India is set to be the next big market for B2B eCommerce with large entrepreneurs pouring in resources to leverage it. Being one of the biggest economies in the world, India is set to enrich the B2B experience as well since huge investments are being made from the global players. The current GDP in India is $2.6 trillion and is set to reach $3 trillion by 2020. Out of this, $39 billion was contributed by the eCommerce market alone in 2017 and will reach $64 billion in 2020.
B2B eCommerce in India
Now coming to B2B eCommerce, 14 million users are fuelling the $525 billion market which will reach to become a $700+ billion industry. Investing in this sector is definitely a game-changer for online business owners. It is important to note that India has allowed 100% FDI on its soil for B2B eCommerce merchants – this will make interested business owners to establish B2B business on Indian grounds without paying for investment/establishment cost.
Factors that will Differentiate B2B and B2C Scenarios:
| B2C | B2B |
| Impulsive Purchase | Rational Buying |
| Pre-paid/Advanced Payments | Credit Payments |
| Lesser Transaction Values | Higher Transaction Values |
| Single Decision Maker | Multiple Decision Makers |
| Single Delivery (Once) | Multiple Deliveries (over a period) |
| Single Price | Quoted/Auctioned/Bargained Price |
The Drivers!
With the growing use of mobile phones and the global digitalization in progress, the B2B market in India is going to be propelled by app-based solutions which meet and cater to the demands; also, Machine Learning algorithms and the use of AI will be predominant in analyzing and identifying the customer behaviors – this will facilitate the further categorization for social media marketing and analytics which will give a clear picture of the current traffic and the ways to improve it. It will be of great importance to increase user penetration and reach to as many customers as possible.
The potent verticals to boom in the B2B industry in the coming years include Consumer Durables, Mobile Accessories, Apparels, Home Furnishing and Healthcare. This shows a lot about the pattern of B2B buyers there are. Core industries like construction and industrial supplies will gain progressive growth with time since development in those sectors is never-ending. It is important to note that core industries contribute to the overall GDP and are a part of a much larger picture.
source: Digital commerce 360
With persistent digitalization in the Indian technology industry and the supply chain ecosystem, users will adopt various methods to cater to their customers. B2B merchants – traders, manufacturers, wholesalers, etc. will show a rise in the adoption of mobile apps and other platform-driven ways to stick around and gain a competitive edge in the market – firstly, this will let the B2B users bring out their products in the market in a very short period of time; secondly, smaller, unrecognized brands will be able to sell their products due to the market demand. It is a matter of time when major and critical business processes will be solely managed by tiny applications on the phone! In the B2B market, India will thrive on the credit policies – giving credit payment options to the customers will drive more business as this will establish more trust and credibility.
With the growing transition in the B2B sector, eCommerce platforms like Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc. will also gain a rise in demand. However, not all platforms will provide integrated B2B solutions. Users will have to either upgrade or employ dedicated B2B solutions to move to B2B with ease.
In the fast-moving world of digital commerce, it is important merchants move to B2B eCommerce – the Next Big Thing!
Get started with your B2B eCommerce store and gain a competitive edge in the market!
