The international expert in CRM, Salesforce, has just released its study State of Commercebased on the opinions of more than 4,000 trade professionals from 25 countries, including Spain, as well as the analysis of the purchase data of more than 1,000 million customers from 54 countries.
It also delves into the methods used by B2B and B2C companies to adapt to a digital-first customer engagement landscape.
Below, we review some of the conclusions of this report:
Digital sales channels are in full expansion
Globally, sales on the company’s own website grew by 44% between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2022 in B2C companies, and 95% in B2B companies. But e-commerce websites are the tip of the iceberg, as sellers rush to meet customer expectations for new shopping options.
The Spanish professionals who have participated in the study hope that 50% of your billing comes from digital channels in the next two years. 69% of respondents indicate that they have invested in new digital channels in recent years, including mobile applications, marketplaces and social networks.
Demand grows in the online B2B market
The estimated percentage of the income of digital channels for B2B sellers is currently in a 40%, while two years ago that percentage was 28% and it is expected to grow to 52% in another two years. 57% of managers consider that digital channels will contribute more than half of the income in this type of business activity.
Marketplace expansion
More than a third of B2B sellers (33% of those surveyed) indicate that the launch of their own marketplace (in which they will not only sell their products, but also those of other companies) is a priority for the coming years.
Investing in automation is putting data to work
With the economic situation conditioned by inflation -and third-party cookies depreciated-, commercial organizations are focused on putting customer data to work in order to drive efficiency and profitability. For 48% of the Spanish professionals who participated in the study, automation will be a priority in the next two years.
The post-purchase experience is key to customer satisfaction
86% of consumers consider that the experience is as important as the products or services and the expectation is a consistent experience between the different points of contact with the company. When choosing between brands, 54% of business buyers and 51% of consumers prioritize convenience. Additionally, 51% of B2B shoppers say they use different options, like curbside pickup, more than a year ago, and 55% expect to use these options more in the next three years.
Integration of digital and physical commerce
Investment in e-commerce benefits the sales team; 47% of digital leaders indicate that sales teams act more as “advisors” to the sales process as a result.
Alternative payment methods are consolidated
A wide diversification of payment methods is expected for the coming years. Meanwhile, the digital wallets and installment payment plans they are experiencing a huge boost. 71% of the Spanish companies participating in the study accept at least one mobile payment option to make the purchase. Globally, 61% of digital leaders indicate that they already offer methods such as BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later). PayPal represents 80% of payments when they are in the “mobile wallet” mode.
Growth of headless architecture
Companies that have this type of architecture, which makes it possible to separate the front-end and back-end developmentare more likely to expand into new channels (77%), compared to those that do not have this type of architecture (54%).
“We are at a turning point in the development and maturation of electronic commerce throughout the world and in Spain”, explained Enrique Mazón, Vice President of Commerce Cloud at Salesforce Iberia. “After the strong expansion of recent years, the focus of sellers today is on getting to know the customer better with investments in a first party data strategy. Offering you a personalized and unified experience on all channels (physical and digital), digitizing the physical store and turning it into a distribution center, optimizing product supply processes, and complementing the assortment with third-party products/services is essential.”.
