The cloud — with cloud-based E-commerce delivery models, enterprises finally have the necessary tools to create sophisticated user experiences with three key factors:

Speed: Powerful E-commerce apps are built on robust cloud platforms. They leverage the platform’s security, scalability and high performance. In this environment,B2B sellers are not on their own; they can utilize existing cloud platforms to deliver this seamless and fast user experience.
Convenience: By harnessing cloud-based, automated configuration and pricing technology, a $500K jet engine part can now be purchased with virtually the same ease as a pair of $30 sandals. In fact, sales effectiveness research shows that organizations using such configure-price-quote (CPQ) technology average a 3.9% year-over-year growth in customer renewal rates (vs. a .6% decline for non-users), and a 3.6% year-over-year growth for lead conversion rates (vs. a .5% decline for non-users).
Personalization: Powerful cloud platforms are designed to fully support complex product and pricing models across multiple channels on a single platform. These apps allow brands to present unique user experiences that boost transaction volume and top-line revenue – and deliver seamless buying experiences.

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Digest...

Taking their lead from the world of B2C e-retailing, B2B companies are upping their e-commerce game—to roughly $1 trillion in the U.S. alone, according to estimates from Gartner Group and Forrester Research Inc.

And the industry is growing at nearly four times the rate than B2B e-commerce, as e-commerce sites and e-marketplaces operated by and for manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers respond to a growing demand among buyers for the option to purchase online.

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Furthermore, buyers carry expectations of a shopping experience as seamless and time-saving as if they were consumers on a B2C site.

• 48% of B2B customers will place 50% or more of their orders online within three years

• 7.3% is the average conversion rate on B2B e-commerce sites, compared with 3% for retail sites

• 67% of B2B e-commerce professionals expect to increase their technology budgets in 2015, while only 2% expect smaller budgets.

• 8% is the percentage of online revenue that B2B e-commerce professionals expect to spend on technology in 2015

“Acquity's study, "State of B2B Procurement," based on a survey of 500 procurement officers with annual purchasing budgets in excess of $100,000, found that even though B2B supplier websites are the most popular means of conducting research, just 37 percent of B2B buyers said it was the most helpful channel for research purposes.

"These findings reveal a significant gap between the information procurement officers want and the content that B2B websites currently provide. This is despite the fact that many suppliers appear to be adapting to changing preferences among B2B buyers," the report said. "…As more B2B buyers, especially younger generations not tied to a particular distributor, turn to the Web to research products, reviews and prices, suppliers must provide more useful product information, tailored content, and seamless browsing experiences to attract customers and keep them engaged. Businesses that bridge this gap quickly will realize an increase in customer engagement and revenue, and a faster return on digital investments."”

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The B2B procurement field continues to show less resistance to the eCommerce takeover, according to Acquity Group’s 2014 B2B Procurement Study. The study, compiled for the second consecutive year, reveals more business buyers are now aware of, and open to browsing via online platforms, with 94 percent stating they participate in some form of online research.

Knowledge is (Purchasing) Power

This outlook is reflected in the sharp increase in procurement budgeting for online spending, rather than purchases made over the phone or in person. The study shows the number of B2B buyers who report using at least 90 percent their budget for online purchasing has more than doubled since 2013, from less than 9 percent to just over 18 percent.

Furthermore, 46 percent of respondents from the study expect to increase the amount of their budget they spend online in the next year. Of those who aren’t planning to increase their online budgets, the number one reason is that they are already making most, if not all, of their purchases online.

Business buyers are also becoming more comfortable making major purchases (of $5,000 or more) online, up to 68 percent from 57 percent last year. The number of procurement officers who buy items of that caliber on some channel at least once per month is also rising, with a 40 percent increase since 2013.

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Digest...

The button will be embedded in individual tweets, allowing users to purchase items straight from their Twitter feeds. Twitter's guinea pigs are giants. The 19 beta testers include retailers like Burberry and Home Depot; Red, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting AIDS; and several pop stars.

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