More than two-thirds (68%) of B2B buyers now purchase goods online, up from 57% last year, according to a recent report from the Acquity Group.
Moreover, the number of B2B buyers who spent 90% or more of their budgets online in the last year doubled from 2013 levels, from 9% to 18%.
However, though there is more online spending, many customers are not going directly to the websites of B2B suppliers: Less than half (48%) of B2B buyers surveyed purchase goods online directly from suppliers, with the rest opting for for third-party websites and other purchasing channels.
Among third-party websites, Amazon Supply is the most popular: 17% of buyers use it regularly to make purchases, and 38% use it at least once per quarter.
Below, additional key findings from the report, which was based on data from a survey of 500 procurement officers in the United States across a wide range of industries with annual purchasing budgets in excess of $100,000.
Product Research Behavior
- 94% of B2B buyers say they conduct some form of online research before purchasing a business product.
- 40% of buyers research more than half of the goods they purchase under $10,000 online. For larger corporate purchases of more than $5,000, 34% spend over three hours researching products.
- Popular online sources for information on products include supplier websites (83% of buyers use), Google searches (77%), user reviews (42%), and third-party websites such as Amazon Supply (34%).
Sales Rep Involvement
- Only 12% of buyers want to meet in person with a sales representative when making a purchasing decision, and just 16% want to discuss their purchasing options with a sales representative over the phone.
- 71% prefer to conduct research and purchase on their own with access to a sales representative via the phone or online chat if needed.
Mobile
- 44% of respondents have researched an item for their company using a mobile device.
- 24% have made a purchase for their company using a mobile device.
- 55% of Millennial buyers (age 18-25) use mobile phones for procurement research, compared with 36% of respondents over the age of 45.
- 50% of Millennial B2B buyers use tablets to conduct product research, compared with 31% of buyers over the age of 45 who do so.
About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 500 procurement officers in the United States across a wide range of industries with annual purchasing budgets in excess of $100,000.
