Welcome to the second edition of Wunderman Thompson Commerce’s B2B Future Shopper report.

Based squarely on the opinions of professional buyers, this report presents an in-depth look at attitudes, opinions and habits on the client-side of purchasing supply chains – insights that are invaluable to suppliers seeking to gain maximum traction in their markets. It is based on a survey of 604 B2B buyers, including purchase managers, procurement managers, purchasing clerks, agents and C-level executives.

In this report, we present our findings from the UK, US and China. With questions covering habits and preferences at every stage of the B2B purchasing journey, from seeking ideas and inspiration to confirming the order, the survey data offers a ‘big picture’ view covering channel choices, technology, purchasing pain-points and desired solutions.

Given the times we are living in, we also present our findings very much in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, looking at how the experiences of 2020 and 2021 have shaped and changed B2B markets, and what the prospects for a post-pandemic future look like.

As our findings will draw out, omni-channel is the name of the game – with buyers wanting the best options to deliver the best possible experience for their needs, which often involves a fluid blend of channels, but with variances across geographies and business sizes. Notably, we also picked up on a growing appetite for more B2C experience to be blended into B2B.

These differences contribute to making B2B markets rich and complex places where, as far as the purchasing experiences suppliers provide goes, one size can no longer be assumed to fit all.

We hope you enjoy reading the report and enjoy developing your B2B strategies.