Consumers changed several behaviors during the pandemic. For one, 30% spent more time reading and writing emails. For another, 39% increased their online shopping, according to State of
Commerce, a study released Wednesday by Salesforce.
In addition, 54% spent more time browsing the internet and 45% spent more time using social media. And 45% did more watching
and streaming of videos.
B2C ecommerce -- estimated at 14.1% of total global retail sales in 2019 -- is forecast to reach 22% by 2023.
Of those polled,
60% of B2C commerce professionals adopted new channels within the past two years. Still, only 41% of brands feel completely prepared to handle emerging channels.
The study
divides firms by three levels of online competence:
- High performers — 35%
- Moderate performers — 55%
- Underperformers — 10%
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At the highest level, 66% of brands are replacing in-store experiences with digital ones. And 56% overall expect the majority of their
revenue to come from digital channels within the next three years.
And, B2C leaders say these investment priorities are important or very much so:
Social media presence
— 55%
Brick-and-mortar stores/physical presence — 42%
Website presence — 56%
Marketplaces — 46%
Of the high performers, 95% report they are
successful with social commerce, and 71% report they are very successful. In contrast, 81% of moderate performers report success, only 16% at the top level.
Moreover,
brands saw 90% growth in global contactless payment use YoY. And there was 76% revenue growth in U.S. retailers offering BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up Instore).
Overall, 60% of commerce
professionals have adopted new channels within the past two years, and 81% of the remainder are in the process of doing so now.
On the B2B side, 65% plan to increase
their ecommerce investment over the next two years.
Of those polled, 30% say digital channels provided more than 50% of their revenue in 2020. But 55% now expect the
same level within three years.
Among high B2B performers, 83% boosted their investment in digital commerce in the past year, versus 61% of the moderate performers and 27% of the
underperformers.
Going forward, 73% of the leaders will invest in B2B ercommerce over the next two years, 66% in customer self-service online, 52% in in-person sales
teams, 48% in inside sales teams and 44% will invest in distributors.
But 74% of the moderate performers will spend on B2B ecommerce and 70% on customer self-service online.
Salesforce conducted a double-blind survey of 4,102 senior B2C and B2B commerce professionals through a third-party panel in February 2022
In addition, Salesforce analyzed buying activity
of over 1 billion shoppers across 54 countries occurring between first-quarter 2019 through first-quarter 2022 on websites operating on Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
Also, Salesforce had
surveyed 1,373 leaders in August 2020.