B2B retailers and brands take note: almost two thirds of business owners would be more inclined to buy products for their company from a multinational retailer, such as Amazon, over an independent online store.
This is one of the key findings from a survey of 1,000 business decision makers, conducted by leading full service e-commerce agency, PushON, which stated that the online retail giant was preferential due to its “solid reputation”.
For 50% of business owners, convenience came out as the top reason for shopping with a bigger online retailer, such as Amazon, for products including computer software, furniture and office supplies. And 55% believed the likes of Amazon offer greater choice than their independent counterparts.
When asked what would persuade them to buy from a smaller retailer over a retail giant, 40% of business owners stated expertise and the offer of solid advice and customer service support.
Secondary to this was improved online security for the reassurance of safe monetary transactions (37%) and a desire for small retailers to provide more in-depth product information, so more informed purchasing decisions can be made (35%).
The implementation of an online chat service for instant customer service was also top priority for 29% of business shoppers.
In support of this, 52% of business owners would buy their office supplies from a smaller online retailer if they had previously experienced a good level of service from them. Plus, 45% stated wanting to “support” smaller businesses when making business purchases if they were considered reliable.
“Amazon’s success hasn’t come about by accident, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that over 60% of business owners turn to the retail giant when making purchases for their businesses online. Though, it’s not all bad news for smaller online retailers. When looking at the results of our survey there are clear areas of the customer journey that can easily be improved to match or surpass Amazon’s offering. From building a strong reputation through user reviews, upgrading the checkout process so that it’s simple and secure, and implementing an online chat function for instant responses to customer queries, small online retailers can make incremental improvements to instigate big change to their business, and resulting sales.”
– Sam Rutley, managing director, PushON
Image: PushON
