B2b Ecommerce WHAT IS B2B ECOMMERCE?
B2B or business-to-business ecommerce refers to products, information, or services being exchanged online between businesses. Examples of B2B ecommerce are a manufacturer buying raw materials from a wholesaler or a retailer buying products from a wholesaler using an online portal. B2B ecommerce differs from B2C ecommerce, also known as D2C ecommerce, which is business-to-consumer online sales, and B2G, which refers to business-to-government online sales. Facts and Factors valued the B2B ecommerce market at $7.35 trillion in 2020 and predicted the market will grow to a value of $18.57 trillion by 2026.
More and more businesses are feeling comfortable buying products online. A recent survey of companies in a wide range of industries found that about half of companies purchase online at least once a week. About half of the companies surveyed do all their purchasing online.
B2B ecommerce is particularly popular with millennials. In a recent B2B Millennial Buyer Survey Report, more than half of the millennial respondents held director-level positions, and 42 percent held managerial positions. These millennial decision-makers value ecommerce and use online sources to make most of their business buying decisions.
ADVANTAGES OF B2B ECOMMERCE
B2B ecommerce provides several advantages over traditional commerce to both sellers and buyers. The first is that it allows a seller to conduct business without the need to open a new warehouse in each new location, saving them money on infrastructure and overhead. A seller can pass some or all of these savings along to the customer, creating advantages for the customer.
B2B ecommerce also allows a business to sell to business customers over a more expansive geographic territory and enables customers to comparison shop across a wider area. Customers also generally have the advantage of seeing more products through the online portal than they could if shopping in person. For example, a B2B company that is a retailer buying from a wholesaler may now offer considerably more inventory without needing to stock it.
