What trends will drive B2B e-commerce in 2020? We have looked into this question and summarized the top trends 2020 for B2B trade. One thing can be said in advance: B2B e-commerce platforms must increasingly become the Swiss Army Knife in order to be prepared for the diverse requirements of the future. Concepts such as punchout and headless commerce, as well as B2B marketplaces and omnichannel customers, will transform the industry. So here are the 2020 B2B e-commerce trends that business retailers should prepare for.
#1 Customized platform solutions on the rise
One size fits all is long outdated. More than ever, many companies need to find their niche to continue to be successful. Unusual business models and a high degree of specialization require customized IT, processes, interfaces and technical integrations. This is particularly evident in e-commerce, as the transformation from store to intelligent platform is taking place rapidly. The classic online store is losing importance. Frontends detached from the backend by an API-first strategy that provide users with an ever better shopping experience, smart shopping in social networks, ERP systems for a specific niche market or new marketplaces for industry segments. The requirements for individual solutions for e-commerce platforms are increasing.
Can I implement this requirement with Smartstore? Yes, it is possible. See blog posts:
Q uell open software for the success of your business
"Hybrid CMS" is all better, much better than just headless
#2 B2B online stores are becoming service platforms
B2B e-commerce shopping is shifting to the Internet. However, personal contact with the retailer is still an integral part for many customers. This is mainly because the information provided online often does not answer all customers' questions. 76 percent of B2B customers would like to contact a personal sales representative before buying a new product. 52 percent seek this advice when a product has new specifications.
In 2020, the trend in B2B e-commerce is moving away from pure online stores to platforms. These platforms combine e-commerce with a suitable range of services. Customers will therefore not only find information and specifications on the product on B2B platforms. They can also arrange consulting appointments or book services that match the product, such as online training.
Can I use Smartstore to individualize my store or, better, my website to achieve what I wrote above? Yes, this is not a problem. See blog posts:
Feature Talk: The new Smartstore CMS PageBuilder - create shopping worlds in real time!
#3 B2B marketplaces on the rise
Marketplaces are becoming a permanent fixture in B2B commerce. And not only via Amazon Business, which has also been available in Germany since 2016. Also via Alibaba, Mercateao, Wer liefert was? And more and more B2B marketplaces are handling more and more goods.
Buyers appreciate, for example, the ability to use filters to search specifically for certain products. They also find the comparability of prices and products as well as the transparency of delivery times and costs practical. This was the finding of a 2019 study by ibi Research.
Forrester Research predicts that by 2022, half of all B2B orders will be placed through a business marketplace. But there are also difficulties. In addition to low margins due to the price war and dependencies B2B retailers face, interfaces are also a major hurdle. According to ibi Research, 43 percent of B2B merchants using Amazon Business say they have not connected any of their systems (ERP, ERP, PIM, online store, etc.) to the B2B marketplace.
It remains to be seen whether B2B marketplaces will prevail so far in the coming years or whether retailers will turn to alternatives to the B2B marketplace. According to ibi Research, data-driven processes will be critical for 86 percent of respondents.
Is it possible such to implement a business process with Smartstore? Yes, it is possible. See blog posts:
Q uell open software for the success of your business
Smartstore Order Management
#4 Fast orders and lightning-fast service even in B2B e-commerce
A number of trends in consumer business are also changing B2B retail buying habits. As a result, business customers today are demanding faster and faster services. This applies to both the ordering process and delivery. For example, a quarter of B2B customers want shorter checkout times, fast reorders and speedy deliveries.
Modern B2B online stores speed up orders, for example, by using shopping cart templates. Based on previously ordered products and matching items, the store software can predict what the customer will need next and in what quantity. Quick orders are also possible, for example by importing order lists. This means that B2B buyers can create the item numbers of frequently used parts as a CSV file and drag and drop them into the shopping cart.
Faster deliveries are a trend that customers are certainly familiar with from B2C stores. Same-day delivery or even within a 1- or 2-hour window is already possible.
Fast delivery is also an issue in B2B commerce. B2B buyers need certain products quickly and expect reliable delivery times. That's why Conrad, for example, offers express delivery for business customers within two hours. Würth delivers to tradesmen at the desired location on the day the order is placed. If a part runs out at the customer's construction site or during assembly, it is ready for use on the same day. With its EILT, Cyberport can also supply B2B customers with urgently needed PC accessories within three hours!
Does Smartstore have the option of a quick order? Yes, indeed there is, we call the feature QuickOrder. For more info write us or try Smartstore for free. Contact sales:
http://smartstore.com/en/contact
Smartstore Order Management
https://smartstore.com/en/punchout-connect-with-oci-and-cxml-for-the-e-procurement-industry
"Hybrid CMS" is all better, much better than just headless
#7 Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (MI) solutions are increasingly being deployed in medium to large B2C e-commerce sites, contributing to better customer service and personalized offers. In B2B e-commerce, AI is mainly used by the largest players, but more and more mid-sized companies are also considering taking advantage of its benefits. Currently, the most common areas where AI technology supports B2B portals are: Product search, customer service, or product recommendations.
