B2B E-commerce Growth: What Australian Suppliers Need to Know

B2B e-commerce is growing because trade buyers now expect to research and order online, on their own schedule, much as they do at home. Gartner's survey of 646 B2B buyers found 67% prefer a rep-free buying experience, and 45% used AI tools during a recent purchase. Research cited by Shopify suggests most B2B sellers now offer some form of e-commerce. For Australian wholesalers, distributors and brands that sell to retailers, self-serve ordering, accurate account pricing and one view of stock across B2B and B2C channels are becoming basic requirements.

Buyers want to self-serve

The strongest evidence comes from buyer research. Gartner surveyed 646 B2B buyers between August and September 2025 and, as reported by Digital Commerce 360, found that 67% prefer a rep-free experience. In the same survey, 45% said they had used AI tools during a recent purchase. Gartner said buyers are completing more of the process on their own before they contact a supplier.

Generational change is part of the reason. A Shopify article on B2B commerce cites Forrester research that millennial and Gen Z buyers now make up the majority of B2B purchasers, and Gartner research that 77% of B2B buyers found their latest purchase difficult. These buyers use one-click checkout as consumers and expect the same convenience at work.

AI is also changing how suppliers are found. Shopify's wholesale e-commerce guide cites Forrester's 2025 Buyers' Journey Survey, which found 94% of business buyers used AI in their buying process. If your catalogue, pricing and availability aren't online in a structured form, AI tools can't show them to buyers.

How much B2B selling is online?

Global data shows e-commerce is now standard in B2B. The same Shopify article cites McKinsey's B2B Pulse survey: 71% of respondents offer some form of e-commerce, online sales make up 34% of their revenue, and for the fourth year running, sellers who sell online ranked e-commerce as their most effective sales channel. Shopify also reports research with B2B Online and Deloitte Digital in which 73% of respondents saw increased demand for digital B2B sales, but only 20% felt prepared for the future.

Platform data points the same way. Shopify reported that B2B gross merchandise volume on its platform rose 96% in 2025, though Digital Commerce 360 notes that B2B is still a small share of Shopify's total sales.

In Australia, the official data shows room to grow. The ABS Characteristics of Australian Business 2024-25 found 32% of businesses received orders online, little changed from 30% in 2021-22. AI use was rising faster: 12% of businesses reported using AI in 2024-25, and in wholesale trade the figure was 14%.

What B2B buyers expect from an online channel

B2B ordering involves more than a consumer checkout. Buyers typically expect:

1. Account-specific pricing and catalogues. Trade tiers, contract prices and restricted ranges, shown after the buyer logs in.
2. Live stock and lead times. A buyer placing a 200-unit order needs to know it can be filled, and when.
3. Fast reordering. Saved lists and order history. Shopify reports that its B2B merchants see up to a 20% increase in reorder frequency after adopting self-serve tools, though that is a vendor figure.
4. Flexible payment terms. Invoices and account terms as well as cards.
5. Accurate invoicing and reconciliation. Remittances that match orders, with credits and short payments easy to trace.

Selling B2B and B2C together

Many Australian brands now sell to consumers through their own stores and marketplaces and to retailers or trade customers through wholesale. Shopify's 2025 survey of 500 established merchants, including Australian merchants, found businesses selling through both B2B and B2C channels were significantly more likely to have scaled than B2B-only businesses.

Running both channels creates a stock problem. The same units serve a wholesale order, a marketplace sale and a web order. Without one system holding stock, a large trade order can leave marketplace listings oversold, or retail stock can be held back that should have gone to a wholesale customer. One order management system and one master product record keep both channels consistent. For planning next year's channel mix, see e-commerce planning for 2027.

Key figures

• 67% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free buying experience; 45% used AI tools in a recent purchase (Gartner, via Digital Commerce 360, 2026).
• 71% of B2B sellers offer some form of e-commerce, which makes up 34% of their revenue (McKinsey, via Shopify, 2025).
• 94% of business buyers used AI in their buying journey (Forrester, via Shopify, 2026).
• 32% of Australian businesses received orders online in 2024-25 (ABS, 2026).
• B2B GMV on Shopify grew 96% in 2025 (Digital Commerce 360, 2026).

How eComChannels helps

eComChannels connects wholesale and retail selling, so adding a B2B channel doesn't mean adding a second set of systems.

• Order management puts wholesale, web and marketplace orders in one place, keeps stock synced across all of them and runs dispatch from one queue. A large trade order reduces available stock everywhere immediately, which reduces overselling.
• Branded storefronts give trade and retail customers a fast, SEO- and GEO-ready web store connected to the same OMS, so your catalogue and availability are online where buyers and AI tools can find them.
• Finance auto reconciliation matches remittances and marketplace settlements to orders and flags short-paid or missing payments, cutting the manual reconciliation that grows with order volume.

Book a demo or start a 30-day free trial to see wholesale and retail running from one system.

FAQ

Is B2B e-commerce growing in Australia?

The trend is up, but adoption is uneven. The ABS found 32% of Australian businesses received orders online in 2024-25, little changed from 2021-22. Buyer research from Gartner and Forrester shows demand for self-serve, AI-assisted buying is rising quickly.

Do B2B buyers still want sales reps?

For complex purchases, often yes. Gartner found 67% prefer a rep-free experience overall. Many buyers still want to speak to someone to check a decision, so the best approach combines self-serve ordering with access to people when needed.

Can I run wholesale and retail from the same stock?

Yes, if one system holds the stock. Orders from wholesale, your website and marketplaces need to draw down a single inventory figure so a large trade order doesn't cause overselling elsewhere.