What are the new purchasing practices in B2B and the expectations towards suppliers? Here are the results of the FEVAD and Médiamétrie study.
Whether in B2C or B2B, online purchases have increased sharply since 2016, representing 62% of companies' turnover in 2021, according to the latest FEVAD study on B2B e-commerce purchases. The health crisis caused a slight slowdown in early 2020, but as the economy recovered, the digitalization of purchasing practices has continued to accelerate. 40% of the buyers questioned by the FEVAD survey agree that the crisis has contributed to the development of online orders, while 26% have noticed an increase in price comparison consultations and 24% in grouped deliveries. But what are the new online purchasing practices of B2B customers?
Office supplies won the award for the most purchased category in recent months, representing 57% of BtoB online purchases. In second position, we find hygiene and maintenance products (46%) and in third position, office furniture, comfort and communication (40%). Next come computer consumables, for 37% of online purchases, then building equipment and supplies for 32%. As for the medium used for BtoB online orders, the computer remains the big winner, winning 96% of purchases made, while smartphones represent only 3% and tablets 1%. It seems that the increase in mobile purchases only concerns BtoC!
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The latest FEVAD study also tells us what improvements BtoB customers expect from their suppliers and obviously, being able to see the availability of products in stock is a very popular feature, by 52% of them in particular. Delivery tracking is also important for 29% of buyers, while 25% of them want clearer and more accurate product sheets and 15% want better product comparison tools. BtoB e-commerce sites that do not yet have these features should develop them if they want to increase their conversion rate.
But as we keep saying, developing new features to satisfy your customers is good, but they still have to work properly and the user experience has to remain fluid to ensure an optimal experience. And for that, there is no secret: you must not forget to set up functional tests as soon and as often as possible. A Suri-tip that is valid for both BtoB and BtoC!
