The B2B ecommerce market size was evaluated at $6.64 trillion in 2020 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 18.7% from 2021 to 2028.

business to business ecommerce market
Image source

So, it’s high time to take your business online to capture the attention of millennial B2B buyers and bring in more sales.

For this, you’ll need to choose a suitable platform that can back your B2B ecommerce site and help you run, manage, and scale your online store effectively.

In this article, I’ll help you evaluate which B2B ecommerce platforms that are most suitable for your business according to your budget and requirements. Keep reading!

[Also check out the best B2B marketing tools to grow your ecommerce business.]

Disclosure: This content may contain a few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).

What is a B2B Ecommerce Platform?

B2B stands for business to business and ecommerce is electronic commerce.

B2B ecommerce is the sale of goods between businesses through an online platform. 

Businesses are using ecommerce to branch out and find new customers. There are plenty of reasons businesses prefer to buy and sell online.

Buying online means orders are processed online, which removes a lot of people in the middle, saving time and money. It’s also easier to keep track of your orders online, instead of having to contact a company via phone or email about an order that hasn’t arrived yet.

Which Essential Features Should a B2B Ecommerce Platform Have?

While every B2B ecommerce platform has something unique to offer, there are a few features that most B2B ecommerce platforms have in common. 

These features are necessary to meet your B2B business needs and create a basic store.

Let’s take a look at the most essential features a B2B ecommerce platform should have.

User Access Restriction Options

B2B ecommerce businesses are more complex than B2C ecommerce businesses. Therefore, your ecommerce platform should allow you to restrict access to certain parts of the website on a user-to-user basis.

For example, if you sell to both B2B and B2C customers, your B2B ecommerce store should hide bulk pricing from B2C customers. Users should be able to access certain features only after they log in to their accounts.

This functionality will help you optimize your B2B shopping experience.

Custom Pricing, Order Placement, and Payment Options

Your B2B ecommerce platform should allow you to provide custom pricing, order placement, and payment options to your retail and wholesale customers.

You can also look for an option to customize shipping rates and quote for specific B2B buyers based on their loyalty, average order value, and long-term relationship.

As a B2B ecommerce business, the platform you pick should also facilitate bulk ordering for customers who demand a large number of products and often have a high order frequency. Make sure that your online store is ready to handle such orders smoothly.

Similarly, you may want to allow credit authorization to certain wholesale customers based on the total order value and their past purchase history.

User Experience Optimization Features

One thing that differentiates successful businesses from other businesses is the kind of user experience they deliver.

These days, B2B buyers expect to get B2C-like shopping experiences. You should find a platform that offers all the personalization options you need to gain complete control over your ecommerce site.

These features include:

  • Online store design templates with an intuitive user interface
  • Mobile responsive designs
  • Easy-to-use, built-in tools for lead capture forms, reward programs, custom branding, etc.
  • Built-in marketing tools and CRM integrations to attract and retain customers
  • Timely response with dedicated support

Along with features, you should also look at the cost of different ecommerce platforms before making the final choice.

How to Choose the Best B2B Ecommerce Software

Choosing the right B2B ecommerce platform will largely depend on the features you need. These features might be industry-specific, whilst others are universal.

Some examples are:

  • Physical products -These include physical items like books, cleaning supplies, or storage and handling equipment to name a few.
  • Services – These include healthcare coverage, legal help, writing, and graphic design.
  • Wholesale – This is the selling of large quantities of items to retailers.
  • Digital products – These include games, music, movies, e-books, online courses, and software licenses.
  • Subscription-based services – These are products and services that recur monthly or yearly. These products and services can be food, supplies, or even digital software.

There’s a large variety of different ecommerce shops that focus on B2B, and that is why you must get the right B2B ecommerce platform for your needs.

When choosing a platform, you need to know what your company will be selling. From there you need to make sure that the platform you choose supports what you’ll be doing.

This includes things like a checkout page, automatic invoicing, manual invoicing, private price list, and more.

What Are the Top 15 B2B Ecommerce Platforms for 2022?

