B2B Products: The Complete Guide for Ecommerce Leaders in 2025

Once seen as a promising frontier, the global B2B ecommerce market has become a $32 trillion behemoth—nearly five times the size of its B2C counterpart.

For ecommerce leaders, the question isn’t if they should serve business buyers, but how to do it effectively in a digital-first world. By 2025, the game will be won by those who wheel and deal in B2B products.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know to start purchasing and implementing B2B products.

What are B2B products?

Business-to-business (B2B) products are goods or services sold from one company to another, rather than sold directly to customers. The difference between B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce is the way these products are specified, priced, and fulfilled. B2B often entails:

• Multiple decision-makers: Purchasing teams, finance, and end users weigh in before a deal is signed.
• Contract-based pricing: Volume discounts, minimum order quantities (MOQs), and tiered pricing terms replace one-size-fits-all.
• Complex fulfillment: Palletized shipping, phased deliveries, or B2B electronic data interchange (EDI) integrations are common. 

B2B vs. B2C products: Key differences

At a glance, B2B and B2C products may share raw materials and carry the same brand name, but how they reach the customer is fundamentally different. 

B2B buyers spend company money to unlock ROI and operational efficiencies. B2C shoppers swipe personal cards for convenience and self-expression. 

The table below shows the main differences to consider when selling in both industries. 

The evolution of B2B products in the digital era

B2B commerce has moved from faxed purchase orders to AI-curated buying portals in less than two decades. Three waves defined this shift:

• Catalogue-to-click (early 2000s): Static PDFs and EDI feeds replaced printed catalogs, letting business clients place high-value orders online for the first time.
• Omnichannel retail and marketplaces (2010s): Cloud storefronts, punch-out integrations, and company-owned marketplaces gave procurement teams consumer-grade search, transparent inventory, and real-time pricing.
• AI-powered self-service (2020–2025): Large-ticket comfort, generative AI configuration tools, and hyperpersonalised buyer journeys are turning once-complex purchasing into “one-click” experiences.

As each wave removed friction from the B2B journey, it set the stage for a new reality: buyers now feel comfortable placing six-figure orders with a click. McKinsey’s 2024 B2B Pulse survey found that 39% of global B2B buyers are now willing to place single self-serve or remote orders above $500,000, up from 28% two years ago.

Forrester also predicts that by the end of 2025, more than half of large B2B transactions ($1 million or greater) will be processed through digital self-serve channels, like a B2B ecommerce website or marketplace.

Shopify merchants are already riding wave three. Australian tile retailer TileCloud used Shopify Plus to launch a dedicated wholesale storefront alongside their consumer-facing shop. By tailoring price lists, checkout rules, and reports for trade buyers, the brand recorded:

• +24% YoY growth in B2B customer signups
• +34% YoY increase in average order value
• +28% YoY jump in overall conversion rate

The brand used Shopify Functions to create automatic tiered discounts and expansion stores for personalized B2B catalogs. 

Today, when the B2B buying process is becoming faster and more demanding, retailers need a platform like Shopify to support both retail and wholesale growth without duplicating back-end work.

Types of B2B products for mid-market businesses

Mid-market brands (between $10 million and $1 billion in annual revenue) sell a surprisingly wide range of goods to other businesses. 

Below are the nine most common product categories, and examples of products and solutions vendors sell.

1. Software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions

Cloud-delivered software sits at the top of many corporate shopping lists because it scales without adding warehouses or freight. Gartner’s latest forecast predicts SaaS spending in the US alone will reach nearly $300 billion in 2025. 

Vendors can sell:

• Project management platforms
• Vertical customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Cybersecurity subscriptions
• HR/payroll SaaS
• Accounting/enterprise resource planning (ERP) suites
• Cloud-storage seats
• Marketing automation tools

What clinches deals in SaaS is ROI evidence like case studies, which prove your product works. SOC 2 badges and self-serve onboarding are also major value-adds. 

2. Hardware and equipment

Industrial buyers once insisted on phone quotes, but AI-guided spec search and embedded freight APIs are changing the game. The global industrial-machinery market is projected to grow from $743 billion in 2025 to $1.61 trillion by 2034, a 9% CAGR. 

Examples of B2B products in this market include:

• CNC machines
• POS terminals
• Warehouse robots
• Network servers
• Medical imaging units

3. Services and consulting

Digital transformation budgets haven’t cooled either. The professional services sector is projected to grow from $6.10 trillion in 2024 to $6.40 trillion in 2025, and to continue to expand as firms seek specialized expertise.

Common products in services and consulting include:

• Fractional CFO retainers
• Managed IT support
• Digital-marketing services
• UX/UI design sprints
• Cybersecurity audits
• Logistics optimization
• Employee training programs

4. Raw materials and components

Digital procurement is now the standard. Today, a survey of 500 MRO buyers found that 87% of companies use e-procurement tools. These portals can provide instant spec sheets for common products in this category, like:

• Packaging films and compostable mailers
• Recycled plastic pellets
• Custom-etched PCBs and LED drivers
• Food-grade essential-oils
• Stainless-steel tubing and precision fasteners

All of these product types benefit from Shopify’s B2B platform, which offers company-specific price lists, MOQ logic, and downloadable certifications right on the product page.

