Major events all around the world are being cancelled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including trade shows that are important for your business. Lockdowns are forcing shops and showrooms to close their doors. Within this situation, the Internet has become one of the ways to continue to do business.
A survey amongst our visitors shows that 82% of our B2B buyers now use the internet more than ever to source products. These results are being confirmed by the high increase in traffic on our marketplaces. Over the last six months, we have registered an increase of 69% compared to this time last year. The number of requests has also grown by 40%.
Still not convinced you should take your business online?
About 85% of shoppers begin their shopping journey on digital channels, according to the Shoppers-First Retailing report by Salesforce and Publicis.Sapient. This means that no matter where buyers end up making their purchase, their customer journey started online. This number is even higher if you include those that use the internet at a later stage of their buying journey.
So what do they use the internet for? Here are their main reasons for online sourcing:
- Getting information on prices and promotions
- Getting the contact details of the point of sale
- Obtaining specific information on products and services
- Ordering or reserving products online then picking them up in-store
- Geolocating the nearest seller
This means online presence is important for any commerce, including local sellers.
Your customers already know where to find you?
You might be an exclusive distributor for your brand. Or have your own website that your regular customers know how to find. Chances are they go directly to your website or those of your brands. With our marketplaces you can reach NEW customers and expand your customer base.
Many buyers with a real intention to purchase don’t know exactly which product or brand they need. They do have a precise idea of its characteristics and browse the internet looking for what is available on the market, using 3-4 keywords. Our marketplaces are well positioned for these specific searches. Once they are on our marketplaces, buyers can refine their search with additional filters, compare different brands and then, contact the nearest seller of the selected brand. And this could be you!
By defining your brands, products and sales zone with your free Professional Account, you can help them find you. All distributors on our marketplaces receive requests for brands that have chosen to add them to their sales network. By becoming a Partner Distributor, you can receive requests for all the brands you sell.
To end with one more number that will leave no doubt as to the importance of an online presence: 50% of buyers that make a qualified request on our website do end up buying that product for their project within 6 months.
