoming choosy regarding their preference in satisfying a financial obligation, no one can deny that flexibility is critical.
Any point-of-sale system should be able to offer a variety of options. This illustrates that the firm in question is eager to meet the needs of its clientele. Furthermore, this malleability may accommodate for lesser-known payment protocols like third-party payments.
Mobile E-Commerce Options
As a B2B e-commerce business, you must be able to address the concerns of mobile users. The concept of telecommuting has become a common thing over the past decade, and this trend is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. Therefore, employees should be given unfettered (and yet secure) access to the e-commerce platform when away from the conventional office environment.
This is the reason why mobile-responsive e-commerce solutions are becoming mainstream. Furthermore, thanks to the cloud-based and device-agnostic architecture, adaptability is not a concern anymore. However, when we factor in the fact that 5G connectivity is a reality, it makes perfect sense to assume this trend will continue to show concern in the coming years.
Customer Experience
One of the critical B2B e-commerce trends evolving and are likely to continue this year is the significance of client experience. This means website accessibility and usability, and web interfaces and speeds that can improve engagement rates.
With e-commerce B2B platforms, the website’s performance is crucial. Still, the self-service experience must be seamless to garner more sales, including inventory tracking and real-time order.
Digital Landscape is changing.
The above-mentioned are just a few examples of what we can expect for the remainder of 2021. Apart from the above artificial intelligence, P2P security, and Omnichannel marketing are other important aspects to note. Still, businesses like TPE material suppliers are now forced to keep themselves one step ahead of the B2B community. Those that are recognizing and implementing the observations shared above should be making the headlines in the future. As always, preparing for what is coming next is always a wise strategy.
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”
