The global B2B market is big business, no doubt. But new research emerging reveals just how big that market will be in only a matter of a few years. New analysis from Forrester released Thursday (April 2) found that B2B eCommerce sales alone will reach a valuation of $1 trillion by 2020.
That figure compares with the current B2C eCommerce market, which is estimated to be worth $304.9 billion last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce found. That is small change compared to the B2B sector. B2B sales are expected to hit $780 billion by the end of this year, more than double the B2C market. Forrester predicts that the market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent over the next several years.
When broken down by industry, Forrester revealed that the petroleum B2B market will experience the largest growth and account for the largest portion of sales volume over the next five years.
According to researchers, B2B procurement officials’ shift in buying habits is fueling this growth. The majority of buyers research products and services online, and studies show that buyers desire the same online commerce experience they encounter when they shop as an individual customer. That means businesses today are investing more than ever into digitizing their sales.
Forrester’s research follows only days after eCommerce giant Alibaba made headlines for its B2B strategy. According to reports, Alibaba founder Jack Ma met with India’s Prime Minister to discuss trade between the nations. Sources said that Ma gave his support to the B2B eCommerce market for their nations, compared with the B2C model.
Earlier research from Frost & Sullivan predicted that B2B payments as a whole would top $6.7 trillion by 2020.
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