The Future of Digital Innovation is B2B Payments

Survey from Balance finds that 83% of B2B buyers consider a smooth payment and checkout experience a top priority

Data shows outdated payment processes are creating friction, cart abandonment, dissatisfaction

Balance, the leading B2B ecommerce payments platform offering the first modernized, online checkout for businesses, announced the results of a survey from 451 B2B buyers, including purchase managers, procurement managers, and C-level executives. MRM Commerce, the award-winning global digital commerce practice of MRM, partnered with Balance to provide their expert advice on the shifting ecommerce trends in the wake of a new era of digital commerce in B2B trade.

“Building on the explosive growth of B2C digital commerce revenues over the last 3 years, B2B digital commerce will see significant growth across categories in 2023. Businesses that prioritize their customer's complete digital commerce experience, from awareness through conversion, payment, and into loyalty and retention, will be the new winners. Balance provides a B2B customer-focused payments service that enables businesses to meet an important emerging customer need," said Dan Saltzman, VP Client Services at MRM Commerce.

The report, titled “The B2B Ecommerce Buyer Report,” details ecommerce payment preferences and expectations of business buyers.

While data shows B2B is behind B2C, like in all things ecommerce, as more B2B payment providers come to the space, businesses will have an opportunity to get ahead. With only 7% of the $120 trillion B2B payment volume conducted digitally today, growth starts by removing the friction notoriously associated with B2B and creating a smooth and fast purchasing experience for business buyers. In the absence of this, companies risk losing a seamless checkout process.

The report shows that the future of B2B will be about so much more than simply fulfilling a service. And when it comes to the payment stage, the expectations are high.

The report shows:

• More than 90% of business buyers stated that a poor checkout experience would have a negative impact on their likelihood to become a loyal ecommerce customer.
• Outdated processes are creating friction, as over 50% of buyers stated that slow or lengthy approval for payment terms would be the top reason to change to another supplier, followed by no digital invoicing options. This preference is a clear sign that the buy-now-pay-later-esque trend of B2C is making its way to the B2B checkout.
• A poor payments experience can lead to cart abandonment, as 73% of buyers admitted there is a likelihood that they would abandon the purchase if they encounter friction during checkout.
• The digital experience is top of mind, as over 83% of buyers stated that a smooth payment and checkout experience was a top priority when choosing a supplier e-commerce site to purchase from.
• B2B buyers want options, as not having the preferred payment methods at checkout is the number 1 reason enterprise buyers would switch to another ecommerce supplier site.

The report also shows that traditional industries like steel and lumber are especially sensitive to slow or lengthy net terms approvals. And, that often leads these kinds of companies to search for a new B2B ecommerce brand, 3x more than other reasons.

On the business side, companies are at different stages of maturity when it comes to developing and investing in the path to purchase. However, between the data, agency and platform investment and technology providers, all it takes is a commitment to discovering new growth, enabling new experiences, and having the vision to bring business transactions to the digital age.

Founded by ex PayPal’s Bar Geron, Balance serves hundreds of B2B marketplaces across industries including food and beverage, apparel, steel, lumber and chemicals. Balance offers a modern checkout experience with preferred B2B payment methods and digitized 30/60/90-day net terms.

Survey Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 451 purchase managers, procurement managers, purchasing clerks, agents, purchasers and C-level executives. This particular report covers B2B buyers in the US between 8.07.2022 – 16.07.2022. Respondents were screened for their part in the final decision-making process for buying products for their company.

About Balance

Founded in 2020 by PayPal alums Bar Geron and Yoni Shuster, Balance is the top B2B ecommerce payments company offering the first online checkout with omni-channel support built for businesses. With Balance, companies can process any payment method, offer flexible terms, and get paid instantly — all in one place. With offices in Tel Aviv and New York City, Balance has partnered with dozens of B2B merchants and marketplaces to shift traditionally offline industries like food, steel, chemicals and apparel to an ecommerce model that resembles B2C. Balance has over 300 merchants, marketplaces and customers combined, including notch, Everywhere Apparel, Bryzos, Felux, Vallourec and more, as well as partnerships with Shopify Plus, Fabric and Magento.

About MRM Commerce

MRM Commerce is an award-winning global digital commerce practice that is part of world class digital experience agency MRM. With 15+ years of commerce experience, MRM Commerce provides a full suite of strategy, technology, design, media and content capabilities. MRM is part of McCann Worldgroup and the Interpublic Group of companies (NYSE: IPG) and spans 35 offices across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.mrm.com/en/commerce.html.

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