Key B2B Commerce Trends for 2026: Practical Priorities to Drive Growth

B2B eCommerce continues to establish itself as a core growth driver. According to the International Trade Administration, the global B2B eCommerce market is projected to reach USD 36 trillion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.5%. At the same time, McKinsey reports that, for organizations offering online purchasing, digital sales account for an average of 34% of total revenue and eCommerce is widely viewed as the most effective sales channel by those who use it.

For eCommerce leaders in North American manufacturing and distribution companies, the challenge going into 2026 isn’t about “adding features,” but about reducing friction and increasing the reliability of the buying experience. That’s especially true as decision-making journeys become increasingly complex: B2B buyers now use an average of 10.2 channels throughout their purchase process.

With that in mind, here are the key eCommerce trends B2B companies should watch closely in 2026.

Self-Service and the Rise of the Hybrid Experience

Self-service is now a baseline expectation for a significant portion of B2B orders. Buyers want to easily access their pricing, place orders quickly, reorder, track deliveries, and retrieve documents like invoices or account statements without needing to contact a sales rep. That said, B2B remains inherently hybrid. Certain transactions still require human support due to factors like negotiated pricing, delivery constraints, compliance requirements, or complex product configurations. In 2026, the most effective approach is to design a journey that empowers customers to move independently when the process is straightforward, while offering a seamless handoff to assisted support when needed without forcing them to start over.

B2B Personalization

In B2B, personalization isn’t a luxury, it’s a critical lever to reduce errors, speed up product discovery, and simplify decision-making. In 2026, top-performing organizations are focused on making the buying experience more relevant for each account by offering tailored catalogs, consistent pricing and terms, genuinely helpful recommendations, and product highlights that align with the buyer’s context whether that’s their industry, order history, or purchasing behavior. This growing focus on personalization is largely driven by a persistent gap between buyer expectations and the experience many sellers currently provide a gap highlighted in Shopify’s latest B2B trend report.

AI for Sales and Service Teams

AI is becoming a true accelerator when it eliminates repetitive tasks, enhances response quality, and helps teams handle requests faster. By 2026, the most profitable use cases often aren’t customer-facing on the transactional site, they’re embedded within core operations. That’s where AI can summarize account history, streamline access to information, support the creation of consistent responses, assist in preparing quotes, or enhance customer service. B2B organizations are increasingly leveraging AI to improve both the customer experience and operational efficiency.

Payments and Terms

Payment is often where an otherwise smooth B2B buying experience breaks down. The key question isn’t just how to pay, but under what terms. When expected payment options or conditions aren’t available at checkout, the result is often immediate abandonment. According to the B2B eCommerce Association, 83% of B2B buyers abandon online purchases when no payment terms are offered at checkout. In 2026, the fastest-moving companies are those that make payment terms clear, easy to use, and aligned with the commercial relationship, whether it’s net terms, credit limits, relevant payment methods, or transparent fees and tracking.

Inventory and Lead Times

Trust is built on reliable information. In 2026, transparency around product availability and delivery timelines is a key differentiator, especially when orders directly impact operations like production, job sites, or maintenance. The goal isn’t to promise faster, but to promise accurately, and then deliver on that promise. Shopify highlights the importance of a B2B experience that closes the gap between what buyers expect and what sellers can actually deliver, especially in critical areas like fulfillment. With SPINE, Novatize’s B2B accelerator for Shopify, businesses can now deliver a unified buying experience, even when managing multiple branches, while syncing real-time inventory with their ERP and much more.

Unified Commerce

B2B commerce spans multiple touchpoints, from transactional websites and customer service to sales teams, email, and in some cases, branch locations or field operations. When data isn’t aligned across these channels, the experience becomes fragmented, leading to pricing inconsistencies, inventory discrepancies, incomplete order statuses, and manual rework. In 2026, one of the most transformative trends is the move toward breaking down silos and enabling true continuity across channels. Since B2B buyers naturally shift from one touchpoint to another, ensuring a unified experience drives higher conversion rates while also improving internal efficiency, through fewer errors, reduced manual effort, and higher overall satisfaction.

