Today’s largest consumer group, millennials, grew up alongside rapid technological change. Accustomed to buying online with ease, it’s no surprise they now expect the same convenience in their work environments.
More and more industries are adopting ecommerce into their business models to capture this demand and accelerate their long-term growth. In fact, the global B2B ecommerce market is expected to reach an impressive $36 trillion this year, with more than half of large B2B purchases now completed through digital self-service channels.
Office technology dealers can benefit from this momentum by adopting smart ecommerce solutions. Sixty-four percent of ecommerce sellers we spoke to have already seen online sales grow over the past three years, with more than half reporting increases of 25% or more. When done right, online channels can allow dealers to strengthen customer loyalty while growing their profitability. Let’s examine several key applications and strategies office technology dealers should consider when implementing ecommerce, including applied artificial intelligence (AI), omnichannel selling and dropshipping.
AI-Driven Buying Experiences
AI has become a critical tool to turn one-size-fits-all online portals into seamless, customized shopping experiences for customers. Dubbed the “connective tissue” of the buyer journey by IDC, AI is the missing piece that helps improve customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment.
Offering anywhere from a few products to hundreds, dealers understand how difficult it is to guide a customer to the right purchase. AI algorithms can eliminate this issue by tailoring product recommendations based on a customer’s purchase history and browsing patterns. It can also strengthen search functionality by understanding buyer intent rather than just pre-approved keywords. Buyers can input colloquial terms and even competitor part numbers, and AI guides them to the corresponding item in a dealer’s catalog.
Once customers enter a listing, AI can ensure they’re met with the right price. B2B buyers are often offered different contract terms or bulk discounts, which AI manages automatically. Customer service bots also help answer any product questions. After orders close, AI can analyze buyer frequency to predict when a customer may run out of a material and forward them a reminder while preparing their cart for an easy checkout.
Together, these AI tools are revamping the customer experience to be more streamlined from start to finish. These capabilities are already delivering results, with 20% of SMBs we spoke to reporting improvement.
Adaptive Selling and Pricing Strategies
While an intuitive online experience is essential, many B2B buyers still want multiple purchasing options, with 84% saying it’s important to have both online and offline channels. This feedback has prompted dealers to adopt omnichannel selling to ensure a unified customer experience across all sales channels, from online, mobile and email interactions to in-person meetings. Blending digital and self-service tools with hands-on sales engagement helps dealers meet buyers wherever they prefer to engage while improving retention and accelerating deal cycles.
Another benefit of online selling is that customers can easily pay in just a few clicks, helping cashflow and streamlining accounting. However, card providers and payment intermediaries charge transaction fees that can quickly eat away at a dealer’s profit margins. The National Association of Credit Management found that 63% of B2B merchants want an easy surcharging solution to help recover these fees, but only 15% have one. One simple approach dealers are taking is to directly and transparently add a small surcharge to transactions made by credit card so customers won’t be surprised by additional costs. Alternatively, they’re building the cost into base product pricing, dispersing its impact.
Expanded Product Offerings
Office technology dealers are also rethinking how products are sourced and delivered. Many dealers are increasing their reliance on dropshipping to eliminate the overhead of carrying inventory in their warehouses and to address how hybrid and remote work is reshaping buying patterns. They’re not alone, as the U.S. drop-shipping market is expected to grow at a CGAR of 22% by 2030. This selling model allows dealers to diversify their product catalogs without the cost and complexity of holding more inventory. They can also serve distributed customers more efficiently, becoming a transformational element of modern dealer operations.
As print volumes decline, many managed print service providers are also expanding into a wider range of technology and services, helping establish themselves as trusted technology partners. Ecommerce plays a critical role in enabling this evolution by driving incremental revenue in new markets through the sale of ink, toner, paper, networking equipment and other electronic devices.
Financing has long been a standard part of equipment purchasing, with more than 8 in 10 U.S. businesses using some form of leasing or financing. Hence, many dealers are also leasing printers, copiers and smaller devices such as laptops and routers to grow their revenues. While buyers are increasingly expecting self-service options, the ability to initiate leasing directly through ecommerce channels is becoming a meaningful differentiator for dealers in this market.
Office technology dealers that strategically invest in intelligent ecommerce capabilities are positioning themselves to unlock new and scalable revenue streams. Through AI-powered personalization and tools, flexible purchasing models and expanded product ecosystems, dealers can strengthen their customer relationships and build more resilient businesses.
