The ecommerce industry used to be the secondary purchasing channel for many businesses. Nowadays, it has taken center stage and is now the preference of 65% of B2B companies. This is projected to continue, so as a business owner, you need to be aware of what’s ahead if you want to slay the competition. Here are the top B2B ecommerce trends you need to know for the coming year.
1. Prioritizing Sustainability
Climate change awareness has increased steadily over the years. Because of this, more and more businesses are embracing sustainability and are benefiting from this. This isn’t a trend anymore, it’s becoming a way of life for many companies.
From using sustainable packaging to reducing your carbon emissions, there are many ways you can promote sustainability. You can also change your processes to create less waste or become paperless. Not only will you reap positive results for your brand, but you’re also helping the environment.
2. Improving User Experience
Like sustainability, customer-centric business culture is not a trend anymore but is now seen as a necessity. Businesses should have their customers at the top of their minds to get ahead of the competition. So, in your efforts to develop the best product or service you can provide, thinking about your customers should also be an utmost priority.
The key factor to doing this is to understand your customers better. This means constant research on their wants, needs, and pain points. Doing so will help you create personalized experiences for your customers.
3. New, Automated, and Varied Payment Methods
Most B2B e-commerce transactions in 2021 and 2022 have incorporated software solutions that automate payments. It comes as no surprise that this will be a continued trend in 2023 and beyond. Also, having various methods of payment options and adding new ones can improve internal operations and customer experience.
Customers have learned to trust these more convenient, quicker, and secure checkout options instead of supplying credit card information to each unique site from which they shop. Allowing payment flexibility at checkout is a terrific approach to defend against canceled transactions and enhance conversion rates.
Customers want a speedy, secure, and easy checkout process. The more payment options you have, the more valuable your company becomes.
4. Tightened Security
Ecommerce businesses are a wealth of information for scammers. For the coming year, it’s essential to tighten the security of your ecommerce company. To defend your organization and customers from security dangers, you need a diverse range of tools and resources that must be regularly updated and maintained.
5. Augmented and Virtual Reality
The reason some people still shy away from online shopping is the lack of product evaluation that only a physical store can provide. While pictures and videos are good representations, nothing can replace the ability to touch and see the products in person.
This is where augmented reality and virtual reality can help you provide the next best thing. The many AR and VR applications in the world of e-commerce give a chance for innovative, tech-savvy firms to harness this breakthrough technology to deliver the in-person shopping experience to consumers at home.
6. Voice Search
The use of applications such as Siri and Cortana is increasingly becoming the norm. Also, smart speakers Alexa and Google Home get more tasks done than ever before for their users. This practicality and convenience can pave the way for many ecommerce businesses utilizing these tools.
7. The Use of Self-Service Portals
Since the pandemic has made physical shopping a thing of the past, ecommerce businesses are coming up with more conveniences. It’s a fierce competition in which you need to keep up. To help you do that, you may want to consider having self-service portals for your business.
Self-service B2B eCommerce portals can simplify your business processes. It can empower your customers by providing them with the necessary resources to assist themselves. Again, another thing to consider when thinking about design thinking for improved customer experience.
8. Leverage Social Media
Using social media has been a long-standing B2C ecommerce strategy. Thanks to this, B2B ecommerce businesses are now getting the drift and employing the same strategy. By 2026, the worldwide social commerce industry is expected to be worth $2.9 trillion. B2B firms will most likely discover that their target customer is already searching for items on social media channels. So, if you’re not marketing and selling on social media, 2023 is the best time to do so.
9. Prioritize Mobile and Responsive Design
According to research, global retail e-commerce sales hit around $2.3 trillion in 2017, representing a 24.8% growth over the previous year. Mobile sales accounted for $1.4 trillion of this, accounting for 58.9% of all digital sales, an increase of 18.7% from 2015. Based on these numbers, consumers are leaning more toward digital purchases, which means that these numbers are most likely to go up.
This is proof that responsive design is a must for every ecommerce business wanting to stay afloat. A mobile-first website design is what you need. Letting your customers shop through a smartphone, a laptop, or a tablet should be on your high-priority list.
10. Racing to Fulfill Orders
Competition is at an all-time high, and whoever gets to fulfill the orders the quickest may just be declared the winner. Businesses have been doing their best to speed up their delivery times, and customers now expect this to be the norm. If you want to get the attention of more customers while providing a positive experience for them, shorten your delivery times.
To do this, you can turn to 3PLs or third-party fulfillment services. Using these can also help you reduce fulfillment and inventory management expenses. Outsourcing this service enables you to focus more on the essentials of business management.
Final Thoughts
As we near the end of 2022 and go into 2023, these B2B ecommerce trends can help you get a head up in Q1 and beyond. Keeping up with current marketing ideas and approaches keeps your company at the forefront of your clients’ thoughts.
Staying ahead with the trends is easy when you work with Penji. Our team of pro graphic designers can create visual assets for your brand that transcends any trend that comes and goes. Click on this link to get the design process moving.
