What is a B2B Ecommerce Platform?
B2B e-commerce platforms are making it easier for manufacturers to sell their products directly to other businesses. The platform offers a streamlined process that boosts effectiveness for different types of B2B vendors. Most of these platforms have inbuilt payment gateways and an already established community of customers.
B2B e-commerce platforms grew after the COVID pandemic, which forced people to rely on online shopping platforms during the lockdown period. In this guide, we will look at some of the significant features of a good B2B ecommerce platform.
User and Customer Experience
User or customer experience plays a huge factor when running an online business platform. Statistics show that most people access the internet using their smartphones or tablet. Furthermore, many users will leave a site if it loads slowly or has a poor UI (user interface).
You need to ensure that the B2B ecommerce platform is mobile-first. Ideally, the platform should be responsive so that it can be accessed via any device. Also, ensure that your site doesn’t have too many redirects and the colors are quite friendly.
Payment and Ordering Customizations
You need a B2B eCommerce platform that offers payment solutions on one page. Most B2B ecommerce sites target international or global clients. You need to make sure your platform supports different payment options.
Relying on third-party platforms for payment solutions may bring about too many redirects. Clients are always cautious when sharing their credit and personal information. You also need to ensure that the platform offers a variety of delivery options depending on the type of product they are buying.
Cloud-Native Support
Cloud computing is faster and more secure compared to using in-house or third-party hosting. It also offers better security, which is a plus since you will be handling plenty of sensitive data.
Most of the latest B2B ecommerce platforms such as Virto Commerce use either AWS (Amazon Web Services), IBM Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. These cloud-native services are cheaper and more reliable compared to hosting your site on third-party platforms or building a data center.
Headless vs. Conventional Platforms
Headless platforms are better and more flexible than conventional platforms. First, headless platforms are decoupled, meaning that the frontend and backend are built separately. The backend comprises the databases and other APIs necessary for boosting customer experience.
The frontend is the storefront and allows users to fetch results from the database. Headless platforms are easier to work on and update since developers can use different tech stacks.
Cost of the Platform
How much you’ll spend on a B2B ecommerce platform may vary depending on various factors. You can opt to use a free open-source platform and employ a team of developers to work on it or customize other features as needed.
However, you can also choose to spend cash on an already completed product. This means that you don’t need to hire developers as the support team will help you deploy and get your shop ready.
Wrapping Up
If you’re planning to set up an online business, you should find the best B2B ecommerce platform. You can consult an IT expert to help you with market research if you don’t have enough experience in tech.
