What are the new B2B purchasing practices and expectations regarding suppliers? Here are the results of the study conducted by FEVAD and Médiamétrie.
Whether in B2C or B2B, online shopping has grown significantly since 2016, accounting for 62% of companies’ revenue in 2021, according to the latest FEVAD study on B2B e-commerce. The health crisis caused a slight slowdown in early 2020, but as the economy recovered, the digitization of purchasing practices has continued to accelerate. Forty percent of buyers surveyed by FEVAD agree that the crisis contributed to an increase in online orders, while 26% noticed an increase in the use of price comparison sites and 24% saw a rise in consolidated deliveries. But what are the new online purchasing habits of B2B customers?
Office supplies took the top spot as the most-purchased category in recent months, accounting for 57% of B2B online purchases. In second place were hygiene and cleaning products (46%), and in third place were office furniture, comfort, and communication products (40%). Next came computer supplies, accounting for 37% of online purchases, followed by equipment and supplies for interior finishing work at 32%. As for the devices used for B2B online orders, computers remain the clear winner, accounting for 96% of purchases, while smartphones account for only 3% and tablets 1%. It seems that the rise in mobile shopping applies only to B2C!
The latest FEVAD study also reveals the improvements that B2B customers expect from their suppliers, and it’s clear that being able to view product inventory availability is a highly sought-after feature —requested by 52% of them, in particular. Delivery tracking is also important to 29% of buyers, while 25% want clearer and more detailed product descriptions, and 15% want more effective product comparison tools. B2B e-commerce sites that do not yet offer these features would therefore be well advised to develop them if they want to increase their conversion rates.
But as we never tire of repeating, developing new features to satisfy your customers is all well and good, but they still need to work properly and the user journey must remain seamless to ensure an optimal experience. And there’s no secret to this: don’t forget to implement functional tests as early and as often as possible. A Suri-tip that applies to both B2B and B2C, by the way!
