The State of B2B eCommerce [Infographic]

As digital technology continues to advance, eCommerce retailers are forced to enhance their services to stay competitive. Specifically, B2B eCommerce, which is focused on selling your product or services to other companies, has begun to trump B2C eCommerce which is focused on selling your product or service to consumers by becoming a much larger overall market.
 

 
By 2020, global B2B eCommerce is expected to have doubled the size of the B2C market. Forrester Research predicts that the B2B market will reach a high of 6.7 trillion while the B2C market will only reach 3.2 trillion by the year 2020.
China is predicted to dominate the space reaching 2.1 trillion in B2B sales by 2020. As for the United States, Forrester Research envisions the B2B eCommerce market to reach $780 billion in sales by the end of 2015, producing 9.3% of total B2B sales. By 2020, researchers state that B2B eCommerce will reach an estimated $1 trillion and produce 12% of all B2B sales in the United States.
Surprisingly, the top three hundred B2B eCommerce sites have brought in a whopping $547.11 trillion dollars a vast majority of all B2B eCommerce business. Last year in 2014, they racked in $482.79 trillion dollars, resulting in a 13.3% annual growth rate. ExxonMobil Corp., whom has an outstanding history with the oil and gas industry holds the spot as the top B2B eCommerce business in the United States having brought in 43.49 billion dollars online. Chevron Corp. where it is their goal to produce energy that drives human progress comes in second, at 22.33 billion dollars. In third place, comes the millennial-favorite, Apple Inc. which brought in 21.93 billion dollars. Apple’s online sales continue to grow at a typical steady eCommerce rate.
In order to maintain this vast growth rate, B2B eCommerce has to evolve in accordance with the most recent industry trends, including:
Infrastructure:
Prior to the creation of modern tools and technology, it took an abundance of time and effort to create an eCommerce platform. Back-end infrastructure has taken great leaps to make it easy for B2B companies to rapidly build platforms to meet consumer’s demands. Major B2B eCommerce platforms are at the forefront of B2B eCommerce such as:

Mobility:
Mobility is transforming every enterprise. In today’s mobile dependent society, it is essential that B2B services employ a mobile option. This will increase online buying by making it easy for companies to purchase goods anywhere, at any time. Also, reports say that more than half of companies will stop publishing print catalogs and change to online mobile catalogs. As mobile is playing a significant role in B2B eCommerce sales, keep in mind that it’s simply not enough to just offer a mobile version of your site. Your user experience and design should be at the top of your list of things to consider for your mobile site. Remember, visual appeal and simple navigation are crucial to a smooth customer experience.
Customization:
Today, technology is constantly improving which only means that it’s becoming easier to help manufacturers to offer customized solutions while making it easier for them to also manage those services. Companies in todays B2B eCommerce climate that provide these customized solutions will gain more traction.
Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews are essential when it comes to making a purchase. Today, 88% of buyers will read customer reviews prior to purchasing a product. These have shown to have a tremendous impact on whether or not a consumer moves forward with purchasing the product.