Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketplaces Present New Opportunity for E-commerce
Depending on the definition of B2B e-commerce, which has a
few delivery models, there are multiple estimates as to its size, both globally
and in the United States. One assumption that seems generally accepted now is
that B2B e-commerce growth and size are exceeding consumer e-commerce.
The growth of e-commerce in general during the past few years in the U.S. was
chronicled by Mercator Advisory Group in a research report titled Mobile
Payments Platforms and Markets: How High Is Up?, released in March
2017. In that research, a 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about
20% was estimated for e-commerce from underlying U.S. government data.
The
methods and systems for delivering against B2C e-commerce demands have quickly
defaulted to the marketplace approach, thanks to the market leaders Amazon and
Alibaba, and to an extent we are now seeing a similar shift in the B2B space. So
disruption is certainly under way in the traditional distribution of B2B
commerce as it transitions to digital methods over the next 10 years. Whether
or not the financial services industry can position itself to capitalize on
this growth is an open question, however.
In this research report, B2B Marketplaces: Disruption Presents Opportunity, Mercator Advisory Group reviews the
nuances found in B2B e-commerce distribution methods in order to clarify the
differences between B2B and B2C. We also discuss the marketplace positioning
and preferences, which are especially important as workplace demographic shifts
continue to shape the landscape. Mercator then discusses where the financial
services industry can find some success in the burgeoning B2B marketplace space
via specific payments and lending opportunities.