Ecommerce is booming for budding business-to-business (B2B) brands, with current valuation estimated at $18.8 trillion.
Buyer habits are evolving as well, ushered in by more millennials rising into positions that afford them decision-making power—with 70% of B2B buyers projected to be millennials in the coming year. These buyers expect digitally rich purchasing experiences, due primarily to the fact that online buying is more efficient than other forms of commerce.
In fact, modern, seamless journeys are so important to B2B buyers that 87% say they’ll actually pay more to work with a supplier who provides an excellent experience.
Seeing this opportunity, it’s important to remain on buyers’ radars and prep your brand for a successful B2B venture. The B2B ecommerce trends in this article will help you to stay on top and earn more sales in 2025.
What happened to B2B ecommerce in 2024?
The past two years have been shaped by economic uncertainty as consumers became more mindful of spending. Ecommerce as a whole has officially entered slow-growth mode—but global online B2Bsales have not followed that trend.
According to estimates, 80% of B2B sales will be generated digitally by the end of 2025. By contrast, the share in 2019 was 13%.
The share of B2B organizations' revenue that comes from digital channels has also increased, estimated to reach 56% in 2025, up from 32% in 2020. This growth has meant that one in five B2B companies plan to invest in the ecommerce experience over the following year, according to a recent survey.
Global markets have picked up steam in the B2B ecommerce realm too:
- In 2023 China's online B2B market surpassed $1.2 billion. Cross-border B2B ecommerce was on the rise in this region as well, with an 8.2% annual growth rate in 2023.
- Europe also forecasts steady growth over the next few years, with the B2B ecommerce gross merchandise value (GMV) estimated to reach more than $1.8 trillion by 2025.
- In 2022, the B2B ecommerce market size in the UK hit $141.4 billion. It’s tipped to exceed $167.42 billion by 2025.
The first few months of 2024 have also shown a promising start for B2B ecommerce. In the first quarter, Digital Commerce reported over $358 billion in US B2B digital commerce sales. That’s an increase of just over 5% from the same period in 2023.
TrustRadius’ recent report also revealed that the number of B2B decision-makers is growing slightly. Last year, 38% of businesses had two to three stakeholders involved in purchasing decisions. In 2024, that’s increased to 41%. There was a 1% increase in those who said decision-making involved more than 11 individuals.
The numbers don’t lie—ecommerce is a profitable path forward for B2B organizations. To take advantage, you’ll need to keep up with—and implement—the top B2B ecommerce trends to attract and retain your buyers. Let’s take a look.
Top B2B ecommerce trends for 2025 and beyond
- B2B buyers want self-service in buyer journeys
- More B2B organizations will use social media
- Order fulfillment and shipment tracking will become higher priority
- B2B marketplaces will become key sales channels
- Social proof becomes critical to B2B buying decisions
- More brands will adopt headless commerce
- Omnichannel will play a bigger role in buying decisions
- More brands will build mobile apps
- B2B organizations will become more tech-friendly
- Winners will embrace hyper-personalization
- Dynamic pricing becomes commonplace
- Product discovery data will be essential
1. B2B buyers want self-service in buyer journeys
Whether it's with their finances, politics, work, or just life in general, millennials value independence—and that’s a key reason why B2B buyers expect to self-serve their experiences.
Gartner found that 83% of buyers prefer to manage their orders and accounts online, and that number will only increase as time goes by. And TrustRadius has an even bolder take: 100% of buyers want to self-serve all or part of the buying journey.
That sounds nice in theory, but what does it look like in practice? Here are a few examples:
- Online dashboards or portals: You can give your customers easy access to customized dashboards where they can manage accounts, track orders, easily reorder, and more.
- Automated customer support: Implement AI-powered chatbots or automated ticketing systems to guide customers through troubleshooting processes without needing to contact a rep.
- Custom pricing and catalogs: Provide your customers with the most up-to-date pricing for products.
- Simple ordering: Allow your customers to easily place orders directly from your site.
2. More B2B organizations will use social media
Social commerce often is considered more of a B2C marketing and sales strategy, but B2B brands increasingly are getting in on the action. Trends indicate that the global social commerce market is set to reach $8.5 trillion by 2030.
B2B brands are discovering that their target audience already searches for products on social media platforms. In fact, Digital Commerce also reported that in 2024, B2B ecommerce buyers will use anywhere from 3 to 10 digitally driven channels to research products and purchase from sellers.
