“Global B2B E-Commerce Market 2018” is the title of a new report released by Hamburg-based secondary market research firm yStats.com. According to projections cited in the report, B2B E-Commerce sales are expected to rise worldwide, outpacing the volume of global online retail sales. Some of the top B2B E-Commerce market trends highlighted in the report include personalization and the adoption of B2C-like features in B2B online shops and marketplaces, along with the expansion of mobile and omnichannel capabilities.
Global B2B E-Commerce has evolved into a multi-trillion dollar market and is expected to see further growth over the next several years. By 2020, B2B E-Commerce sales are projected to be more than two times higher than global online retail sales, according to a forecast cited in the yStats.com report. Given this potential, B2B sellers worldwide count on E-Commerce to drive revenue growth and improve customer satisfaction.
One of the major B2B E-Commerce trends revealed in the yStats.com report is that B2B customers increasingly demand online shopping experiences similar to those in B2C digital commerce. These include expectation of round-the-clock availability and a personalized approach. Furthermore, the role of M-Commerce in B2B is rising, with more than one in two B2B buyers using mobile devices for some part of their purchasing journey. Following these trends, a top priority for B2B executives worldwide is ensuring a seamless omnichannel experience for their customers.
Similar to digital retail, online marketplaces play an important role in driving the growth of B2B E-Commerce. Marketplace platforms such as Alibaba.com, ThomasNet and Amazon Business attract millions of users worldwide, and more B2B companies plan to start selling on marketplaces within the next two years, according to a survey cited in the yStats.com report.
