Which B2B eCommerce platform is best suited for your business? While most of the public’s attention is focused on retail or B2C eCommerce, B2B eCommerce is gaining a lot of attention. Plus, experts already estimate that the global value of the B2B eCommerce market is over 12 trillion dollars. This figure is over six times higher than the estimated value of the B2C eCommerce market.
If your business wants to succeed in the lucrative B2B eCommerce market, it needs a mobile app, website, and eCommerce platform specifically designed for the B2B business model. Don’t make the mistake of thinking all B2B eCommerce platforms are created equal. There might not be a single best eCommerce platform for B2B online stores, but your business can find the right eCommerce platform that meets the needs of your operations and wholesale customers.
This post will review some of the top eCommerce platforms for B2B sales. You might recognize some of the eCommerce platforms on this list because many of the leading platforms offer solutions for B2C and B2B businesses. To find the best eCommerce platform for your business, clearly define the needs of your organization and choose the eCommerce software that meets them the most.
The Top B2B eCommerce Platforms
B2C and B2B selling overlap in many ways. Whether selling to individuals or wholesale customers, your business needs to build lasting relationships with its target audience and existing customers. To do this, you need to create a first-class User Experience and maximize insights from data analytics. Many eCommerce platforms will offer similar tools and capabilities, but it is vital to look closely at each of the top platforms to find the one that best meets your needs. The B2B eCommerce platforms we will review here include:
- Shopify Plus
- WooCommerce
- OpenCart
- Magento
- BigCommerce
Shopify Plus
Shopify has long been one of the top eCommerce platform choices for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Shopify Plus combines all of the features that made Shopify one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world, with premium features designed for high-volume sellers. Shopify Plus might be the most comprehensive B2B eCommerce solution on the market.
Businesses love Shopify Plus because it is highly customizable, integrates seamlessly with most ERP and CRM software, supports over 100 payment providers and all international currencies, and allows businesses to manage B2B and B2C sales from the same platform. If your business wants to deliver an exceptional User Experience, a Shopify Plus Partner can help you add customizations that other eCommerce platforms cannot easily match.
As a result, Shopify Plus is one of the most widely used B2B eCommerce platforms globally. The Shopify Plus platform powers over one million online stores. Some of the largest brands in the world trust their B2B eCommerce to Shopify Plus, including Adidas, Tesla, Nestle, and Pepsi.
Top features of Shopify Plus:
- A powerful eCommerce platform that can process up to 8000 orders a minute
- Thousands of apps and a rich community of Shopify Plus Partners
- Manage 20 sales channels from a single dashboard
- Advanced custom pricing
- Dedicated storefronts
WooCommerce
Does your business love using WordPress? WooCommerce is the top B2B eCommerce platform for WordPress websites. WooCommerce is typically installed as a plugin on WordPress websites. WooCommerce’s B2B eCommerce plugin is the only plugin WordPress users need to install to access a suite of rich eCommerce features.
WooCommerce offers organizations a high degree of flexibility. Plus, thanks to its close relationship with WordPress, creating, launching, and managing a WooCommerce B2B eCommerce store is simple. This eCommerce platform also comes loaded with optimization tools to help your business rank higher and earn more sales.
Top features of WooCommerce:
- Many checkout options
- Large support community
- A large library of extensions and add-ons
- Highly scalable
- Open-source flexibility
OpenCart
OpenCart is one of the most popular B2B eCommerce platforms globally because it is open-source and free to use. Your organization will be hard-pressed to find another eCommerce platform with as many features and capabilities for free. OpenCart provides everything an organization needs to run an online store. From powerful SEO tools to an expansive library of extensions and themes, OpenCart has many features and capabilities that other eCommerce platforms charge for.
Reach global wholesale customers through marketplaces like Alibaba. OpenCart’s B2B multi-channel marketplace gives organizations access to the world’s largest marketplace platforms. Manage all of your listings from one dashboard. While the OpenCart platform is entirely free, extensions and themes might incur a fee.
Top features of OpenCart:
- Quality free support services
- Built-in SEO tools and features
- Open-source and free
- An extensive amount of extensions and themes
- Powerful store management features and tools
Magento
Magento is a popular eCommerce platform that offers B2C and B2B selling capabilities. Magento works well for businesses of all sizes. Some of the strong selling points associated with Magento are easy installation, minimal maintenance, excellent features, and superb total cost of ownership value.
This eCommerce platform gives your B2B customers the ability to self-manage their accounts with your business. Allow your customers to track quotes, manage their credit, and view detailed ordering history without having to contact your support staff. The Magento Commerce platform was designed specifically for businesses. Magento does lack some of the top-tier integration features that other top eCommerce platforms have. Plus, this platform can be pricey for small-volume B2B sales.
Top features of Magento:
- Extensive B2B features and functionality
- Custom pricing
- A great shopping experience for users
- Reliable cloud-based performance
- Powerful reporting and analytics tools
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is likely the most integration-friendly eCommerce platform included on this list. The BigCommerce platform has every tool your business needs to get up and to run efficiently. It doesn’t matter if you are a small business or a large enterprise; BigCommerce offers a comprehensive set of tools and features to help your online store get running and integrated with your other business tools.
In addition to powerful tools and seamless integrations, BigCommerce offers organizations PCI DSS support to help your business ensure it is protecting sensitive customer financial data. BigCommerce also offers quote builders. Design a quote builder to give your customers a detailed product or service quote 24/7/.
Top features of BigCommerce:
- Simple subscription and reordering features
- B2B specific payment options
- Quote builder
- Seamless integrations with other business tools (ERP, CRM, etc.)
- Advanced shipping options
Final Thoughts
These are just a few of the top eCommerce platforms popular with B2B businesses. There are several other great choices for B2B organizations as well. If you’re having difficulty determining which eCommerce platform is the right fit for your business, reach out to our experts. An experienced eCommerce partner will help your business define its needs and determine which B2B eCommerce platform is the right fit.