5. Apparel and accessories

Grand View Research pegs the global blank apparel market at $15.23 billion in 2024, growing 4.9% annually. Corporate buyers want items like: 

• Blank cotton tees
• Branded hoodies
• Safety vests
• Embroidered caps
• Workwear coveralls
• Custom socks

6. Home and garden

DIY and professional renovation suppliers are thriving online. Custom Market Insights projects the home gardening market will hit $15.78 billion in 2025 on its way to $26.47 billion per year by 2034.

Common products sold in this category are:

• Ceramic tiles
• Patio furniture sets
• Smart irrigation controllers
• LED grow lights
• Modular shelving
• DIY cabinetry kits
• Composite decking
• Gardening hand tools

7. Health and beauty

The beauty and personal care market is massive, valued at $639 billion, and includes salons, spas, and clinics that drive bulk demand. Popular products in this category include:

• Salon shampoo
• Spa linens
• Bulk essential oils
• Cosmetic-grade pigments
• Dermatological serums
• Massage oils
• Dental clinic disposables
• Gel polish kits
• Refillable deodorant bases

8. Sports and recreation

Team kits, fitness studio gear, and niche equipment fuel a global sporting goods market set to reach $145.5 billion in 2025. Mid-market sellers can thrive with products like:

• Team uniform bundles
• Resistance band sets
• Commercial treadmills
• Baseball training nets
• Climbing holds
• Yoga mats
• Fitness wearables
• Goalkeeper glove cases
• Kayaks
• Pickleball paddles

9. Stationery and office supplies

Hybrid work hasn’t killed pens and paper, it just changed how companies buy them. Technavio forecasts $33.9 billion in new B2B stationery revenue between 2025 and 2029, at a 3% CAGR.

Products to sell in this category include:

• Recycled copy paper
• Branded notebooks
• Ink and toner cartridges
• Ergonomic chairs
• Whiteboards and markers
• Bulk pens
• Sticky notes
• Mailing envelopes
• Desk organizers

Essential B2B products for technical operations

Digital-first mid-market companies can’t scale without the right technical foundation. The following four tool classes help handle your online properties:

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems

ERP systems connect finance, inventory, production, and procurement into one ledger so teams see and act on real-time data from across the organization. 

ERP systems are already live somewhere in almost every mid-market firm. In Panorama Consulting’s 2024 survey of 131 businesses, 96.9% of organizations had at least one ERP phase running for a year or more.

The benefits of using an ERP include:

• Single source of truth for inventory, COGS, and cash flow forecasts
• Real-time APIs that feed orders and stock levels back to finance in seconds
• Built-in AI forecasting that flags stockouts before they happen

👉 With Shopify's Global ERP Program, you can connect your ERP to your store with an enterprise resource planning partner through the Shopify App Store. 

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools

High-performing companies are consolidating their CRM tools across service, sales, and marketing. Salesforce reports that 82% of top-performing organizations now run a single CRM platform—up from 62% just two years ago.

Shopify supports this with unified customer profiles that sync data across your online store, POS terminals, B2B portal, and marketing apps. For B2B sellers, this means sales reps aren’t stitching together spreadsheets or chasing down fragmented buyer records. Every interaction lives in one place.

With Shopify Company Profiles, you can attach multiple contacts, price lists, payment terms, and tax IDs to a single customer account—so every branch office is covered, without duplicating data.

Supply chain management (SCM) solutions 

SCM suites cover demand-planning, procurement, logistics, and risk-monitoring. They’re indispensable as geopolitical shocks and climate events alter freight lanes. 

Many of these tools are integrating AI to help optimize SCM operations. When AI is embedded in SCM, companies experience 20%–30% lower inventory levels, 5%–20% reductions in logistics costs, and 5%–15% decreases in procurement spend, McKinsey reports.

A good supply chain management system helps you:

• Get end-to-end SKU visibility from factory to last-mile dock
• Undergo scenario-planning that stress-tests tariffs, strikes, or raw-material shocks
• Access carbon impact dashboards, now a top-five driver for 67% of supply-chain leaders

Data analytics and business intelligence (BI) platforms

BI platforms can turn raw data into executive-ready dashboards. It’s a growing market valued at $47.5 billion, and provides benefits like cutting reporting down to minutes and helping get to market faster. 

Some top use cases for BI:

• Self-service dashboards: Non-technical teams build views without SQL.
• Streaming analytics: Sub-second updates for inventory, sales, or production lines
• Governance and lineage: Audit trails that satisfy SOC 2 and GDPR

Evaluating and selecting B2B products

Business buyers are bruised. More than 80% finish a purchase cycle dissatisfied with the supplier they chose. That frustration is usually a result of vague requirements, surprise costs, and vendors that promised more than they delivered.

Use the four steps below to make a more confident decision about your next shortlist. 

