It’s important to note that B2B eCommerce is vastly different from B2C eCommerce in several areas. With many unique characteristics, the wholesale eCommerce market has only grown dramatically in recent years due to the consistent development of online sales. It would not be appropriate to take a good concept of a big B2C online store and apply it directly to B2B. Therefore, let’s look to see some of the noteworthy characteristics of B2B eCommerce.
Tighter access controls
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In B2B, users with different job titles and responsibilities can serve only their matching customers. That said, the admin needs to ensure that people only have access to the information they need to do their jobs. An organized and optimized account structure is vital for any B2B eCommerce website.
Buyers might be divided into senior and junior buyers. In this scenario, a procurement manager might have absolute permission to deal with invoices, orders, tax codes, and so on. In contrast, junior buyers might only have access to quotes, priorities, and so on.
Multiple Decision-makers
A notable characteristic of b2b eCommerce is that there is usually more than one decision-maker involved in the purchasing process. Moreover, four or five people could take charge of making decisions at the same time.
B2B orders are much larger than any standard B2C order and they also require more quality-control steps than ever. Therefore, several user activities can be expected during the checkout/cart process, with lots of stages that might take up to several days to consider.
Longer Decision-making Process
B2B buying behavior is vastly different. The buying cycle of wholesale consumers is much longer than that of B2C customers due to the enormous difference in order volumes.
Not to mention, B2B customers, on the other hand, usually have high standards and different tastes. They would love to try all possible options and tend to have urgent changes to fit their business development, such as changing the order’s exact parameters in the middle of the process.
Specific Wholesale Discounts
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The B2B purchasing process became more complicated than B2C in price lists, coupons, and stock management. With a large amount of product in each order, wholesalers would love to receive personalized prices or pricing discounts as the essential benefit in wholesale trading.
Conflicted Direct Distributions
Wholesalers would be irritated that their rivals are placing orders at the same distributors with much lower prices and more advantages. There’d be a lot of trouble for companies.
Not to mention, online B2B channels are growing with increasing competitors. You might have to face unwanted ones that threaten your chance of success. It’s crucial to keep a calm heart and meet them with careful consideration when rivalry appears.
Potential Global Open-markets
It’s usually for B2B eCommerce to welcome foreign customers from potential wholesale markets.
Lots of companies are reaching out to foreign markets due to the lower taxes and better regulations. Developed countries tend to hire services from developing countries due to the low prices and tax rates, which are helpful and potentially enough for high profits.
This article mentions 5+ Important Characteristics of B2B eCommerce for 2023. We hope it can bring useful information to you. If you have any questions about this problem, let’s contact BSS Commerce. We are willing to support you every time. BSS Commerce is one of the leading Multi-platform eCommerce solutions and Magento 2 development services providers in the world. With experienced and certified developers, we commit to bring high-quality products and services to optimize your business effectively.
Also if you’re looking for B2B solutions to improve store functionality, explore our 25+ B2B Modules.