Enesco Excites B2B Buyers With New eCommerce Sites

Suppliers across the world are often seen as slow to adopt digital ways, and many experts say that buyers are running out of patience with manufacturers’ lack of digital commerce offerings. But manufacturer Enesco is knocking down that reputation with not one, not two, but five new eCommerce websites to facilitate procurement for some of its largest brands.

In an announcement made Monday (April 20), Enesco said it will be working with eCommerce technology platform MarketLive to launch the new sites to service brands like Enesco Gifts and Department 56. The websites, the companies said, will all be hosted on MarketLive’s platform.

“Our company recognized that as our markets and customers have evolved, we needed to use the e-channel more effectively to keep, grow, and attract new customers,” said Enesco Corporate E-Channel Vice President Pam Schechtman.

According to Schechtman, the re-launch of these five sites was no small feat. The company had to sell thousands of product types across three brands to 20,000 retailers. “We needed to modernize our commerce experience choosing to look, feel and function more B2C than traditional B2B while allowing our customers to shop across our entire family of brands,” she said.

The strategy of offering a B2C-like online shopping experience to business customers is one that is gaining traction, finally, among suppliers, as their buyers vocalize their desire for a more Amazon-like procurement journey.

In partnering with MarketLive, Enesco said that it can now more easily, quickly and efficiently sell its products. Together, the firms also collaborated with DEPlabs to manage the five online commerce sites, the companies said.

While business shoppers are increasingly vocal about their demand for a better procurement experience online, research suggests that suppliers often miss the mark. Social media, for example, has been touted as the “next big thing” for B2B commerce, but surveys show that procurement officials instead prefer to turn to a supplier website to make their buying decisions. What’s more, often, they are left unsatisfied with the information available or the checkout experience offered by these sites, making Enesco’s efforts all the more relevant.