Now that you know what to look for in a B2B ecommerce platform, let’s take a look at some of the best B2B ecommerce platforms for 2022.

I’ve put together the key features, pros, cons, and pricing details of each of them to help you evaluate and pick the right ecommerce platform for your B2B business.

1. BigCommerce

bigcommerce

BigCommerce is the leading SaaS ecommerce platform designed to transform your B2B shopping experience. It offers several advanced features that make it a good choice for hybrid businesses that cater to both B2B and B2C customers at the same time.

Key Features

  • Sleek site designs to accommodate large catalogs
  • An option to provide different price lists and catalogs to different customer groups. This feature is great for hybrid businesses which serve both B2B and B2C customers.
  • Customer segmentation features
  • Built-in tools for instant quote generation, user permissions, and reordering
  • Top-of-the-line DDoS security protection and PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance
  • Custom shipping rates and option to print shipping labels for B2B customers
  • Multi-storefront options

Pros

  • User-friendly storefronts
  • No transaction fee
  • Integrations with major order management system (OMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions
  • Flexible payment methods and credit authorization
  • Great SEO features
  • Automatically added volume discounts

Cons

  • Limited discount options
  • An annual threshold on online sales is implemented with each plan. Once your annual sales cross that amount, you’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive pricing plan.

Pricing Details

  • Try BigCommerce free for 15 days and then pick a plan.
  • Standard: $29.95/month (not suitable for B2B businesses)
  • Plus: $79.95/month
  • Pro: $299.95/month
  • Enterprise: Contact their sales team for custom pricing.

Also check out:

2. Shopify Plus

shopify plus

Shopify Plus is a version of Shopify that offers advanced selling capabilities to enterprises dealing in large volume orders. 

Its built-in functionality is good enough to set up a basic store but you can add more features to your B2B business website using other app integrations.

Key Features

  • Custom group discounts and pricing options
  • Custom storefront designs
  • Unlimited extensibility, integrations, and customization through Shopify apps and partners
  • Accelerated checkout process

Pros

  • Seamless user experience
  • Easy-to-use and less time-consuming solution
  • Various useful built-in tools for B2B ecommerce businesses
  • Supports more than 100 payment methods

Cons

  • Limited backend customization
  • Lack of multi-store support
  • Charges additional transaction fee if you don’t use Shopify Payments

Pricing Details

  • $2000/month for Shopify Plus plan (which is most suitable for B2B businesses)
  • You can also try using the Shopify plan for $79/month or the Advanced Shopify plan for $299/month.

You may also like to read my comparison post of BigCommerce vs. Shopify.Be sure to check out these Shopify alternatives as well.

3. SAP Commerce Cloud

sap commerce cloud

SAP Commerce Cloud is a comprehensive ecommerce platform for both B2B and B2C businesses. 

It offers features such as product bundles, multi-level versions, and much more to support any business model and help you easily scale your business.

Key Features

  • Robust product content and catalog management
  • Delivers hyper-personalized omnichannel experiences
  • Intuitive self-service account management capabilities
  • Credit management
  • Price quote requests
  • AI-powered merchandising
  • Powerful search capabilities
  • Multiple storefront support
  • Robust order management

Pros

  • One platform for any business model
  • Support for highly complex scenarios
  • Proven scalability and performance
  • Flexible built-in promotion capabilities
  • Effective analytics and reporting tools to help you optimize your store for greater conversions

Cons

  • Technical skills required to use this B2B ecommerce platform

Pricing Details

  • You need to contact their sales team for custom pricing.

4. Adobe Commerce

adobe commerce

Adobe Commerce, formerly Magento, is one of the best open-source B2B ecommerce platforms, which allows high scalability and great customization options. 

This reliable, cloud-based ecommerce platform comes with built-in B2B functionality which can help you increase customer engagement.

