Around this time last year, we made our predictions for 2021. How
more lockdowns and quarantine measures would affect eCommerce
we did not know, but one thing was certain: B2B had to find a way to
sell directly to its end customers. And it did. In 2021, B2B went through
a massive transformation as companies were forced – in an unusually
short space of time – to invest in eCommerce. As they experimented
with new channels and expanded sales models, headless eCommerce
increasingly gained traction.
In a world where everything seemed upside down, one thing never
changed. If you want to survive in an online environment with cutthroat competition, you have no choice but to respond to trends.
Covid-19 forced us to step outside the box and find alternatives to
connect with each other. The past year was all about getting B2B
eCommerce up and running. The world is now slowly but surely
opening up again, yet we will never go back to that old normal. The
corona pandemic has left its mark: B2B eCommerce is now firing on all
cylinders. It is unstoppable.
The trends we describe in this white paper have their roots in
eCommerce developments during the corona pandemic. There is a
clear common thread: in 2022, the customer is central. We describe
seven trends that all have something to do with this insight. Among
other things, you'll read:
A seamless customer journey across all channels
– that is the goal of omnichannel eCommerce. In
recent years omnichannel has been increasingly
adopted in B2C, and due to the corona pandemic
its deployment also gathered pace in B2B. As
a matter of fact, anyone who thinks that B2B
buyers are cautiously trying out omnichannel
is mistaken. Purchases on marketplaces,
social media or other personal external and
eCommerce channels – B2B buyers are making
eager use of all these options.
A recent study by McKinsey shows that
omnichannel is not a whim, or merely an
improvised and temporary way to connect with
customers during a pandemic. It is now one of
the most important factors for B2B sales.
Buy at your convenience, through a channel of
your choice
Armed with this research, we dare to make the
prediction that B2B omnichannel will become the
standard in 2022. The pandemic was the push
eCommerce needed; interactions across different
channels were significantly expanded in a very
short timeframe. After all, we had no choice but
to look for alternatives to communicate with each
other. But even once personal contact is fully
possible again, buyers will still prefer a mix of
channels. That’s not surprising. When B2B buyers
first started making digital purchases, it opened
up a world of new experiences. First, it became
clear that the shift from face-to-face sales to a
remote alternative was relatively simple. And
as corona measures tightened, the potential of
different channels increased. The B2B buyer
could now choose a favorite sales channel,
depending on what suited him best at the time.
What was convenient to the seller hardly came
into it – and so the era of no more than one or
two sales channels came to a definite end.
Hybrid sales strategies
As sales increase, so do sales strategies. According
to McKinsey, 83% of B2B leaders believe that
omnichannel interaction is much more successful
in attracting new customers than traditional
strategies. This means a combination of
interaction via apps, phone, video, social media
and personal visits is becoming the preferred
sales strategy. Two changes in the go-to-market
models of companies explain why sales strategies
are becoming hybrid.
There are 5.2 billion mobile users in the world.
This number is growing constantly. Streaming
movies, checking social media or quickly ordering
groceries online; we can no longer imagine life
without a smartphone. In recent years, mobile
commerce has shown how people browse for
products or services. We expect B2B mobile
commerce to make important strides forwards
in 2022. It improves the omnichannel experience
and allows customers to choose their preferred
channel to buy products on that mobile device
that is with them 24/7. And that’s precisely what
they want.
Why you should invest in B2B mobile commerce
WhatsApping, swiping, scrolling, TikTok on tap
– this is how Generation Z negotiates the world.
They grew up with tech and can't imagine life
without a mobile phone. People from generation
Z spend an average of four hours and 15 minutes
on their cell phones every day. That’s almost half
a working day for most people! But perhaps more
importantly, 98% own a smartphone. And of this
percentage, 78% indicate that their smartphone is
their most indispensable asset for online use. By
the way, the generation above is not far off: 74%
of millennials use their smartphone to browse the
web.
Another recent survey showed that Generation Z
has a passion for digital innovation. For example,
77% think companies should offer new ways to
sell their products – a remarkable statistic. After
all, all these people are potential buyers that
companies do not want to ignore. Did you know
that a study by Google showed that a massive
53% of all smartphone users leave a page if the
website takes longer than three seconds to load?
Three seconds! B2B companies can't afford to
miss out on all those potential customers in 2022
just because a page took too long to load. So B2B
mobile commerce is already important but it will
play an even more prominent role next year.
App-like features
More and more companies are focusing on
maximizing the customer online experience.
For example, the customer already has a choice
between different payment or shipping options.
