Younger B2B buyers’ online purchase behavior ignored by suppliers

Are you a B2B buyer under the age of 35? If so, according to a new report from the Acquity Group, you are 131% more likely to make corporate purchases online than those who are age 35 and over.

However, the same report reveals that suppliers’ websites are not set up to accommodate the demands of this group of younger B2B buyers, potentially affecting their bottom line. Most (90%) of B2B buyers age 18-35 now make company purchases online, compared with 45% of those age 45-60 and 29% of those age 60+.

Because their current suppliers aren’t offering an online purchase channel, 45% of respondents used Amazon Supply to make a purchase in the last year, and 25% of respondents who used Amazon Supply make purchases on a regular basis.

“B2B suppliers must be aware of the revenue threat from the third-party B2B eCommerce websites,” said Robert Barr, Senior Vice President at Acquity Group. “This is particularly important since many buyers do not visit suppliers’ physical stores, but rely on catalogs and websites to research products. Unfortunately, many of supplier’s websites are outdated and lack capabilities to meet customer expectations.”

Other key findings from the report include:

– B2B buyers age 60+ were most likely to research before purchasing less than 10% of the time;

– B2B buyers age 26-45 were most likely to research before purchasing 50% of the time, or more;

– B2B buyers under the age of 60 spend longer (one to two hours on average) researching before making a major purchase of $5,000 or more;

– B2B buyers over the age of 60 spend 30 minutes or less on research prior to making a major purchase;

– 70% of B2B buyers surveyed said they would spend more of their budgets online if their suppliers’ websites were easier and more convenient use.

“Today’s buyers rely on the Internet for research,” said Barr. “Suppliers must have a robust online presence with detailed product information. If buyers don’t find the information they need, they will go elsewhere to make a purchase.”