B2B e-commerce unseats in-person sales for second year running

18th September 2024 |   Journal Of Sales Transformation

Business-to-business suppliers are under pressure to respond to “consumer-like” purchasing demands as buyers continue to shift the way they make purchases, a new global survey released on 12 September reveals. At the same time, buyers feel more comfortable with remote and selfserve spending on big-ticket items this year than they did in 2022, according to consultants McKinsey & Co.

“E-commerce, initially seen as a minor channel in B2B sales or a brief pivot during COVID-19, has permanently reshaped buyer behaviour,” Jennifer Stanley, a partner in McKinsey’s London office told the Journal. “B2B buyers now expect flexibility, be it to connect in-person, remotely, or via digital self-service. And businesses are clearly responding, with over onethird increasing their investments in e-commerce by more than 11% over the last year.”

McKinsey’s ninth global B2B Pulse survey questioned 4,000 B2B decision makers across eight major industries and revealed that buyers are demanding it all: in-person, remote, and self-serve sales interactions across the entire sales process in equal measure. Moreover, the majority of B2B buyers (54%) are willing to walk if they don’t get the smooth “consumer-like shopping” experience they desire.

The shift in the way buyers are purchasing applies across industries and to everything from high-value big ticket items to low-cost products, and to both new and repeat purchases. These changing buyer demands have led to 71% of B2B suppliers investing in e-commerce.

E-commerce is top revenue generator

For those companies that are offering e-commerce, it has now dethroned inperson sales for the second year as their top revenue generator, with one-third (34%) of their sales now coming from this channel. Meanwhile, in-person revenue across all companies has fallen five percentage points year-on-year, dropping overall from 22% to 17%. Globally, the comfort to spend big – on transactions up to $10 million – without ever meeting the supplier in person has jumped from 15% in 2022 to 20% in 2024, the survey found. The UK has seen a rise from 11% in 2021 to 21% in 2024, while the US climbed from 15% in 2021 to 20% in 2024. Everything from wind turbine generators to MRI scanners and crawler cranes are now being purchased via remote or self-service interactions in 20% of B2B organizations. Acknowledging that it can be tricky to balance customer expectations with the investment cost required to transform sales systems, Partner Liz Harrison said: “Customers and prospects are demanding more flexibility than ever, whether that’s chatting with a sales rep in person, connecting via video, or going fully selfservice through e-commerce. For B2B companies, the challenge is to balance these customer expectations with the financial impact of delivering them. Embracing innovative strategies in your go-to-market approach will be critical for success, both today and in the future.”