B2B buyers use social media to make purchase decisions in many different ways:
- To research different solutions and learn about their unique requirements and problems in the early stages of the sales cycle
- To compare solutions
- To identify need-to-know information on potential solutions before finally making a purchase
Choosing the right social media platform for your B2B offerings is the key to success. Consider which platforms are most relevant to your audience, and which channel is the most conducive to engaging with your product.
To find out, create a variety of social media posts—including product demo videos or customer testimonials—and see what resonates best with your target audience. When you’re ready to embrace social commerce tools, add your product catalogs to each platform to make it easier for potential customers to browse your available inventory.
Here’s a great example of a Facebook Shop catalog from wholesale book retailer Bulk Bookstore:
3. Order fulfillment and shipment tracking will become higher priority
Of the main challenges in the B2B customer journey, nearly 66% of B2B buyers report that order fulfillment and tracking have become the most difficult. It makes sense: The supply chain industry is in disarray, and wholesale orders often get broken up into smaller parcels for easier delivery.
Despite these challenges, customer expectations around delivery time are growing higher:
- 41% of global shoppers expected to receive their online purchase within 24 hours.
- 24% of surveyed buyers reported wanting their order delivered in less than two hours.
The data is clear: Customer demands for speed are driving B2B commerce to optimize for faster delivery times to stay competitive. But considering 70% of decision-makers are prepared to spend up to $500,000 on a single B2B ecommerce transaction, the shipping process needs to not just be speedy—it should be stress-free too.
While at first glance the need for speed poses a challenge, B2B brands can use it to their advantage to appeal to more buyers. For example, third-party logistics (3PL) services like the Shopify Fulfillment Network, which connects your store with leading logistics company Flexport, streamlines the fulfillment process for B2B brands. In addition to lowering fulfillment costs, 3PLs also reduce inventory management costs.
Labor and supply chain disruptions increased through the first half of 2024. To mitigate supply chain delays and shortages, don’t wait until the last minute to order materials or goods you need for peak season—order them now.
Now is also the time to work out any kinks in your inventory management program. Does your software need updating? Do you have enough storage or warehouse space? Are you able to report in real time?
Melanie Nuce, senior vice president of innovation and partnerships at the supply chain standards group GS1 US, adds to this, explaining that B2B businesses should utilize a range of suppliers: “To maximize performance, business-to-business brands will need to focus on diversifying suppliers and potentially narrowing the number of products they offer and bringing manufacturing closer to the intended destination.”
4. Marketplaces will become key sales channels
B2B marketplaces are growing, with many more on the way, according to the 2024 B2B Marketplace 500 Report by Digital Commerce. In fact, B2B marketplace sales grew by 100% in 2023.
Much of the B2B marketplace evolution is due to the accelerated changes in buyer preferences. Only five years ago, there were 75 total B2B marketplaces. There are now over 750 industry marketplaces—and this figure is still growing. It could tip 1,000 by 2026.
Unsurprisingly, Amazon Business has a strong presence in the B2B marketplace industry. Per Digital Commerce, 6 in 10 B2B buyers do more than a quarter of their B2B buying on Amazon, which accounts for about one in every four B2B marketplace transactions. By 2025, it’s estimated that Amazon Business will surpass a gross merchandise volume of $83.1 billion.
Early adopter companies will be more inclined—and better positioned—to customize their tactical approach for each platform, whether by offering unique products, running targeted experiments, or setting specific terms and conditions.
For example, consider the wholesale marketplace Faire. In 2022, there were around 600,000 independent retailers using the marketplace to sell to wholesale customers. Just one year later, this had increased to 700,000—likely influenced by Faire’s partnership with Shopify. Some of the more notable partnerships include brands like YMI Jeans, Skinny Confidential, and Sugarfina.
Brands like Shopify are following suit by digitizing more of the wholesale process. Shopify’s recent rollout of Shop Cash rewards to shift attention back to our Shop app represents another strategic move in light of these trends.
5. Social proof becomes critical to B2B buying decisions
Despite advancements in B2B commerce driving brands to create their own password-protected storefronts, just over a third of B2B buyers grade their B2B ecommerce experience as “excellent”.
Lack of social proof could be the reason. Consumers have been conditioned to look for social proof when making online purchases, and it’s a trend that’s paving its way into B2B ecommerce. According to TrustRadius’s latest 2024 annual report, review content is the most important factor that B2B decision-makers consider when evaluating a product.
