B2B ecommerce has rapidly evolved over the past decade. No longer can businesses get away with clunky ordering systems or outdated websites. Today’s B2B buyers expect the same streamlined, user-friendly experience they get from leading B2C retailers, with the added complexity that comes with managing company accounts, bespoke pricing, and large orders.
At Fluid Commerce, we know that building a successful B2B ecommerce site requires more than just “bolt-on” features. It’s about creating a tailored platform that understands how B2B buyers work. Below are our top ten features every B2B ecommerce site should have.
These are features that we regularly recommend and implement for our B2B ecommerce clients, with sites built on Magento and Adobe Commerce, and we have seen how they drive huge growth in online sales.
1. Companies and sub-users
B2B buying is rarely a one-person job. A single company account may have multiple employees placing and managing orders. That’s why a B2B ecommerce platform should support company-level accounts with sub-users, allowing businesses to manage roles, permissions, and approval workflows under one umbrella account. Implementing this feature can not only encourage customers to order online who hadn’t previously done so (known as digital transformation), but can also streamline processes and improve efficiency.
2. Pay on account / company credit
As the majority of B2B businesses operate on credit terms, enabling a pay on account functionality is a critical step in encouraging customers to order online. This function allows businesses to order online using pre-approved credit limits, reducing friction and aligning with how they already transact offline. It makes the online purchasing process smoother, helping to move customers online, and keep them online.
3. Rapid order
Unlike B2C shoppers, B2B customers often know exactly what they need and they want to order their products in bulk. Rapid order is a fantastic feature, where buyers can upload a spreadsheet of SKUs, paste SKU lists, or quickly type in product codes, which are then all added to their basket. This saves huge amounts of time and drives repeat sales and customer loyalty.
4. Bespoke company pricing
Generic customer group pricing rarely works in B2B. Businesses need bespoke pricing that can adapt to individual contracts, negotiated discounts, and product-specific agreements. The ability to set customised pricing for each company and product combination is essential for building trust and loyalty. The vast majority of traditional B2B companies such as wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors require this function from their ecommerce site, because without it their customers simply would not order and would either revert to traditional and inefficient methods, such as ordering by phone or in person, or would use a competitor website that does have custom pricing enabled.
5. Lockdown until logged in
For many B2B brands, sensitive information such as pricing, stock availability, or order capabilities should only be visible to approved customers. A “locked down” site ensures that visitors see your catalogue but only gain full access once logged in, keeping competitive information secure.
6. View offline orders
B2B customers expect a single source of truth. A customer portal that shows both online and offline orders gives them a complete account history, reduces admin for your team, and creates a seamless omnichannel experience. This is an invaluable function for busy business owners and procurement teams that need a global view of where their product ordering is up to and how their budget is being managed.
7. Bulk add to basket
Efficiency is everything for B2B buyers. They don’t want to add items one at a time. A bulk add-to-basket feature on product pages allows customers to quickly select multiple product variations (such as different cable sizes) in one go, replicating the way they actually shop. The simple bulk add to basket feature can really streamline the ordering process and make a big impact on the customers’ ecommerce journey and therefore the success of the website.
8. Add to basket from product listing pages
The faster the checkout journey, the better. Letting customers add items to their basket directly from product listing pages (PLPs) removes unnecessary clicks, making browsing and ordering far quicker. Again, on the face of it a simple function, but one that can feel like a game changer for the majority of companies that don’t have time to waste.
9. Site Speed - Hyvä migrations
Slow sites kill conversions and this is often one of the major challenges that B2B businesses that come to us for support are struggling with. Today’s B2B buyers expect ecommerce sites to load and respond just as quickly as leading B2C retailers. Investing in site speed not only improves the user experience but also boosts SEO performance.
Migrating Magento and Adobe Commerce B2B ecommerce websites to the Hyvä front-end theme is one way of delivering exceptional website speed and we have completed numerous migration projects that have delivered just that. Recently we added Hyvä to the website of safety equipment supplier Fletcher Stewart. The immediate impact on the site’s speed has been staggering, especially on mobile. You can read more about this project in our case study. Ensuring a website’s hosting provider is fast and reliable is also key and that’s why we partner with Corefinity for client ecommerce websites as we know they deliver on this.
10. Mobile optimisation
B2B buying no longer happens just at desks. Field teams, site managers, and mobile workforce employees often need to order on the go. A fully mobile-optimised ecommerce site ensures they can search, browse, and order from any device, anywhere. Ensuring B2B ecommerce sites perform well on mobile is critical and this needs to be a focus area for any ecommerce project.
In conclusion
B2B ecommerce is about blending the best of B2C usability with the unique requirements of B2B purchasing. By building these ten features into your ecommerce platform, you can create an experience that keeps buyers coming back, strengthens long-term relationships, and streamlines business operations.
At Fluid Commerce, we specialise in helping B2B businesses build powerful ecommerce solutions tailored to their needs. If you’re ready to take your B2B website to the next level, we’d love to chat. Contact us here and one of our B2B ecommerce experts will get back to you as soon as possible.
