These six B2B ecommerce websites can help your business streamline workflows, increase customer satisfaction, and increase revenue generation. Online shopping is booming. Thanks to sophisticated ecommerce and advanced online payment systems, more and more customers are buying products and services online. But the growth of ecommerce hasn’t just changed the way individuals shop. It’s also changed the way business buyers receive their goods.

In the first quarter of 2023, online business-to-business (B2B) sales grew 8%, and by 2022, nearly two-thirds of B2B companies were offering online sales. Many online businesses are partnering with B2B ecommerce websites that have features specifically designed to streamline the buying process.

What is a business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce website?

A B2B e-commerce website is an online store that sells products, services, or information to business customers, expanding their customer base and reducing service costs. In other words, B2B e-commerce facilitates direct online transactions between two businesses, such as a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. This is different from transactions between businesses and consumers.

For example, if you run a small print shop that supplies signs and promotional products to other businesses, a B2B e-commerce platform can help you reduce barriers to purchase and increase revenue by allowing your business customers to place orders directly online.

B2B eCommerce website vs. Business-to-Consumer (B2C) website

B2B ecommerce websites deal with marketing and selling products between two businesses, while B2C (business-to-consumer) websites provide a way for businesses to sell directly to consumers.

Although B2B and B2C websites have different target audiences, they have some things in common. Both B2C and B2B ecommerce websites:

• It provides a user-friendly interface.
• It's SEO and conversion optimized.
• Provide detailed product descriptions and sufficient product data.
• Supports rewards programs and customer benefit coupons.
• We offer a variety of payment methods.

Because businesses have unique buying processes, quantity requirements, and expectations for their relationships with suppliers, B2B ecommerce websites need additional features to meet the needs of business customers. Standard B2B ecommerce features include contract pricing, bulk purchasing options, quote management, automatic record options, and shared shopping cart functionality. This allows you to:

Contract Pricing

Prices on B2C websites are usually the same for all customers and are mostly consistent, although prices may fluctuate occasionally. On the other hand, B2B ecommerce websites require advanced pricing features. Prices on B2B websites can vary based on customer agreements. For example, existing customers may receive discounts that are not available to new customers.

Some B2B ecommerce platforms offer built-in contract pricing capabilities, allowing you to segment your customers and offer different pricing tiers for different customer groups.

Bulk Purchase Options

Businesses often need to buy in bulk. A good B2B website will make it easy for customers to place bulk orders and add a bulk-based (or wholesale) pricing feature that automatically adjusts prices based on quantity. For example, for custom-colored socks, there may be a bulk discount where the more socks you buy, the lower the price per pair.

Auto reorder option

Businesses often need repeat orders as well as bulk orders. For example, let's say your e-commerce business supplies zippers and buttons to tailors. In this case, customers can expect automatic reorders every six months without having to re-specify what they need each time.

Allowing your business customers to automatically reorder through your online store saves time, reduces customer churn, and helps generate revenue.

Share Cart

B2C and B2B ecommerce websites offer two different buying processes. The B2C buying process is relatively simple—the customer sees a handmade clog and buys it, but the B2B buying process is more complex. The business customer’s buying decision is often collaborative and may require multiple parties to review before final approval.

A shared shopping cart feature on a B2B ecommerce website and an in-platform approval workflow make it easy for business customers to plan, review, approve, and complete a purchase.

Quote Management

Another important function of the B2B purchasing process is the request for quotation (RFQ). Rather than making a purchase decision based on price, many businesses request quotations that reflect their individual contract requirements. A company can submit RFQs to multiple suppliers before selecting a supplier.

B2B ecommerce websites may include an online quote generator or RFQ submission option that allows customers to request quotes for products or services. Many platforms provide the ability to receive and respond to RFQs.

6 Popular B2B Ecommerce Websites

It is important to choose the right B2B eCommerce website platform based on your business model, target audience, technology budget, and the features and integrations you require. The following five sites are popular with small business owners due to their flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and range of services:

1. Shopify

Shopify Plus allows users to sell to both consumer and wholesale accounts from the same store. This provides unique customization for each customer, allowing wholesale customers to have an experience tailored to their needs and pricing.

