Asia Pacific B2B E-commerce Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Asia Pacific B2B E-commerce Market is anticipated to grow with a CAGR of 15.2 % during the forecast period (2022 - 2027). B2B E-commerce enables businesses to customize each customer's checkout, document management, and agreement processes. This improves the B2B client experience while lowering human error rates that may otherwise result in lost business.

Key Highlights

• According to Indian Brand Equity Foundation(IBEF), E-commerce has changed the way people do business in India. The Indian e-commerce sector is predicted to increase from USD 46.2 billion in 2020 to USD 188 billion by 2025. It is estimated to reach USD 350 billion by 2030. The Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow by 21.5% by 2022, reaching USD 74.8 billion. Such huge increase in the revenue is expected to created an opportunity for the B2B E-commerce to grow.
• Where immersive experiences matter in B2B E-commerce marketing, VR (virtual reality experiences) and AR (augmented reality) may reclaim some of their former prominence. Some B2B vendors may need to enable virtual testing and confirmation of complicated products, including replacement parts or custom designs, for customers.
• IoT and AI technical advancements are still impacting B2B E-commerce. From suppliers, managers, marketers, sales representatives, and customers, everyone participating in the process can gain from a more accurate prediction of their desired outcomes and advice on the best course of action. Mobile-only contributes to little more than half of the purchases.
• The shift from physical to virtual shopping accelerated during the pandemic, compelling most businesses to switch from on-premise operations to the cloud. COVID-19 has broadened the consumer base using e-commerce beyond millennials and digital natives to include older age groups. Many will continue to use this sales channel even when lockdown (shelter-in-place) orders are withdrawn, fundamentally reshaping the retail landscape.
• In E-commerce, electronic payment systems play a critical role. Electronic payment systems, often known as paperless monetary transactions, are used by e-commerce businesses. Decreasing paperwork, transaction expenses, and labor costs changed commercial processing. E-commerce processing is easier to use and takes less time than manual processing. Electronic commerce allows a company to broaden its market reach. The electronic payment mechanism carries a particular risk.

Key Market Trends

Advancement in Technologies Plays a Significant Role in Market Growth

• Dependence on data and analytics will drive the total future shopping experience, loyalty programs, and payment systems. The use of demographic, geographic, and situational data will increase as consumer expectations evolve to make the greatest marketing choices. The importance of cloud computing and storage technology, network optimization, and predictive analytics is swiftly rising from a nice-to-have to a need. Implementing cutting-edge technology is accelerating digital transformation, necessitating new procedures and abilities from managers and executives in the industry.
• IoT gives businesses a greater understanding of the order fulfillment process so they may better serve customers who make more online purchases. IoT technology enables online businesses to track consumer orders from when they are placed until they are delivered to their doorsteps. Due to management systems, retailers can track every inventory item, no matter where it is. Using cloud-based technologies like GPS and RFID, it is possible to access information like traffic conditions, weather, location, and employee IDs (Radio-Frequency Identification).
• Online merchants can use artificially intelligent technologies called E-commerce chatbots to interact with clients at every stage of the buying process. These E-commerce chatbots are used for conversational marketing and addressing customers' concerns regarding the product before they make the purchase. E-commerce stores can use these chatbots to answer questions about their products directly on the website or even on other messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, etc. These bots are utilized for conversational commerce and intelligently and immediately offer post-sale support without involving a live customer service representative.
• According to GSMA Intelligence, China had over 939.8 million internet users as of January 2021, while India came in second with 624 million subscribers. In addition to dominating the Asia Pacific region, China and India had the most internet users worldwide.Such huge internet users will provide a significant opportunity for the studied market to grow.
• E-commerce companies are increasingly seeking distribution and inventory management systems that are self-learning, predictive, adaptive, and intelligent, which are known as cognitive supply chains. They result in improved, personalized customer service and decreased inventory. These systems can also mitigate risk, improve insight and performance, and increase transparency.

China Holds Prominent Share of the Market

• In the largest Chinese cities, it is uncommon to see someone paying with cash. Online and offline daily life now both commonly use online payment systems. The same thing progressively occurs in B2B E-commerce. A significant component of the B2B E-commerce experience will soon be the mobile wallet. It is not merely a new payment option; it is on the verge of becoming a key element of a seamless B2B shopping experience. China has created an entire ecosystem of payment alternatives, which includes conventional bank transfers, mobile payment options, and sophisticated solutions that integrate payments and financing, and guarantee the efficient movement of cash for both sides.
• The gross merchandise value of Alibaba's China consumer-facing companies, including those in the local consumer services, digital media, and entertainment categories, was about CNY 7,976 billion (USD1,258 billion) in 2021. After de-duplication, the total yearly active consumers of its consumer-facing businesses in China reached a historic milestone of over 1 billion, up roughly 113 million years over year, and surpassed its fiscal year 2022 target.
• B2B e-commerce is crucial to a nation's digitalization plan and can include more than just online business transactions. By eliminating corporate overcapacity and enhancing manufacturing capacities to fulfil the always changing and expanding demands for better products, data acquired can improve business operations.
• In June 2022, a cross-border B2B platform called Joybuy was introduced by JD Worldwide, the international division of JD.com (Jingdong). Through the company's chosen supplier network, Joybuy links international retailers with top-notch Chinese factories. JD's B2B platform Joybuy will primarily cater to foreign clients, including vendors on e-commerce marketplaces, direct-to-consumer (DTC) sellers, and small- and medium-sized stores.
• In China, having a quality website is crucial. A well-designed website is becoming increasingly important to distributors, buyers, and business owners. Clear offerings, simple navigation, and persuading information are essential. Everything on your website should highlight the benefits of engaging with your company. It is advisable to translate website material into Mandarin and include Chinese-specific images. Such websites will drive web traffic for B2B E-commerce businesses which may turn into sales.

Competitive Landscape

The Asia Pacific B2B E-commerce market is moderately consolidated, with the presence of a few major companies. The companies are continuously investing in making strategic partnerships and product developments to gain more market share. Some of the recent developments in the market are:

• June 2022 - Peer Connexions, a B2B E-commerce platform created to represent the industry's shift toward digital commerce, has been released by Tech Data India. Peer Connexions give resellers unmatched ease, enabling Tech Data to support and facilitate their company more effectively. The portal gives its channel partners access to technical, commercial, and product catalogs, price and inventory status, promotions, and special offers. It also allows them to sign up and do business around the clock on a common platform.
• March 2022 - Software as a service (SaaS) startup for e-commerce named Dianxiaomi announced the conclusion of a USD 100 million C-round fundraisings. Tiger Global Management, Huaxing Growth Capital, GGV Capital, CDH VGC, and Gaorong Capital jointly led the investment.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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