Key Features

  • User-friendly interface
  • Custom catalogs and price lists for different customer groups
  • Multi-channel selling capabilities
  • Allows your sales reps to do quoting and negotiations
  • Company accounts with multiple sub-users
  • Company credit limit options
  • Shared catalogs
  • Selling across multiple channels

Pros

  • Unified platform for both B2C and B2B ecommerce dealings
  • Easily integrate with existing backend systems
  • Robust business insights to optimize your site for conversions

Cons

  • Adobe Commerce is not for everyone. If you’re not tech savvy and don’t have an in-house team of developers, you should not choose Adobe Commerce as your B2B ecommerce platform.

Pricing Details

  • Adobe Commerce Pro: Contact their sales team for custom pricing.

5. Salesforce Commerce Cloud

salesforce commerce cloud

Salesforce is another cloud-based ecommerce platform, which mitigates the risk of losing data and increases accessibility.

It’s an engaging platform that offers self-service buying on all devices including mobile.

The included guided content is also a welcome surprise with an in-depth guide to setting up your ecommerce shop.

Key Features

  • Custom and branded storefront design
  • Advanced ordering capabilities
  • Multiple storefronts
  • Account-based pricing
  • Stock inventory management
  • Seamless integration of third-party apps and data

Pros

  • Seamless self-service buying experiences
  • Advanced B2B features such as custom catalogs, contract pricing, and account hierarchies
  • Powerful merchandising functionality
  • Advanced SEO and marketing tools

Cons

  • Smaller community support
  • Limited customization as the website will be managed by Salesforce

Pricing Details

  • Starts at $25 a month

6. PrestaShop

prestashop

PrestaShop is an open-source B2B ecommerce platform that helps you build an online store with a high level of personalization. You can pick a suitable theme with a mobile-friendly interface and use built-in customer support tools to sell online.

This platform is more appropriate for small-scale B2B businesses as it offers limited scalability options.

Key Features

  • Various customizable themes and add-ons
  • Product bundles
  • Minimum quantity purchase limit
  • Inventory management and tracking
  • Custom checkouts
  • Access to marketing reports and analytics
  • Global selling support

Pros

  • Easy downloading and installation
  • Minimum recurring cost

Cons

  • Limited scalability
  • Expensive add-on modules for advanced features

Pricing Details

  • It is a completely free solution with no monthly fees and no commissions.

7. NetSuite SuiteCommerce

netsuite suitecommerce

NetSuite SuiteCommerce is a B2B ecommerce software solution dedicated to empowering B2B sellers to enhance customer engagement and save time. 

This platform helps deliver B2B seamless experience for both suppliers and consumers.

Key Features

  • Pre-built mobile-optimized storefront designs
  • Allows buyers to request quotes and easily reorder items from past purchases
  • Custom product catalog options for different customer groups
  • Inventory and order management
  • Streamlined billing solutions with negotiated pricing and credit limits
  • Centralized repository of all customer data collected from various touchpoints
  • Account hierarchies and permissions

Pros

  • Account-based site restrictions
  • High-level security and PCI compliance
  • Helps you sell more with built-in business intelligence
  • Repeat and bulk ordering options
  • Numerous integrations with CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions

Cons

  • Complex solution
  • Lacks automation abilities required by large enterprises

Pricing Details

  • Contact their team for annual licensing fees and other cost details.

8. WooCommerce B2B

woocommerce b2b

WooCommerce B2B is an open-source B2B ecommere plugin that can help you turn your WordPress website into a successful online shop. It provides you with all the functionality needed to run a wholesale ecommerce business.

Key Features

  • Customer groups with specific rules
  • Personalized price lists for each customer group
  • Discounted prices by cart quantity
  • Option to hide an entire product category from a specific customer group

Pros

  • Hides prices from unregistered users
  • Allows users to request quotes
  • Converts your existing WordPress site into a functional B2B ecommerce store
  • Constantly updated with new features

Cons

  • You’ll need to use other WooCommerce plugins to add basic ecommerce functionality to your website.
  • Some themes are not that compatible to use with the plugin.

