CHICAGO – According to Acquity Group, reporting the findings of its 2013 State of B2B Procurement Study, which surveyed corporate buyers with annual budgets in excess of $100,000 on their purchasing habits and preferences, Gen Y buyers are more likely to shop online than their older counterparts, with a consistent trend of online purchase increasing in younger generations.
Younger Buyers Research Online
|
Younger Buyers Shop More Online |
|
|
Buyer Age |
% Making Company Purchases Online |
|
Age 18-35 |
90% |
|
36-45 |
68% |
|
46-60 |
45% |
|
60+ |
29% |
|
Source: Acquity Group, June 2013 |
|
The study also showed that younger buyers research more before purchasing than their older counterparts:
- Those over the age of 60 were most likely to research before purchasing less than 10% of the time; those 26-45 were most likely to research before purchasing 50% of the time or more
- Buyers under age 60 spend one to two hours researching before making a major purchase of $5,000 or more; buyers over the age of 60 spend 30 minutes or less on research prior to making a major purchase
Robert Barr, Senior Vice President at Acquity Group, opines that “… the significant difference between age groups in time spent researching… a reflection of experience and expectation of substantially more robust content…younger buyers… attuned to the online shopping… less familiar with options in B2B ecommerce… spend longer doing research across sites… when information on the supplier’s website… (not)readily available…”
Easier Websites Equal Easier Research
70% of B2B buyers surveyed said that the amount of budget spent electronically would increase if it were easier and more convenient to browse and purchase items directly from suppliers and their websites…
|
Purchase Directly If More Convenient (% of Respondents) |
|
|
Degree of Support |
% of Respondents |
|
Strongly agree |
24% |
|
Agree |
46 |
|
Disagree |
25 |
|
Strongly disagree |
5 |
|
Source: B2B Procurement Study, Acquity Group, June 2013 |
|
Launched in April 2012, Amazon Supply is gaining traction among business buyers, says the report. 63% of buyers age 18-35 have purchased from Amazon Supply at least once, and 40% purchase frequently from Amazon Supply.
|
Use Amazon Supply To Make A Purchase |
|
|
Frequency of Use |
% of Respondents |
|
Frequently |
25% |
|
Once or twice |
20 |
|
Considered it |
10 |
|
Have not considered, but aware |
11 |
|
Unaware of Amazon Supply |
34 |
|
Source: B2B Procurement Study, Acquity Group, June 2013 |
|
Barr continues, “… next generation of B2B buyers… expects… easy-to-use and highly-targeted online experience… most suppliers don’t offer capabilities comparable to familiar consumer sites… B2B suppliers must have an online presence that promotes familiarity and research capabilities… “
The study surveyed 207 buyers with annual procurement budgets of $100,000 or more across a wide range of industries. The survey analyzed buyer behavior and preferences including research habits, loyalty trends, purchasing frequency and channel, and customer service needs, as well as feature and offering preferences. Response percentages were evaluated on a quantitative scale to assess actionable metrics for B2B companies.
Article by Jack Loechner – Originally published on MediaPost
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