• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 1, 2022

Small businesses are struggling to pay the rent: delinquency rose by 2% to 28% over the past three months versus the prior three, largely due to skyrocketing rents, according to a study by Alignable. 

No wonder, then, that SMBs have been steadily moving online — at least those that serve B2B clients. 

By December 2021, 52% of wholesalers were engaged in ecommerce,  up from 43% in 2020 and 39% in 2019, according to the U.S. Small and Medium Business Survey from B2B platform Alibaba.com. The biggest increases--56% apiece--were seen in the retail trade and arts & entertainment sectors, although those sound more like B2C sectors. 

Moreover, 47% of all B2B transactions are now conducted online. 

And B2B owners are feeling good — 74% are confident about the economy, and 40% are very confident. Digital firms are even more upbeat — 62% are very bullish, versus 42% of non-digitized businesses. 

Thus buoyed, digital businesses are more likely to plan increases for the following. The percentages in parentheses are for non-digitized firms:

• Marketing and advertising channels and tactics — 51% (versus 31% for non-digital firms)
• Investing in tech infrastructure (e.g., ecommerce, software, data management — 51% (38%)
• Marketing spend — 49% (28%)
• Capital investment — 48% 32%) 
• Number of full-time employees — 32%
• Attending trade shows and in-person events — 40% (24%)
• ESG efforts — 40% (15%)

That leap in marketing spend is bound to trickle down to email departments, given the huge role they plan in ecommerce. So are the channel and tech investments. 

Problems remain. Of the respondents who lack confidence in the economy, 62% have suffered from supply-chain disruptions and 33% saw decreased profits in 2021. Only 25% of the very confident experienced supply problems, and 19% reduced profits.

Indeed, the research proves that “getting digital is critical to success, with digitized businesses far outperforming in sales, exports, and investments versus those still operating offline using analog tools and processes,” states John Caplan, president of North America and Europe for Alibaba.com. 

In general, B2B marketers expect these numbers to increase in 2022:

They expect these numbers to increase in 2022: 

• Online sales — 56%
• Marketing and advertising channels and tactics — 49%
• Investing in tech infrastructure (e.g., ecommerce, software, data management) — 49%
• Sourcing domestically — 48%
• Marketing spend — 47%
• Sourcing online via ecommerce platforms — 47%
• Number of full-time employees—46%
• Capital investments — 46%
• Offline/brick-and-mortar sales — 41%
• Attending trade shows and in-person events — 38%
• ESG efforts — 37%  

Alibaba.com surveyed 2,401 decision makers at U.S. B2B companies with 500 employees or less from December 6-21, 2021.