The Marketplace Strategy Blog

Two numbers inspired the creation of our Guide to Commerce for Manufacturers. First, Forrester estimates that US B2B eCommerce is about to hit $1 trillion. Second, B2B eCommerce World found that only 40% of US Manufacturers have an eCommerce platform, which means 60% of Manufacturers aren’t able to serve customers where they want to buy. That’s a pretty big gap. At SMITH, it’s our job to help manufacturers better serve their current & future customers.

In 2017, B2C eCommerce sales hit $2.3 trillion worldwide. B2B eCommerce, on the other hand, reached $7.7 trillion. That’s a 234.78% difference in market size. Huge right? Yet despite the scale of the opportunity, many B2B retailers have struggled to adapt the growing demands of the business consumer. Customer-centricity has long sat at the heart of B2C strategy, visit any retail conference and it’s impossible to go 30 secs without retailers emphasizing a customer-centric approach.

When Amazon Business launched, it was hailed as a major threat to B2B distributors and a key strategic priority for Amazon’s growth. Within a year the marketplace had surpassed $1 billion in sales, and was reputed to be growing at 20% month over month.* Featuring hundreds of millions of products, bulk discounts and two day free shipping, Amazon Business literally meant business. Two years later, and with the rollout of their marketplace across some of the world’s most influential retail markets US, UK, Japan, India, and recently in France, we’re asking what’s the big deal about Amazon Business and is it all it’s cracked up to be?

I’ll never forget the three years I spent working in the Covent Garden branch of Accessorize at Christmas time. Between wading my way through colourful knitwear and wrapping close to 1 million Christmas gifts, I developed what I can only describe as a loathing for Christmas music and even the mere mention of festive cheer.

Mirakl is proud to be sponsoring B2B Online because we firmly believe that every B2B company can benefit from a marketplace. Whether you are a manufacturer wanting to convert site visitors without upsetting your channel, or a distributor needing long-tail assortment and 100% inventory visibility across both internal divisions and external suppliers, a marketplace is the right solution for you. Come check out Mirakl at booth #304!