We are inventing more and more ways to make
all this as convenient as possible for the B2B
buyer. Although purchases via mobile tend
to be higher than desktop sales, users were
initially reluctant to confirm the order on their
smartphone. Until now that is. Because as we
become less and less dependent on physical
stores, the number of purchases via mobile is
on the up. And B2B companies are capitalizing
on that. They are increasingly using PWAs
(Progressive Web Apps). A PWA is an extremely
fast website that is based on an app. A PWA
functions as a stand-alone application; it loads all
the data at once. This means that it works even
when the internet connection is not stable.
We are increasingly aware that we only have one
planet, and that we need to treat it with care.
Today’s consumers know the resources we use
are finite; every day that we turn a blind eye
to this takes us a step closer to the complete
depletion of our planet. The B2B buyer is also
increasingly preoccupied with this issue and
realizes that his buying habits have an effect –
good or bad – on the environment.
Offer sustainable choice
About half of millennials think it’s critical to make
sustainable choices in their daily lives. That
sounds like a lot, but there is a generation that
finds this even more important: Generation Z,
for whom it is essential to make a sustainable
choice. This generation has activist tendencies
around many issues, but especially when it comes
to climate change. Extremely hot summers and
ski resorts without snow: these are topics that
obsess and motivate this generation. In other
words, Generation Z wants to make a difference.
This starts with ruling out companies where
sustainability is not part of the business model.
They would rather choose a competitor than
buy from a company that contributes to global
warming.
What can you do?
There are several ways to respond to
environmental concerns. For example, you can
opt for sustainable raw materials for production
and packaging. Or support charities, compensate
for CO2 emissions, sell bulk packaging or shorten
the distance of product deliveries. You can also
offer the consumer a choice of consignors.
Sometimes co-shipping is used, where orders
are linked to the best route. This reduces traffic
and therefore emissions. You can also try to keep
returns as low as possible to save on logistics.
Another possibility is augmented reality. We
describe this in the next trend: visual commerce.
Forget traditional, static product photographs. Visual commerce is on the rise to meet the ever higher
demands of the online shopper. Instead of the usual product photos, companies are deploying striking
visual content that inspires. Large product photos with different angles, product videos, content
provided by consumers and of course augmented reality; visual commerce offers a new experience in
the field of product display. It creates an inspiring environment where buyer and seller connect.
As a webshop owner, you run into several challenges. For example, in B2B sales you sometimes have
to deal with small items where the customer has to rely on product information; he may have no idea
how big the item actually is. Showing the product in its context will allow the customer to scale and
“see” it much more accurately, which will persuade him to commit to a purchase much more readily.
A webshop that lacks good visual content risks losing (potential) customers. And that is exactly why you
use visual commerce. Slowly but surely, it is gaining a place in eCommerce strategies. Companies that
invest time and effort in visual commerce will stay one step ahead of the competition.
Augmented reality is changing the way we shop
Viewing or testing a product from the comfort of your armchair as if it were there right in front of
you – it can really be that simple. Augmented reality is a great way to visualize products. It improves
the customer experience and offers him a personalized experience – especially at times when it is not
possible to go to the physical shop or showroom. A supplier of office furniture, for example, can make
clever use of this. Companies looking to design their workspace can use Augmented Reality to visualize
the furniture in their own offices. Or a home accessories wholesaler can leverage this concept to enable
stylists to visualize a vase or other accessories in their customer’s space. This lowers the barriers for
online buyers who are unsure and also gives them the opportunity to "try out" the product.
Visual search for a similar product
Things really get interesting when Augmented Reality is extended to enable a visual search. Where a
normal search starts with typing in specific terms, a visual search starts with pointing the camera at
a specific object. A search engine analyzes the image and shows similar products in the web shop. A
great example of this is the AR app “Place” from IKEA. With this app it is possible to take a picture of a
chair you like, for example. This can be a chair in IKEA itself, from any other store, or in the home of a
friend. The app analyzes the product and then shows if IKEA sells similar items. If so, you can then see
how it looks in your interior and, of course, order it from the webshop.
It's all about finding the right product within
a certain time frame. If it takes too long, the
customer disengages. If the search process is
easy, chances are that he will make another
purchase next time. We now know that the trick
is to guide the customer in such a way that he
ends up with the product he is looking for. Or at
least an alternative. Just as with visual commerce,
guided selling allows you to steer the customer
towards the right product.
Guided selling is the helping hand familiar to
us from a physical store, but online. It is really
nothing more than helping the customer find
the right product by eliminating unsuitable
items. Think of it as the game "Who am I?" where
you find out who you are by asking directed
questions. Through a smart use of guided
selling in your webshop, you avoid mistakes in
navigation or search queries, saving the customer
a lot of time and frustration. Remember, the
customer and his question are what matters here,
not the products you sell.
