2020 has not only ushered in a new decade, but also brought with it many new and revamped e-commerce trends. Higher customer expectations, faster communication and more extensive information transfer are playing an increasingly important role in all areas of B2B e-commerce this year. Find out which seven trends you should pay particular attention to here.
Personalised customer experience
Personalisation already played an important role in e-commerce last year (decade) - and this trend is continuing throughout the various sectors. On the one hand, customer expectations of companies have risen, while on the other, new technologies combined with data offer new opportunities for a personalised customer experience. In the B2B sector in particular, you should increasingly focus on personalised offers, because depending on the company's position and industry, you can reach important customers with the right information at the right time. In addition to a well-designed and implemented online shop, a functioning CRM is a great advantage for personalisation in B2B.
Mobile First
When looking at current statistics on internet usage, it is always noticeable that smartphone usage has far outstripped usage with other end devices: 87% of respondents to a survey by the Federal Statistical Office used their smartphone to surf the internet in 2018, compared to 65% with a laptop. This trend will extend to the B2B sector in 2020, making the responsive design of company websites and shops even more important. The use of progressive web apps (PWA) promises to be an interesting innovation in this area. This innovative form of website describes a symbiosis of responsive websites with apps and thus enables website operators to save development costs without having to sacrifice functionality and convenience for customers.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Improved customer service and personalised offers: What has long been established in the B2C sector will also reach the e-commerce of medium-sized B2B companies this year. AI can be used in a variety of ways, particularly when it comes to product searches, customer service and product recommendations. In the future, chatbots will be able to fill important interfaces between providers and customers and the collection of data on customer information and behaviour can create valuable contact opportunities. The possibility of automatically generated content on your own website and in connection with your own products will also play a special role. When it comes to creating efficient and varied texts in real time, this innovation is hard to beat. Moreover, text automation is not limited to the description of products or the creation of website texts. It can also be used to personalise newsletters or automate ad campaigns. In online marketing, AI is also taking over the control of Adwords, Amazon ads and banner advertising for more and more companies. Tools such as the cross-platform solution Adspert optimise countless accounts, campaigns and keywords every second and better than any human expert.
Extended Reality (XR)
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (VR) have been among the top trends in the tech industry for several years. Whether using headphones and a screen to completely immerse yourself in a virtual world, as is the case with VR, or superimposing computer-animated images over the real world, as Instagram does with its FaceFilters. Augmented reality not only holds great fascination - as the success of the computer game Pokémon Go in 2016 clearly demonstrated - but also the opportunity for companies to present their products in a completely new way. Global spending on XR technology is forecast to increase by 78.5% compared to 2019, making both technologies key trends for the industry.
Data & Predefined Analytics
Data, data and more data. When it comes to e-commerce, it will be hard to avoid this trend in 2020. However, many companies are already struggling when it comes to selecting the criteria for data collection. Even once the first hurdle has been overcome and data is available, the necessary expertise is often lacking. Nowadays, most modern B2B platforms provide a remedy. These are usually equipped with the right tools and functions to help you visualise and analyse key data. The more you can find out about your target group, the more targeted and individualised you can distribute offers and information. So invest the time to master the data - it will be worth it!
Omnichannel and B2B online marketplaces
Marketplaces are often seen as competition, especially by small and medium-sized retailers and manufacturers. However, B2B platforms offer retailers the opportunity to be directly connected without having to invest in technical development. This saves online retailers costs, while buyers have access to a wider selection and can directly compare different products. However, it is not enough to rely on a single sales option, as the omnichannel trend has arrived in B2B. The following applies: those who position themselves broadly and address their own target group on different channels are well equipped for 2020.
Read more about this in our blog: Online shop or sales platform?
Transparency and traceability
The innovative and technologically advanced new developments in e-commerce are accompanied by increased scepticism - particularly with regard to the handling of customer data and the use of AI and machine learning. In the coming year, it will be particularly important to counteract this with clear and transparent corporate communication. Gartner assumes that six key elements in particular will play a major role in this respect: Ethics, integrity, openness, accountability, competence and consistency. This is because customers want to be able to understand what their data is being used for and what added value they are receiving as a result.
Summary: The most important trends for B2B e-commerce in 2020
In addition to the technological advances in artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual reality that are conquering the market, it is becoming increasingly clear this year that buyers are also increasingly responding to personalised content in the B2B sector. New and changing demands are being placed on companies to engage more specifically with their own customers and expand their own offering to various platforms.