In terms of preferred forms of social proof, product demos are now the most popular, with user reviews having dropped into second place since last year. In 2024, buyers rely more on their own prior experience when making purchase decisions.
Self-service B2B commerce, a solution designed to erase obstacles and streamline the buying process, makes it easy to provide B2B buyers with the review content they’re looking for without consulting sales reps. This can takes many forms:
- Subscriptions
- AI-assisted interactions
- Customer communities
- Help centers
- Self-service portals
Global retailers like Walmart are continuing to release self-serve tools for brands and customers alike. At the company’s first-ever seller summit, Walmart highlighted their list of newly released tools that give a glimpse into the future of digital commerce:
- Brand Shops: These are dedicated digital storefronts that allow brands to design their own curated pages on Walmart's platform. Brands can build “Brand Shelves” to feature specific assortments of products, or roll out seasonal collections as a way to enhance product discoverability and improve the customer experience.
- Walmart.com reimagined for item discovery: The website was redesigned to promote item discovery through personalized content, seasonal relevance, and regional merchandising. The goal is to make Walmart the go-to destination for several categories by blending digital and physical retail.
Self-service platforms not only remove the need for manual sales interventions, but also improve the accuracy of transactions. This efficiency shortens your sales cycles, broadening the market that your business can target effectively.
6. More brands will adopt headless commerce
Headless architecture is a game-changer, especially for B2B companies. It separates the front-end experience from the back-end infrastructure, helping businesses offer the freedom of customization to their clients.
The urgency to adopt headless technology is due in large part to a proactive mood: About 74% of organizations surveyed by Commercetools state that not keeping up with modern commerce solutions can negatively impact their business. In fact, our report found that over two-thirds of companies are changing or planning to change their current commerce platform architecture to prepare for the future.
Headless architecture delivers:
- Full customization: Tailor your digital storefront without back-end hassles.
- Faster load times: Slow websites mean slower sales.
- Reduced IT dependency: Eliminate the need for constant back-end updates.
- Rapid scaling: Adapt and grow without technological constraints.
- Quicker market entry: Time is money, and headless connects you with customers faster.
Companies are already reporting a higher ROI from their headless infrastructure. Among companies with headless architecture, 77% agree that it powers quicker storefront changes—a necessity in just about any industry. On the other hand, around 34% of businesses report it takes weeks or months to update their digital storefronts, a lag that headless architecture eliminates.
Sustainable clothing brand Allbirds uses a headless architecture to allow more functionality and flexibility across their site. By going headless, Allbirds balanced speed and customization, ensuring that each visitor enjoys a smooth, fast, and personalized journey through the brand's digital assets.
This strategic decision paid off in more ways than one: Allbirds successfully bypassed the headaches and costs that often come with complicated back-end systems. Now, when a customer lands on any Allbirds asset online, they enjoy a nearly flawless interface that aligns with the Allbirds brand.
7. Omnichannel will play a bigger role in buying decisions
Omnichannel isn't just a buzzword—it's the only way to meet today's B2B customers where they are. Per Digital Commerce’s research, the number of sales channels that shoppers use throughout the buying journey has increased.
In 2024, the average buyer will use 10 or more sales channels—and the landscape will only continue to evolve. Today’s buyers are increasingly leaning into digital technologies earlier in the sales process, which is why the research shows that the biggest takeaway for B2B sellers in 2024 is that buyers want an omnichannel purchase experience.
Buyers today are actively evaluating suppliers through modern digital technologies, including mobile apps, social media, and even texting. In the midst of these changes, businesses often underperform in digital channels thanks to gaps in execution and talent.
Businesses must address these weaknesses head-on, with initiatives like acquiring in-house channel expertise. Staying competitive requires that businesses constantly revisit and reevaluate their performance across all channels.
An omnichannel world demands excelling in multiple channels, including in-person sales, hybrid, inside sales, digital self-serve, and B2B marketplaces—especially during uncertain economic times in which a poor customer experience can lead to a lost sale. Existing and excelling in as many marketing channels as possible is made easier with a B2B ecommerce platform that siphons all of your product, order, and customer data into a single platform.
“With Shopify, we have our point-of-sale and ecommerce systems under one umbrella, which serves our ultimate purpose of being an omnichannel retailer and viewing the customer as one customer—no matter where they shop with us,” says Travis Boyce, head of global retail operations at Allbirds.
