Simply put, B2B eCommerce, also referred to as wholesale eCommerce, is commerce between individual business clients and business suppliers instead of between a retailer and a single customer (C2C). This type of commerce makes it possible to expand your clientele in ways you never thought were possible. If you have a retail business selling either physical or digital goods, this type of business eCommerce is the way to go. Why? Read on!

The key benefit to b2b ecommerce platform is that they provide easy access to third-party merchants. In other words, you don’t have to build your eCommerce site to let others sell what you have to offer. Instead, you can connect to an existing merchant account. When it comes down to it, integration with eCommerce software allows you to sell your products as if they were physical products, with little to no effort. You may even find that integrating your eCommerce software with your web store means that you do not even need your website.

Benefit to B2B eCommerce

Perhaps the biggest benefit to b2b eCommerce solutions is the ease with which your customers can purchase your product. Ecommerce merchants can provide their customers with secure, private transactions that are protected from unscrupulous sales representatives and other unwanted commercial elements. This allows you to stay focused on your core business of providing products to individual customers. This, in turn, allows you to maintain direct contact with your customers as well. You are given the freedom to provide excellent customer service, respond to queries quickly, and provide a shopping experience that is streamlined and enjoyable for your customers.

To take full advantage of b2b eCommerce solutions, merchants should ensure that their suit e-commerce website offers the right shopping cart options. The best shopping carts feature fully integrated checkout systems that offer several payment options, such as credit cards, electronic checks, and online payments. Along with secure-checkout systems, these merchant payment options will also allow merchants to provide privacy for their customers about their personal information.

Popular eCommerce Platforms

OpenCart is one of the leading providers of open-source eCommerce platforms. While most other open-source cart options charge fees OpenCart allows merchants to use the software free of charge. The flexibility of the platform allows merchants to customize it to meet their unique needs, including everything from color schemes and functional themes to shopping cart functionality and features. Merchants can also choose from various plugins that they can use to customize the features of their site and make it more efficient.

Many popular plugins such as Wishpond, Cartomancer, and Retailkeeper are available for free, but there are other less popular plugins that merchants may want to consider. For example, Wishpond has a feature that allows customers to track their past orders so they can identify what they need to order from their list.

With the integration of customer groups and OpenCart, businesses can build stronger customer relationships by offering a customized shopping experience to their customers. The three main components of a successful b2b eCommerce platform are the shopping cart, the payment gateway, and the analytics software. By taking advantage of the capabilities of these three core components, merchants will be able to make their e-commerce experiences simple, cost-effective, and ultimately more profitable.