Shopify Plus had all the features Brooklinen was looking for when they decided to expand into business-to-business (B2B) sales after successfully running direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. It allowed them to create a seamless B2B experience similar to their DTC offering.

Shopify Plus offers the following features:

• Customized customer profiles with unique checkout flows for each customer
• Ability to set up custom price lists for different buyers or accounts
• Nearly limitless customization and extensibility via the Shopify App Store
• Payment terms can be set for each account

2. Alibaba

Alibaba is an online marketplace and B2B e-commerce website headquartered in China. Alibaba provides raw materials and finished products to buyers in various industries.

Alibaba is a frequent choice for small and medium-sized businesses that sell to overseas markets and engage in cross-border transactions.

Alibaba offers sellers a free product listing for 30 days and offers product pages to members. B2B sellers can choose between Standard, Extended, or Premium plans, with higher plans offering more keyword advertising spend and enhanced account management services.

Alibaba also offers premium add-ons like Gold and Certified Suppliers, which allow for 10 and 40 product showcases respectively, and also include additional services like R&D support and quality control.

Alibaba's membership fee is $3,500 per year and includes the following features:

• Unlimited Product Posting
• Online store
• Analytics Dashboard
• Built-in CRM
• Keyword data
• Quotation Acceptance and Response Function
• Setting wholesale prices

3. Amazon Business

Amazon is an online marketplace and the largest e-commerce platform in the United States. The Amazon site receives more than 2.3 billion visits per month , and Amazon Business has 1 million customer accounts, more than 150,000 sellers, and annual sales of more than $10 billion.

Amazon Business is the B2B side of Amazon, offering multi-user accounts, authorization options, and bill payment capabilities. Like Alibaba, Amazon offers products and online stores for a variety of industries.

Amazon Business Prime Duo is free for one account if you already have a personal Prime membership. Amazon Essentials costs $179 per year for up to three users, while Small, Medium, and Enterprise plans cost $499, $1,299, and $10,099 per year, respectively. Higher plans offer more user accounts and features.

The plan includes the following features:

• Paying bills
• Approval Workflow
• Multi-user accounts
• Customer Group
• Implementation Network
• Online store
• Setting wholesale prices
• Virtual Dashboard and Product Data Analytics
• Quotation Acceptance and Response Function
• Automatic reordering feature

4. Mercateo

Mercateo is an e-commerce procurement platform that sells products from verified suppliers. It is headquartered in Munich, Germany and is not currently available to US businesses or sellers.

Unlike marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba, Mercateo allows businesses to sell their products by directly connecting their supplier catalogs to a centralized interface, rather than setting up their own B2B storefronts.

Mercateo offers the following features:

• Free Supplier Membership
• No seller ranking
• Business Only Contract Pricing
• Single Creditor Option
• Analysis and reporting capabilities

5. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open source e-commerce platform and commerce plugin for WordPress websites.

WooCommerce supports online stores, offers mobile apps, and accepts multiple payment methods. Unlike Amazon Business and Alibaba, WooCommerce does not host individual stores within a large marketplace, but integrates with WordPress to create a separate online store.

WooCommerce is an open source platform, and the basic plugin is free. The B2B extension costs $149 per year. WooCommerce B2B offers the following features:

• Customer Group
• Volume based discounts
• Wholesale price
• RFQ (Request for Quotation) feature
• Advanced Tax Management
• Delivery Management
• WordPress Integration
• Auto reorder

6. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento)

Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) is an open source e-commerce platform, like WooCommerce. The platform offers a variety of products and services, including an online store, inventory management, and logistics support.

Adobe Commerce’s B2B-focused offerings include:

• Company Accounts and Customer Groups
• Self-service customer portal
• Purchasing Workflow
• RFQ (Request for Quotation) feature
• Deferred Payment Options
• Advanced Analytics
• Automatic reordering through extensions

B2B ecommerce websites FAQ