Product search is a key feature of any B2B e-commerce platform. Companies that use them usually offer several hundred thousand products. Therefore, the B2B platform must enable product search not only by product name, but also by product code, part serial number, and so on. But we think it will go further, and with the development of image recognition techniques, the regular B2B e-commerce sites will allow users to search for products by uploading their photos.
Intelligent chatbots integrated with the B2B platform will play an important role in customer service. They are able to provide customers with information about products or delivery times.
Product recommendations are as old as e-commerce itself, but in recent years (thanks to AI) this function has been able to provide increasingly personalized recommendations based on customer behavior.
Can I also implement this requirement with Smartstore? Yes, it is possible. See blog post:
Smartstore MegaSearch "Finding instead of searching"
Smartstore as Modules & Microservices Architecture
Artificial Intelligence in E-Commerce
#8 Personalized Customer Experience
The interfaces of B2B platforms differ from those we know from normal online stores. This is due to the different buying habits of these two groups. Customers of online stores buy spontaneously, driven by desire, while B2B customers make more rational purchases that must comply with company policy requirements. Consequently, it is difficult to look for sophisticated design or eye-catching display banners in B2B platforms. Another factor is that the actual transaction processes in B2B are much more complex than in B2C, involving many roles for both buyers and store owners.
However, a good B2B platform tailored for 2020 will allow you to personalize the customer experience based on their role, the company they work for, or the device they use.
Does this capability exist in Smartstore? Yes, there is, our plugin, "Personalized Product Recommendations" is just what you need. This new feature can provide live personalized product recommendations individually for each customer based on their previous interests. Product, brand and merchandise group interactions of the customer are analyzed and evaluated. Personalized product recommendations can thus be sent automatically via the "Email Reminder" feature. Personalized product recommendations replaces "Recommended products" from previous versions in Smartstore 4.
For more info, write to us or try Smartstore for free. Contact Sales
http://smartstore.com/en/contact
Smartstore and Microsoft Power BI enable store statistics at the highest level
Cloud solutions only make sense if strong scaling effects are to be expected. If, as in e-commerce, a high degree of individualization is required in the store, PaaS solutions are available. These provide a technological basis via the platform, including software license, infrastructure, hosting, data backup, maintenance and updates, but do not restrict e-commerce providers as is usually the case with SaaS offerings.
If I see this correctly, we can use Smartstore in a cloud environment, right? Yes, that is also correct. For this, we refer to this blog post.
Using Smartstore in the Cloud
#11 Text Robots Write Content for Online Store
If you offer many products in many variants, it is difficult to write sales-boosting texts for each variant and category. Text robots now deliver descriptions that are easy to read and relevant to search engines. This requires structured data, such as data sheets, attributes and the like. The text robots can use these to create original texts for each product.
Two different approaches have emerged: Natural Language Generation and template-based text generation, which uses blanks and sentence patterns. In both cases, traders must do some preliminary work, namely teach the robot the basics such as the desired language style and word choice, or create templates.
The text robot now generates unique product texts and any number of variations. And it does so immediately and always differently. In times when good visibility in search engines is the be-all and end-all, text robots can relieve B2B merchants enormously.
Textrobots are already providing content for Otto, Home24, and MyTheresa. In the B2B sector, Liebherr and Bosch, for example, rely on content generation by text robots.
According to uNaice, text robots are already suitable for 500 to 1000 products. Then the robots are cheaper and of course faster than texters.
If a text robot automatically creates texts in English and other languages in addition to product descriptions in German, there is considerable potential for savings for internationally active retailers. Interfaces to automatic translation tools such as Google Translate or DeepL are implemented in SaaS solutions such as Retresco's textengine.io.
Is Smartstore prepared for this way of generating product descriptions via text robots? Unfortunately not yet, but we will prepare an interface to DeepL by the end of 2020.
#12 Fear of recession and international competition
Retailers fear the start of a recession and are trying to stabilize their market position with specific offers and services. The EU geo-blocking regulation is also increasingly pushing international e-commerce providers into the European market. German manufacturers and retailers are using the new regulation to expand their business to international markets on a low-threshold basis. SMEs in particular will need reliable platforms with dedicated technologies for internationalization in order to succeed in cross-border trade and face growing competition from GAFA.
Conclusion: There is no doubt that we will see an evolution of B2B consumption in 2020. Business customers will expect a familiar and user-friendly shopping experience that they know from normal online stores and/or mobile applications. The best B2B e-commerce platforms will base customer service and features like product search and product recommendations on AI technology. We can also expect a shift away from B2B e-commerce stores that offer static content to their customers to create personalized customer experiences. The B2B e-commerce platform should be equipped with reports based on the specifics of this industry.