Guided selling as product configuration
Suppose you walk into a store and you’re looking
for a robot vacuum cleaner. You have no idea
which one you need. You walk up to a sales
assistant and ask for help. He takes you to the
robot vacuum cleaners and asks what price range
you are thinking of. Then he asks what rooms you
want vacuumed. Do you have a dog or cat, and
should the vacuum cleaner be able to cope with
their hairs? Do you want to control the robot with
an app? Does the noise of a “normal” vacuum
cleaner annoy you? And so on. You answer the
questions and at the end, the sales assistant
points to the robot vacuum cleaner that is best
suited to your needs.
What we just described is a typical example
of guided selling in a physical store. The seller
puts the customer first, not the specifications of
the product. Unfortunately, many eCommerce
models fail in this respect. They include a lot
of specifications in a search filter that you as a
customer often do not even know exist.
What if the sales assistant had asked, “Up to
how many decibels of notice do you want to
tolerate – more or less than 76dB?" and "How
long do you think it will run for: more than an
hour, or less?" "Do you want spinning center
brushes or not?" This will likely make you pause
and think, “What do I know?” There’s not a lot
you can do with these specifications. If you are
guided (or misguided) by them you could end
up with a product that doesn't quite meet your
expectations – and so the chances of being
dissatisfied and returning it increase.
This example is of course somewhat exaggerated,
but it does illustrate that smart guided selling
can be of enormous value. It ensures less choice
stress, instills confidence and increases repeat
purchases. The chance that a product meets
expectations (and is therefore not returned) is
greater thanks to guided selling.
It is important to never forget that the B2B buyer is also a B2C buyer. In his spare time, your potential
customer (most likely) also shops online and orders all kinds of products for himself, his home, or
his family. This means he is very used to the perks of fast shipping, seeing his status or an interesting
product recommendation. He gets emails with his name in the salutation, participates in loyalty
programs and can easily reorder a product.
But as soon as he orders something for the business, things get a lot harder. He gets no or hardly any
information about the status of his order and if he wants to put in a repeat order he has to look up the
product again in the search filters. A missed opportunity if you ask us, because a study by Smarter HQ
indicates the following:
The customer experience is becoming increasingly important for B2B eCommerce, so it’s smart to invest in personalization. Think about PWAs (see our section on B2B mobile commerce), headless eCommerce and implementing loyalty programs. The right guided selling (see previous trend) and easy repeat purchases by viewing order history are also possibilities. Other ways to provide a personalized experience include:
Google is focusing more and more on user
experience. This was even confirmed last year,
as Google indicated it was taking user experience
into account as a ranking factor. High-quality
websites appear higher in Google search results,
so that the user immediately knows which sites
are worthwhile. All in all, a good reason to focus
on an optimized webshop. To qualify for a better
ranking, your webshop must be relevant and
user-friendly. To determine this, Google looks at
the Core Web Vitals. We explain them below:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
This measures the loading speed of the page: the
time it takes for the largest element to appear on
the screen. This can include all types of content:
videos, images, text, and so on. Google also sets
a limit on this measurement: a maximum of 2.5
seconds. A logical move, because in our trend
on B2B mobile commerce we saw that 53% of
all smartphone users leave a page if the website
takes longer than three seconds to load.
First Input Delay (FID)
Responsiveness is measured by the First Input
Delay (FID). This is the speed of interaction
between the page and the visitor’s input. Here
Google pays attention to the clickability of
buttons, filling out forms and selecting sections
in a drop-down menu. So here it’s not only
about user experience, but primarily about
engagement. Put bluntly, it shouldn’t take too
long for something to happen once you’ve clicked
a button. Google also assigns a score to this: less
than 100 milliseconds is a good performance for
your webshop.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
This is the visual stability of the webshop and the
frequency with which the visitor is presented with
an unexpected layout. This happens, for example,
when certain elements load later than others,
which then shift or jump. Especially on a mobile
display this can be very disruptive.
Faster pages
Thanks to this update from Google, companies
are going to focus even more on page speed.
A headless platform is of tremendous value in
this regard. Depending on the technology at the
frontend, the headless infrastructure makes for
faster pages. Headless eCommerce is a trend we
already encountered in 2021, but it will certainly
be widely used in 2022 as well. You’ll read more
about it in the next chapter.
As every year, we made certain predictions
about 2021. The corona pandemic put a big
stamp on the agenda of wholesalers and brand
manufacturers, forcing them to stand on their
own two feet. They had to re-strategize their sales
channels and find a way to sell directly to the end
customer. By now these can no longer be called
trends, but essential tools; we’re going to see a lot
of D2C, marketplaces and headless eCommerce
in 2022 as well.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C)
Before the corona pandemic, distributors and
manufacturers depended on their traditional
channels of distribution. That changed overnight
when we experienced disrupted supply chains,
delayed orders and, of course, the global
lockdown. Food wholesalers, for example,
could no longer supply restaurants. In order
to still have a market for their product, they
depended on a direct sales channel to their end
consumers. The resulting digital infrastructure
made consumers aware that they could buy from
home. Result? They now prefer personalization
and direct engagement, rather than buying from
a middleman. And brands are seeing the benefits
of this, too. According to the Direct-to-Consumer
Intent Index, 80% of consumers will order from a
D2C brand in the next five years.
