2021 eCommerce Trends

2021 eCommerce Trends

Businesses have faced many tests as a result of the pandemic, from supply shortages and disruptions, to sudden spikes in demand. For many though, the biggest change has been adapting to digital means to allow trading to continue throughout numerous lockdowns.

According to recent data by Ofcom, last year UK adults spent more than three and a half hours online each day – more than anywhere else in Europe.

As a result, online retail spend in the UK increased by 48% to an estimated £113bn, in comparison to an average annual increase of just 13% in the four years previous.

The B2B eCommerce industry is quickly changing and has seen remarkable growth as a result of many businesses digitising. But how has the changing industry adapted and what are the trends so far in 2021?

OroCommerce is the first and only open-source eCommerce platform in the UK for mid-market and large B2B commerce businesses. Here are the top B2B eCommerce trends for 2021 according to Yoav Kutner, CEO and co-founder of Oro, Inc.

Changing Demographics

Changing demographics drive the majority of B2B eCommerce trends, with millennials becoming more digitally savvy and responsible for making or influencing 60% of B2B buying decisions.

In today’s society, B2B customers have become accustomed to B2C eCommerce sites and often have high expectations of speed, performance and personalisation.

Buying Over Building

In the early days of B2B eCommerce, there were very few solutions available with limited functionality and customisation capabilities, which is why building home-grown custom solutions was a logical choice back then.

In 2021, many B2B companies are opting for an eCommerce platform with the ability to build a website using low-code SaaS platforms for a customised setup. This allows businesses to get the best of both worlds with maximum functionality and flexibility with less investment.

Yoav Kutner added: “It’s essential for businesses to make wiser technology decisions. This is something we experienced when building Oro. We chose to build our solution on Symfony instead of creating a completely new framework from scratch, which lets us leverage the power of the Symfony community and Symfony product.”

Explosion of Marketplaces

Marketplaces have been connecting buyers and sellers since the beginning of time and in 2021, B2B marketplaces are quickly following suit. The B2B marketplace saves time on research and comparison shopping, while simultaneously saving money, streamlining fulfillment, and providing buyers a sense of security.

It is predicted that 15% of medium-to-high-gross eCommerce brands will have deployed their own marketplaces by 2023, and 70% of all marketplaces launched by then will support B2B transactions.

OroMarketplace is the latest addition to the Oro suite of products and was created as a result of evolving trends and strategies in the industry. Yoav said: “At Oro, we saw the need for this solution for the B2B commerce market and leveraged the flexibility and powerful out-of-the-box features of our platform to build a marketplace management platform. One that’s uniquely positioned to address B2B marketplace pain points”

Growth of Self-Service

According to research by OroCommerce, 86% of customers prefer using self-service tools to order, reorder and check order statuses without contacting sales representatives. Similarly, B2B buyers already perform 57% of the purchase process prior to engaging with a live person, and this figure is continuing to increase throughout 2021.

Today, the B2B customer is demanding more from the self-service experience. They expect responsive interfaces and intuitive commands that save them time and money when ordering and reordering.

They also expect to view previous orders, manage negotiations and approvals without the need for human assistance.

Yoav Kutner said: “It’s important to understand the difference in purchasing behaviours between B2B and B2C buyers, but we need to ensure the experience for B2B is constantly evolving to keep up with industry expectations.

“At Oro, our features include ADA and WCAG compliant storefronts and right-to-left compatible storefronts, which were implemented way ahead of our competitors. It allows storefronts to be easy to navigate and purchase from, which is what many business buyers are looking for.”

Omnichannel Selling

Brands already offer customers a seamless omnichannel approach with eCommerce, in-store experiences and social media all working collaboratively. This strategy has been a top trend for B2B eCommerce in 2021 with businesses understanding the power of an omnichannel approach to center multiple sales channels and customer relationships.

As customers, many of us are familiar with omnichannel retail, where brands offer customers an uninterrupted experience from social media, through brick-and-mortar stores. These trends are slowly making their way towards B2B eCommerce, and brands are taking notice.

How to Stay in with eCommerce Trends 

Although eCommerce trends are ever-changing, it’s important to be dynamic in your approach to ensure your business thrives and your customers’ evolving needs are met.

That’s why platforms such as OroCommerce, with robust out-of-the-box B2B features and flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the market are a golden ratio between off-the-shelf eCommerce platforms and custom home-grown solutions.

For more information on how OroCommerce can help your business, click here.

About Oro, Inc.

Oro, Inc. offers a suite of open-source commerce applications: OroPlatform, OroCRM, and OroCommerce. OroCRM is a solution for multichannel companies, and OroCommerce, the only open-source eCommerce platform purpose-built for B2B companies. Oro’s founders previously founded Magento and have deep experience in the eCommerce industry. They include Yoav Kutner, CEO; Dima Soroka, Chief Technology Officer; and Roy Rubin, director of Oro’s advisory board. For more information on OroCommerce, click here.

Already established in the US, Oro, Inc recently launched its flagship platform OroCommerce in the UK. OroCommerce is the first and only open-source B2B eCommerce platform that’s been built from the ground up for mid-market and large commerce businesses.

OroCommerce has been recognised in the IDC MarketScape as a Major Player and by Gartner in its 2021 Market Guide for Marketplace Operation Applications.