Pricing Details

  • Regular license: $69 (one-time payment)
  • Extended license: $149 (one-time payment)

You may also like to read:

9. OroCommerce

orocommerce

OroCommerce is a comprehensive B2B ecommerce platform built for distributors, manufacturers, brands, and wholesalers. 

This is one digital commerce platform that only serves business-to-business buyers and can, therefore, help you improve vendor management, sales pipelines, and more.

They have an excellent video explaining how OroCommerce works.

Key Features

  • Corporate account management
  • Access controls and account roles
  • Multiple price lists and shopping lists
  • Personalized B2B product catalog management
  • Inventory management
  • Customer segmentation and promotions management
  • Tax management

Pros

  • A B2B-centric ecommerce platform
  • Quick order form, order approval, and reordering options
  • Allows you to keep your ecommerce and ERP system in sync

Cons

  • Limited development availability and support

Pricing Details

  • OroCommerce Community Edition: Free download
  • OroCommerce Enterprise Edition: Contact their team for custom pricing.

10. Optimizely’s B2B Commerce Cloud

optimizely’s b2b commerce cloud

Optimizely’s B2B Commerce Cloud was built to help B2B businesses drive more sales with personalized experiences, data-driven recommendations, and built-in workflows.

Key Features

  • Custom quotations
  • Customer-specific pricing
  • Brand management
  • Product information management (PIM)
  • Workflows and approvals for B2B
  • Multi-site and multi-lingual management

Pros

  • Easy integrations with third-party apps, ERP systems, and CRM solutions
  • Fast loading speed
  • Easy content customization

Cons

  • Difficult to learn and use
  • Lack of guidance and support

Pricing Details

  • Contact their team for custom pricing.

11. OpenCart B2B Marketplace

opencart b2b marketplace

OpenCart is an excellent platform for businesses who are just starting out and don’t have a large budget.

OpenCart is completely free and is open-source. There are no fees or any subscriptions to use it.

If you’re looking for a more custom tailored experience, especially for B2B ecommerce, OpenCart has a Multi Vendor Marketplace add-on at a cost.

OpenCart comes complete with customer groups, separate seller product collections. It can also receive quote requests, respond to product query, and much more.

Key Features

  • Custom quotations
  • Customer-specific pricing
  • Receive quote requests
  • Product query response
  • Multi-site and multi-lingual management (multi-vendor extension)

Pros

  • Great for startups and small ecommerce businesses
  • Fast loading speed
  • Easy content customization

Cons

  • Some features are locked behind an extension
  • Support isn’t great

Pricing Details

  • Free but if you want the multi-vendor marketplace add-on costs $299

12. CS-Cart

cs-cart

CS-Cart promises that you can start your B2B ecommerce business within 3-months using their platform.

CS-Cart uses a modular architecture with clear code to make it easier and faster to develop.

CS-Cart works on desktops and mobile devices and has a large variety of courses for beginners to learn about B2B ecommerce platforms.

Key Features

  • Great support and community
  • Excellent support team
  • Easy to set up with clear coding
  • Works with most third party applications
  • Multi-site and multi-lingual management

Pros

  • Great community and support
  • Free and easy to use
  • Easy content customization

Cons

  • Can be difficult for beginners, but the courses will help

Pricing Details

  • Standard plan is $699 a year

13. PulseCommerce

pulsecommerce

PulseCommerce was designed with all ecommerce businesses in mind including B2C, B2B, and multi brand ecommerce websites.

PulseCommerce supports multiple languages and multi-brands. It comes with plenty of personalization options, advanced search capabilities and is SEO-friendly.

Key Features

  • Automatic order processing
  • Secure payment processing
  • Backorder management
  • Product information management (PIM)
  • Workflows and approvals for B2B
  • Multi-site and multi-lingual management

Pros

  • Easy integrations with third-party apps, ERP systems, and CRM solutions
  • SEO-friendly
  • Easy to set up

Cons

  • Not as customizable as other platforms

Pricing Details

  • Prices aren’t provided on the site. You can schedule a demo and a quotation through the website

14. Shift4Shop

shift4shops

Shift4Shop’s dashboard looks clean and straightforward. But during my testing, I found that its navigational menu is a little difficult to get the hang of.