Marketplaces
Marketplace, Bol.com and Amazon: they are more
popular than ever, and it is impossible to imagine
an eCommerce strategy without them. And that’s
not surprising, because the corona pandemic put
digital sales models under enormous pressure. A
marketplace is a sales channel that you can easily
integrate with your eCommerce platform, and
which enables you to quickly reach the customer.
By now, they are no longer a necessity, and yet,
as stores reopen, 88% of B2B sellers say they will
continue to sell on marketplaces. Perhaps that’s
also because just 30% of B2B buyers feel the
need to interact with a physical representative, as
shown by a recent McKinsey survey.
Headless eCommerce
In the past year, it became clearer than ever
that companies have to react quickly to changes
in the market. Customers expect best-of-class
service and customized shopping experiences.
This is asking a lot of the eCommerce platform,
but headless eCommerce offers a solution. Here,
the backend of the system is independent of the
frontend. This means that you can modify the
design, content and concept of your webshop at
will without having to change a line of code in the
backend of your eCommerce system.
In the coming year, we expect companies to
engage significantly with B2B omnichannel.
With this strategy you keep existing customers
happy and also attract new ones. A good B2B
omnichannel strategy is a combination of
interaction via apps, telephone, video, social
media and personal visits. It is a harmonious
sales model that allows the customer to make a
purchase at his convenience, on a channel of his
choice.
One such preferred channel is the smartphone.
With 5.2 billion mobile users in the world, a lot
of purchases are made on mobile devices every
day – and B2B is no exception. As B2B mobile
commerce takes hold, more app-like features
are emerging to provide an optimal customer
experience. Websites with sticky elements such
as headers, bottom bars and floating buttons will
become the norm. These are components that
appeal most to millennials and Generation Z.
Sustainable business is also high on the list in
2022. Generation Z believes it is important that
they can make sustainable choices when they
buy online. They want to do their bit for the
environment and would rather order from a
different B2B seller – perhaps your competitor
– than buy from a company that contributes to
global warming. Sustainability is therefore likely
to be even more top-of-mind for company leaders
and their eCommerce strategies.
Another powerful trend for the coming year
is visual commerce. The biggest challenge in
eCommerce is selling a product with which the
customer has no physical interaction. More and
more solutions are being devised to compensate
for that. We will see more inspiring photos with
different and striking angles, product videos, and
content provided by the consumers themselves.
Visual search, which allows the customer
to upload a photo and an app or website to
recommend a similar product, will also play a role
in the search for products.
With the focus on the visitor, we also see a shift
in navigating to products. Where we used to use
product filters with complicated specifications,
we now focus on what the customer needs. An
intelligent use of guided selling in your webshop
will help you avoid mistakes in navigation or
search queries, saving the customer a lot of time
and frustration.
Personalization is the key word in the coming
year. The B2B buyer wants to be able to
experience the convenience of buying online, just
as he does in his free time. Post-payment, fast
shipping, personalized messages or customized
content: in 2022, websites will pull out all the
stops to offer the B2B customer a personalized
experience.
Last but not least, Google will also focus more on
user experience and will rank webshops on the
basis of relevance and user-friendliness; Core
Web Vitals and a good page speed are all taken
into account. In order to maintain a good position,
it is essential for webshops to optimize their site.
Rapid digital adoption and transformation – this is how the
corona pandemic accelerated the pace of change in eCommerce.
But maintaining and improving the current market position
is proving to be a continuous challenge. B2B companies are
monitoring emerging trends closely because they want to be
agile in responding to them. This is what happened during Covid19: companies had to pivot at breakneck speed, forcing them to
invest in eCommerce. Where you would normally spend a few
years experimenting, new channels and sales models were being
implemented one after the another, like rabbits pulled out of a hat.
An important shift became apparent: the customer was given an
increasingly central role in the eCommerce strategy.
Put the customer first
Focus on the customer, not just the product. It's the best tip we
can give you for 2022. Look where your target groups are and offer
them all the convenience and support they need. The B2B customer
is increasingly buying online at a time that suits him and preferably
on a channel of his choice. Make this easy for them and always
offer adequate support. Do not neglect the traditional channels,
but make sure you have a B2B strategy that is balanced. The right
strategy is different for every company, but the common thread is
the same: always interact with the B2B buyer and give him the best
customer experience.
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