[Digital Commerce 360] Pivotal Trends in B2B E-Commerce

The big B2B switch to the e-commerce channel is well underway, as studies show that many companies are spending significant amounts through online channels.

The last 12 months have been one big mood swing for US manufacturers and wholesalers, thanks in large measure to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruption.

But if there was one constant, it was digital commerce. In 2021, online sales on B2B e-commerce sites, log-in portals and marketplaces increased 17.8% to $1.63 trillion from $1.39 trillion in 2020. B2B e-commerce in 2021 grew 1.17 times faster than the growth in all U.S. manufacturing and distributor sales, which increased year over year by 15.2% to $13.09 trillion in 2021 from  $11.36 trillion in 2020.

B2B e-commerce sales accelerated in 2021 in large measure because more business buyers and sellers now see digital commerce as a more efficient and effective way to research and purchase corporate goods and services, according to recent surveys on ecommerce business behavior from industry analysts. The acceleration of digital commerce is fundamentally changing the ways U.S. manufacturers and distributors conduct business.

In the 2022 B2B E-Commerce Market Report, see how a new generation of digital buyers is shifting their organizational purchasing permanently online and explain in detail the trends driving the growth in digital sales. The report also analyzes whether that growth will likely be sustained in 2022 and beyond.