8. More brands will build mobile apps
In lieu of replicating the B2C experience, 2024 will see more B2B ecommerce apps entering the mobile app market. This follows expectations that mobile retail ecommerce spending will account for 68% of all ecommerce transactions in the United States by 2028.
Mobile shopping apps are no longer a novelty—especially for fashion brands and retailers. In just the past year, brands like Marrow Fine have shifted their focus to mobile app development as a way to stand out from mobile marketing campaigns that traditionally take place through SMS.
In an interview with Modern Retail, Marrow Fine’s director of retail strategy Melissa Minkow said: “Even though consumers prefer to use their smartphones to shop, to actually get them regularly using an app that they’ve downloaded is a very steep hurdle to overcome. Our data shows that on average, consumers only have one to three apps that they’re downloading and regularly using.”
Mobile apps aren’t just digital storefronts—they’re also vital tools for communicating real-time inventory and gathering customer feedback, which is particularly crucial when companies around the world are still dealing with supply chain disruptions.
Mobile apps position B2B businesses to sell their products or services with tools like:
- Push notifications
- In-app ads
- SMS notifications
- Integrations with social channels
With these tools, B2B businesses can reach out to audiences they may not have previously accessed. There’s untapped mobile app potential for B2B businesses to gain visibility into customer behavior, order history, upselling, and real-time engagement with mobile apps.
9. B2B organizations will become more tech-friendly
Even when the economy stumbles, market leaders can’t waver when deploying competitive tech. In fact, winning business leaders are 55% more likely than others to plan the integration of sophisticated sales technology, from tools that suggest the next best steps to features that keep existing customers from leaving.
It’s no wonder 28% of B2B companies in North America and Europe have recently invested in the online purchase experience, and one in five global B2B organizations plan to do so over the coming year. This is especially true for manufacturers: Per Statista, one in two professionals working at manufacturing companies said that ecommerce is the target area for digital transformation.
On top of that, automation represents an undeniable competitive advantage commonly associated with B2C that’s proving vital in B2B sectors as well. The numbers don't lie: In 2023, one in four B2B organizations implemented AI technology in their ecommerce operations. Another 56% say they aren’t there yet, but are experimenting with using AI in their business.
Market leaders see the adoption of ecommerce technology as a must because it propels them toward growth and prepares them to weather economic ups and downs. For example, tools like Shopify Magic allow you to create and update your B2B storefront in record time by using generative AI to:
- Change the background of product imagery
- Write product descriptions with differing tones, from daring and persuasive to playful
- Generate FAQs related to wholesale orders
- Schedule emails to potential B2B buyers
- Offer live chat at checkout to answer any last-minute concerns
10. Winners will embrace hyper-personalization
Top-performing B2B companies are proactively mastering the art of hyper-personalization. Unlike standard account-based marketing, hyper-personalization tailors unique messages to individual decision-makers based on a variety of factors, like past interactions with your brand and predictive analytics software—the latter of which is expected to hit a $27.21 billion market size by 2030.
The use of analytics in crafting highly personalized customer interactions isn't just an option—it's a distinguishing feature of winning B2B firms across industries. Leaders are using advanced strategies like predictive analytics to meet individual customer needs before they even realize they have them.
A 2024 report found that B2B buyers expect shopping experiences to be quick, convenient, and personalized. Yet brands are finding it difficult to offer personalized experiences: Almost two-thirds of organizations in the same survey reported that ecommerce is “broken” in their organization. Some 83% said their product data was incomplete or outdated, and a similar amount said an insufficient ecommerce toolstack was to blame.
Leading B2B ecommerce platforms like Shopify are leading development in this area to make it easier for brands to deliver DTC-style experiences to B2B customers, including the ability to:
- Create customer-specific price lists and product catalogs
- Display products similar to those a customer has already viewed or purchased
- Build personalized “bestseller” lists of items popular among businesses of a given customer’s size, region, or sector
11. Dynamic pricing will become more common
It’s the beginning of the end for the era of static pricing. B2B companies are embracing dynamic pricing strategies, shifting from a one-size-fits-all approach to a flexible, data-driven model. Some 22% of ecommerce brands plan to use dynamic pricing for their storefronts in 2024, because the next-generation B2B buyer expects the same kind of pricing transparency and flexibility they get in B2C markets.
