B2B buyers now expect B2B experiences to align with the consumer experiences of their personal lives: quick, convenient, and personalized, according to a study by Zoovu. It, has unveiled the results of a B2B e-commerce study conducted by Forrester Consulting. The study involved over 400 executives from companies across North America and Europe, revealing a perceived 'broken' state of B2B e-commerce within their organisations.

The primary issue cited by 65% of the surveyed decision-makers was a lack of an effective product data strategy for making products available and discoverable online. A significant 83% of respondents reported that their product data was incomplete, inconsistent, inaccurate, unstructured, or outdated. Furthermore, 81% stated that an insufficient e-commerce platform amplified the problem of poor-quality data.

Only 44% of respondents said that their buyers have access to some form of self-discovery to evaluate products online. This is a significant concern, given that 83% of corporate revenue required some degree of human interaction, according to the respondents. A substantial 82% of respondents indicated their organisation needs a product discovery solution that works with highly configurable, complex products.

B2B executives ranked additional challenges with their existing platforms as customer frustration (35%), lower conversion rates (29%), increased cost of sales (28%), lost revenue (27%), and increased customer churn (25%).

Looking ahead to 2024, top initiatives for B2B businesses include providing more automated and personalised guidance to online buyers (80%), improving demand generation (75%), and improving the ability to collect and use zero-party data (73%). Nearly two-thirds of all respondents expect investing in an AI-driven, automated product discovery platform will drive large or transformational benefits.

A significant 79% of respondents are looking to AI to improve the customer experience, 74% are counting on AI to reduce the cost of sales and services, and 71% of executives are expecting AI to increase revenue. These findings underscore the growing reliance on AI to address the challenges and complexities of B2B e-commerce.