Reordering and Subscriptions

Reordering is a direct growth driver, it simplifies the buyer’s day-to-day while making revenue more predictable. In 2026, leading B2B organizations go beyond offering basic subscription models. They focus on building a frictionless recurring experience with flexible frequencies, easy adjustments, clear visibility into billing and deliveries, and fast reorder tools like product lists, order templates, or one-click repurchase options. Best practices like reusable order lists and automated replenishment are increasingly being adopted as tangible ways to streamline the buying journey and eliminate repetitive tasks.

B2B Marketplaces

Marketplaces continue to play a role in product discovery and in reaching new buyers, but they require tight governance. While they offer access to broader audiences, they can also increase price pressure and limit direct customer relationships, posing a challenge for companies focused on retention and long-term value. In 2026, the most sustainable approach is to treat marketplaces as one channel within a broader strategy, with clear guidelines around product assortment, positioning, and brand experience.

Mobile Experience

Le mobile progresse en B2B, notamment parce qu’il accompagne efficacement le travail sur le terrain en permettant de vérifier une disponibilité, consulter un produit, reconstituer une commande, retrouver une facture ou suivre une livraison. Les attentes demeurent très pragmatiques et reposent avant tout sur la rapidité, un accès simple aux informations essentielles et un parcours de commande sans friction. En 2026, une expérience mobile performante est donc moins une question de design que de véritable gain de temps pour les équipes.

Measurement and Performance

By 2026, eCommerce leaders are increasingly focused on measuring the impact of digital commerce beyond just sales volume. Key performance indicators now include account adoption, the share of self-serve orders, operational efficiency, and error reduction. This data-driven approach helps prioritize investments, demonstrate value to executive leadership, and support a culture of continuous improvement. In a context where eCommerce already represents a significant share of revenue for mature organizations, the ability to measure and optimize performance is emerging as a true competitive advantage.

What to Watch

Conversational Commerce

Conversational experiences, like live chat and virtual assistance, are becoming more mature in B2B, especially when it comes to helping buyers find the right product, confirm compatibility, understand terms, or quickly reorder. The potential is real, as long as the experience remains focused on usefulness and the accuracy of shared information is secured. Shopify also highlights the evolution of buying and support experiences as a key area of growth in B2B trends.

Agentic Commerce

We’re seeing the emergence of intelligent assistants capable of taking a more active role in the buying journey, preparing orders based on predefined rules like purchasing habits, constraints, and preferences. In B2B, the key issue isn’t the novelty of these tools, but their impact on product discoverability, data structure, and the consistency of commercial terms, such as pricing, availability, and payment conditions.

Discoverability in AI-Powered Search

Search behavior is evolving, and discoverability is no longer limited to traditional search engines. This shift increases the importance of having reliable content, product data, policies, lead times, and terms, as well as a clear information architecture. Ensuring both buyers and AI-powered search tools can quickly find the right answers is becoming a critical advantage in 2026.

In 2026, the B2B companies that win aren’t the ones adding complexity to their ecosystem, they’re the ones making buying easier and execution more reliable. The most impactful priorities remain surprisingly consistent, including robust self-service, flexible payment terms, clear delivery promises and seamless channel continuity. With these foundations in place, it becomes much easier to scale and adopt emerging trends without losing focus.

Sources :

(1) Shopify, B2B Ecommerce Trends 2025–2026: statistics & strategies
(2) International Trade Administration, eCommerce Sales & Size Forecast
(3) McKinsey, B2B Pulse (insights) : eCommerce, revenus et performance
(4) B2B eCommerce Association, Buyer demands (2024) : paiement et abandon à la caisse
(5) WP-B2B-Trends-B2B-Commerce, parcours multi-canaux, commerce hybride, marketplaces, réapprovisionnement

Let’s talk about your next eCommerce initiative

Pierre-Olivier Brassard

Vice President - Products and Technology, Partner

contact@novatize.com+1 844 932-6682

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