As vertical B2B marketplaces gain popularity, they're not just connecting buyers and sellers—they're reshaping expectations around pricing. In 2023, digital commerce platforms made up 45% of organizations' revenue, a significant jump from 36% in 2019. Buyers now want an array of options, from shipping to features—but above all, they want competitive pricing. Looking for more than just building relationships, these buyers are seeking efficiency and the best value for their money.
Today's B2B marketplaces can handle dynamic pricing alongside custom orders and complex requests, but the art of dynamic pricing isn't one-dimensional. Algorithms now adjust pricing based on a mix of factors, including competition, supply and demand, and even time. From cost-plus pricing to value-based models, vendors now use diverse strategies to remain competitive and maximize their margins.
For instance, adjusting prices on slow-selling items can help clear out inventory, while timely discounts can boost demand for popular products. It's not just about reacting to the market—it's about proactively shaping buyer behavior.
12. Product discovery data will be essential
The days when business buyers relied solely on trade shows and catalogs are gone. B2B buyers are paying attention to personalized recommendations, proving the vital role of data-driven discovery in influencing purchases.
B2B organizations will begin relying more on high-quality data. Today’s buyer expects product, pricing, inventory and shipping information to be accurate across all digital commerce channels. Organizations will pivot toward modular and API-first solutions with flexible data models, so they can better access product discovery data.
This isn't confined to your owned channels—product discovery data is as crucial on third-party marketplaces as it is on your own platform. With it you can understand what existing customers see, what they add to shopping lists, and how they behave. Understanding their shopping journey will become invaluable for offering personalized experiences, and will increase customer lifetime value without hassle.
Data shouldn't just influence your decisions—it should drive them. Market leaders use product discovery data to forecast demand, streamline inventory, and even inform product development.
B2B sales growth opportunities outweigh the costs
The sales growth opportunity of ecommerce may now outweigh potential costs for B2B businesses, and we’re seeing meaningful movement that reflects that: The number of B2B decision-makers willing to spend as much as $10 million or more on an ecommerce transaction has increased by 83%.
This trend holds particularly true in China, India, and the United States, as well as in global energy and materials (GEM), telecommunications, media and technology, and advanced industries sectors.
As we head deeper into 2024 and beyond, keep these B2B ecommerce trends in mind, and begin implementing the ones most aligned with your product offerings. Staying on top of new digital marketing strategies and tactics keeps your business at the forefront of customers’ minds.
We’re here to help at every step of the way. Whether you’re hoping to keep your ecommerce site up to date or build the best B2B commerce experience around, we’re committed to helping make every commerce moment a great one. With Shopify as your B2B ecommerce platform, you’ll be ready to take on whatever challenges or emerging trends come your way.
Read more
- 6 Best Open-Source Ecommerce Platforms for 2023
- 11 Ecommerce Checkout Best Practices: Improve the Checkout Experience and Increase Conversions
- Six Must-Have Technologies to Build the Best Ecommerce Tech Stack
- B2B Ecommerce: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started
- B2B Ecommerce: Why Taking Your B2B Business Online is a Smart Strategy to Scale
- Website Builder 2024: Create a Website in Minutes
- What Is Wholesale B2B and How To Sell To Customers in 2023
- What Are B2B Payments? Methods & Processing Systems
- B2B Marketplaces: What They Are, How to Succeed, and 8 Marketplaces to Consider
B2B ecommerce trends FAQ
Which is the current trend in B2B ecommerce?
B2B ecommerce trends in 2025 include the use of social proof in self-serve online portals, omnichannel shopping experiences that span social media and B2B marketplace, and generative AI.
What are the trends for B2B sales?
Social commerce takes over B2B Order fulfillment and shipment tracking increase in importance B2B marketplaces become an effective sales channel Social proof becomes the most important factor in purchase decisions B2B buyers demand personalized experiences B2B brands invest in branded mobile apps Dynamic pricing becomes more common
Is B2B ecommerce growing?
Yes, B2B ecommerce is growing—and is expected to continue growing in the coming years. According to a report by Statista, B2B ecommerce sales are projected to surpass $2.4 trillion in the US alone by 2024.
What is the future of B2B ecommerce?
The future of B2B commerce is expected to be increasingly digital, with businesses using various platforms and omnichannel technologies to engage with customers and suppliers. The use of AI and machine learning is also likely to become more prevalent as businesses seek to optimize their supply chains, automate processes, and improve customer experience.
