Survey: B2C Retailers share lessons learned with upstart B2B merchants - search and email drive transactions

Episerver, a global software provider for innovative eCommerce and digital marketing solutions, released the findings of a survey of retailers conducted by the company at the recent Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE 2014).  The key finding from the survey was that nearly two-thirds said that a very small part of their business sales come through mobile transactions, yet mobile ranked as the number one priority in regards to future investments for those surveyed.    

Of the more than 100 organizations surveyed, findings revealed that:

• 93% percent of those surveyed said that transactions are made through their website rather than their social site, however social ranked third in terms of future investment areas for those surveyed
• 57 said that they plan on investing in mobile in the future. Though that number is up 18% from 2013, in a similar survey Episerver conducted at IRCE 2013, research within the study suggests that while investments are being made in mobile, transactions are still occurring through traditional channels.
• 52 said that between 20 to 60 percent of their business sales come through their website.
• Both B2B and B2C companies understand the potential of social and mobile platforms but have yet to determine how to leverage these channels noted by only 28 of those surveyed feeling as if they’ve mastered mobile.

“Consumers transact in channels where they are comfortable, on a traditional website, but, they explore the other channels regularly and look at social, mobile, and search to support their decision making process,” said Bob Egner, VP of Product Management. “While companies have yet to master certain channels they should not underestimate the power of content in reaching an eCommerce transaction. Consumers want to make informed decisions and have that decision validated. Make sure to qualify the transaction before it happens because in this day and age, consumers fully expect supportive content in any and every channel, in any screen at that moment.”

As customer demands increase, organizations across industries are required to connect with their consumers through multiple channels. The pace at which enterprises must keep up with and cater to the needs and requests of their buyers to make sales and drive purchase decisions is rapidly increasing and organizations have to invest in what may be the “next big platform.”

Episerver conducted a survey of CEOs, Vice Presidents, Directors and e-commerce Managers at more than 100 organizations including retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, catalogers, web-only merchants and local retailers. 

The full report of survey statistics can be found here: http://www.Episerver.com/ecomm14