E-Commerce in the B2B Arena

(Recent study shows the potential of e -commerce in B2B Sales)

According to most available statistics, e-commerce represents about 10% of all retail sales. These statistics generally apply to consumer retail sales, the B2C arena.

A recent study competitive intelligence conducted by Customer Foresight showed that e-commerce represents a much higher percentage of overall sales within some segments of the B2B arena, as companies seek ways to cut costs and increase profits in challenging economic environments.

For example, our study showed that a supplier of industrial equipment and supplies has seen e-commerce increase from 40% in 2015 of overall sales to 47% in 2016. According to a recent publication, this same company expects that e-commerce will represent about 80% of overall sales by 2022.

Other competitors in this sector have also invested a considerable amount in developing their own e-commerce capabilities.

The adoption of e-commerce by some players in the B2B arena appears to be more advanced than those in the B2C arena.