52% Of B2B Buyers Say They Will Never Go Back to Pre-pandemic Ways of Buying
A lot of Covid-19 pandemic buying analysis has focused on consumers. But B2B buyers have also changed the way they shop.
In fact, 52% of B2B buyers say they will never go back to the old pre-pandemic way of buying, according to a survey by Considered Content.
Notably, 66% are now self-serving more information before contacting vendors, highlighting why it’s vital that B2B sellers provide as much information as possible through their key selling channels.
91% Of Consumers Are Likely to Continue Buying More Online
One of the big things to come out of the pandemic was the acceleration of e-commerce. Some reported that e-commerce experienced five years of growth in a matter of months.
A survey of consumers in the US, UK and Australia by Nosto found that 67% increased their online purchasing since the start of the pandemic.
It seems that this growth in e-commerce isn’t disappearing as the world opens up again.
91% said they’re likely to continue purchasing more items online in the future in the same survey.
Over 70% Of Consumers Are Mixing Online and Offline Retail Channels
Although the pandemic saw e-commerce sales increase with stores temporarily closed in many parts of the world, it’s clear that consumers aren’t done with physical channels.
75% of US consumers say they’re researching and purchasing both in-store and online in a recent survey by McKinsey. This is across a wide range of product categories.
This is almost mirrored in the UK where EY reported that 72% of consumers mix online and in-store purchasing for major shopping events.
Globally, Bazaarvoice’s Shopper Experience Index 2022 found that 64% of shoppers have primarily used a hybrid method of shopping for the last six months.
Physical Retail Still Dominates For Certain Product Categories
Although e-commerce has been boosted by the pandemic, there are certain product categories that customers still opt to primarily buy in-store. Among these are grocery and household products.
In the second half of 2022, Morning Consult reported that globally 83% of consumers prefer to buy groceries and household goods offline.
Similarly, ENGINE found that 74% of US consumers prefer to buy everyday household items in-store in a recent study.
PYMNTS and Toshiba also reported that 76% of pharmacy shoppers in the US primarily buy in-store.