Key Findings From the B2B Marketplace 250 Report

Data, news and analysis on the industry marketplaces shaping the future of B2B e-commerce

The global COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the face of B2B e-commerce. But the countenance that changed the most is by far B2B marketplaces.

Before the spring of 2020, when the pandemic walloped the U.S. economy and shuttered all or some segments of multiple major industries, B2B marketplaces, both commercial and industry platforms, already were on a growth spurt.

But the pandemic—which converted legions of business buyers from procuring goods and services by paper, phone, and other manual procedures and into permanent digital customers—accelerated the growth of B2B marketplaces. Today, B2B marketplaces are, if not the fastest-growing e-commerce channel, certainly among the fastest.

Consider these key takeaways:

• Just 24 months ago, there were approximately 70 vertical B2B marketplaces, based on a market count by Digital Commerce 360. Today, that number is 250 marketplaces and counting.
• In 2021, based on a projection that total B2B e-commerce will grow by 15% to $1.60 trillion from $1.39 trillion in 2020, the collective digital sales on commercial trading platforms and industry marketplaces will grow by 130% to total $56.5 billion and account for 3.5% of all business e-commerce sales.
• And More