It does have a great introductory video which helps a bit, but the clunky layout may make it difficult, especially for beginners.

Shift4Shop is free if you are based in the US, but other businesses will need to pay to use Shift4Shop.

Key Features

  • Offers over 100 different payment options
  • Customizable shipping costs
  • Zero transaction fees
  • Product information management (PIM)
  • Customizable product inventory page
  • Multi-site and multi-lingual management

Pros

  • An abundance of payment options for international customers
  • Great customization
  • Introductory video is great

Cons

  • Difficult to learn the complicated set up
  • Free plan is only for US-based websites

Pricing Details

  • If you’re outside the US, then the starting price is $29 to $200 a month. There’s also an enterprise plan that costs upwards of $2000 a month

15. Pepperi

pepperi

Pepperi is a B2B ecommerce platform that was designed from the get go to be just that.

Pepperi is very user-friendly and supports a large list of third-party applications.

It has a ton of customizable features that makes it another excellent B2B ecommrece platform for you to choose from.

Key Features

  • Intuitive design
  • You can customize profiles and designs for each buyer
  • Worldwide ready with foreign language support, currencies and shipping methods to boast
  • Trade promotions
  • Back office integrations
  • Excellent support

Pros

  • Web and mobile support
  • Great support team
  • Beautiful e-catalogs

Cons

  • Complicated integration and doesn’t support some plugins and applications

Pricing Details

  • Contact their team for custom pricing.

Comparison of top 10 B2B Ecommerce Platforms

Platform namePriceCustomer SupportPricing and catalogRestricted access controlVaried payment options
BigCommerceStarts at $29.95/monthAverageYesYesYes
Shopify PlusStarts at $79/monthExcellentYesYesYes
SAP Commerce cloudCustom priceGreatCustomer specific price listsYesYes
Adobe CommerceCustom priceExcellentCustomer specific price listsYesYes
Salesforce commerceStarts at $25/monthExcellentYesYesCountries where Apple Pay, Stripe and PayPal are accepted
PrestaShopFreeGreatYesYesYes
NetSuite SuiteCommerceCustom priceAverageYes with customer specific pricingYesYes
WooCommerce B2B$69 one-time paymentExcellentYesYesYes
OroCommerceFree/contact sales team for premiumGreatYesYesYes
Optimizely’s B2B CommerceCustom priceGreatYesYesYes

FAQs

1. How does ecommerce work for B2B?

B2B ecommerce involves online selling between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. 
 
Using the ecommerce landscape has helped B2B businesses improve efficiency and reduce costs.
 
B2B businesses can sell their products to businesses worldwide through online stores without any geographical limitations.

2. What are the different types of B2B ecommerce platforms?

B2B ecommerce platforms can be categorized into:
 
SaaS ecommerce platforms can be accessed using a subscription model. These platforms are hosted by a third party and provided to users on a per-month or annual subscription model. BigCommerce and Shopify Plus are two such examples.
– Open source platforms allow users to view, change, and distribute their source code. These platforms are developed collaboratively and allow heavy customization. Magento is one such platform.

3. What are examples of B2B ecommerce?

The largest and most famous B2B ecommerce example is Amazon. Amazon doesn’t only provide customers with products, but retailers can also get their supplies from Amazon, as well as companies that provide services that might acquire the products they need from Amazon.
 
GE or General Electric is another excellent example of a B2B business that has made good use of ecommerce business. They provide electrical equipment, aircraft engines, and even financial services.
 
A lot of their quotation work and marketing is done online through their social media channels and website.

Ready to Pick the Right B2B Ecommerce Platform for Your Business?

Now that you know what to look for in a B2B ecommerce platform and have read my detailed platform comparison guide, it’s time to pick one that you find most suitable for your business.

Do you have questions about growing your B2B ecommerce business? Feel free to discuss which ecommerce platforms to use, how to market your products, and much more with my team of experts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *