Loyalty in B2B e-commerce – how to earn it?

Only 21% of B2B customers confirm that their purchasing strategy focuses on building long-term relationships with online suppliers, according to the “B2B Customer Journey 2025” report. The majority operate in a transactional model, and 55% can be described as “promo-hunters,” who chase promotions and price bargains. However, if you run or plan to run B2B trade, you will find tips in the report on what to do to win the loyalty of the business customer.

Prepare clear offers and ensure that products have detailed descriptions with all parameters. Also, remember to clearly communicate pricing conditions and promotions. For over 30% of B2B customers, these are the most important factors when choosing where to purchase products.

Offer personalization is a must-have for one in three businesses. Ensure an individual approach in this regard, provide discounts, and create payment methods suitable for a given client. As many as 96% of surveyed companies encounter difficulties related to online payments, such as limited deferred payment options.

Implement artificial intelligence-based solutions in your e-shop, especially when it comes to price comparison, searching for detailed product descriptions, or filtering. Already 94% of enterprises use AI at various stages of the purchasing process.

Remember about m-commerce, it is already a requirement for B2B purchases! Be available in mobile sales and communication channels – 56% of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises buy using a smartphone.

Automation in the context of purchasing, payments, deliveries, or offer creation is extremely important for 65% of the surveyed companies. Integrate your shop with the client’s ERP systems to facilitate order management and improve the business experience. According to experts, this is the trend of the future.

Regularly update offers, add new products to newsletters, and share them with B2B customers, as as many as 33% of them draw inspiration from this form of communication when analyzing potential purchasing locations or changing suppliers.

8 out of 10 businesses use marketplaces when making purchases. If you cannot create your own, list your offers on existing ones to increase your reach and acquire new business customers. This is particularly important for new B2B e-sellers.

Delivery quality largely influences business customers’ satisfaction with the purchasing process. Offer many product delivery options, ensure the safety and possibility of ensuring deliveries, handle large orders, and provide up-to-date information on product availability and stock levels.

90% of enterprises face some difficulties when making purchases. Be available to them by offering support, e.g., in the form of a chat or another easily accessible form of contact.

Share customer opinions and reviews. This is very important for enterprises – 30% of them decide to change suppliers based on evaluations and recommendations from business acquaintances. Encourage leaving feedback and display it in visible places.

How to Earn Loyalty in B2B E-commerce – Summary

In B2B e-commerce, loyalty is not the result of sentiment but of operational integration and the elimination of obstacles and factors complicating the purchasing process. To escape the transactional model, one must invest in advanced e-commerce platforms that offer, among other things: dynamic personalization, deep integration with ERP systems, or flexible payment methods (including deferred payments). This is the only way to convince the online B2B customer that partnership is more operationally beneficial than constantly searching for a cheaper alternative.

The “B2B Customer Journey 2025” report is based on a study involving 877 representatives of SMEs. It was conducted between April 20 and 29, 2025, using the CAWI method (online questionnaires completed by respondents in a web browser).