1. Defining your technical requirements

A strong request for proposal (RFP) saves you from costly surprises later. It forces alignment around real business needs, filters out vendors who can’t meet them, and sets the stage for faster, smoother implementation. Here's how to scope your requirements the right way:

• Write the problem in one sentence. Start by articulating the key issue. For example, “Manual demand planning ties up $4M in excess inventory.” This is the pain that the new product or solution is meant to resolve.
• Translate that pain into “must integrate” touchpoints. Identify the key system requirements that are necessary to solve the pain. These might include things like APIs for your ERP, data schemas for BI, or pallet dimensions for the conveyor line.
• Attach non-functional guardrails. Consider requirements that aren't directly tied to functionality but are critical to success. These include factors like latency limits, SOC 2/ISO 27001 certifications, uptime SLAs, or spare parts lead times.
• Validate with a cross-functional workshop. Bring business and technical stakeholders into the same room for a collaborative scoping session. When multiple teams (e.g., finance, IT, operations) work together, the solution is more likely to address broader needs, leading to less buyer regret later in the process.

2. Assess total cost of ownership

The sticker price is rarely the true cost. You also want to factor in the direct and indirect costs of owning the product over its lifecycle, known as total cost of ownership (TCO). 

Run every potential solution through these five cost buckets:

• CapEx or license fees: Volume tiers, foreign exchange exposure, and automatic price-uplift clauses
• Implementation: Data migration, production downtime, integrator or installer fees, user training hours
• Business operations and support: Admin headcount, energy draw, consumables, vendor SLAs, cyber insurance premiums
• Compliance and risk: Audit costs, certifications, liability coverage, recall or breach contingencies
• Exit or end-of-life: Data-export scripts, contract “true-up” charges, recycling or decommissioning fees

3. Create vendor evaluation criteria

Create a weighted scorecard for each vendor so emotion doesn’t drive the final call. A potential split:

• Functional fit: 30%

• • Ask for a demo mapped to your top three workflows.
  • Request recent defect or incident history.

• Integration and data: 25%

• • Review public API documentation and schema samples.
  • Talk to reference customers, insist on sandbox access in the first week.

• Commercials and total cost of ownership: 20%

• • Request a transparent price model with volume tiers.
  • Tie payments to milestone delivery and ask for a published product-roadmap cadence.

• Reliability and support: 15%

• • Verify uptime SLAs and spare parts or hot-fix stock levels.
  • Confirm a named customer-success manager and check the size of the user community.

• ESG and compliance: 10%

• • Collect ISO 14001, FSC, or equivalent sustainability certificates.
  • Review security attestations (e.g., SOC 2) and audit trail capabilities.

4. Build a business case for new B2B products

The final step is to build a compelling business case for the B2B products you want to buy, demonstrating why the solution will deliver value and work effectively within your organization.

Establish the pain with a concrete metric. For instance, our inventory days on hand (IDOH) is 78, placing us in the top quartile for the industry, which signals a clear efficiency gap.

Roll your costs from these pain points into a three-year cash flow sheet, set them alongside the benefits you expect (cash released from inventory, labor hours saved, margin lift), and you’ll know whether the deal clears your company’s hurdle rate before you sign. 

And most importantly, show payback. Most finance teams want payback in under 24 months and a positive net present value (NPV) at the corporate hurdle rate. Tie each benefit to a KPI you can pull from your BI tool or Shopify Analytics. 

Implementation strategies for B2B products

Buying a new product is easy, but realizing its value is hard. One in five digital transformation leaders says implementation of new processes and capabilities is one of their biggest challenges, according to Forrester. Here are three steps to take before implementation begins to keep your rollout on track:

Planning for successful integration

Rollouts fail because integration isn’t started until after the contract is signed. Instead:

• Run a joint design workshop first. Map every touchpoint, like APIs, data schemas, conveyor belts, and floor space, and write a phased timeline with rollback criteria.
• Prototype early. A test API call or dry-run pallet load may uncover issues before the end of the first week.
• Budget credibility buffers. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession shows that projects emphasizing planning lose 17% less budget when things go wrong.

Managing change and user adoption

Prosci’s 2024 benchmarking shows that projects with excellent change management are seven times more likely to hit their objectives than projects with poor change management. Treat enablement as a workstream of its own. Here’s how:

• Explain the ‘why’ to everyone. BCG’s three-year review of 725 digital transformations shows success rates triple when employees can recite the specific problem the project solves.
• Appoint a sponsor. Projects that activate highly visible executive sponsors meet objectives 79% of the time, versus 27% when sponsorship is weak, as per Prosci. Assign one department “champion” for day-to-day coaching, and have a VP showcase quick wins during your weekly all-hands.
• Send behavior-based reminders. Use in-context prompts to encourage folks to use your new products. Email and Slack messages can remind team members to use the product and offer them help when they need it. 

Measuring implementation success

Before launch, define success across three layers. A clear scorecard helps you align teams, spot red flags early, and prove impact. Here’s a simple structure to start with:

• Launch metrics: Track on-time delivery, keep budget variance within ±10%, and aim for zero critical defects.
• Adoption metrics: Set a target of at least 70% of intended users active weekly by day 90.
• Outcome metrics: Monitor the KPIs tied to your business case—like inventory days on hand, quote-to-cash time, or average order value.

Common implementation pitfalls to avoid

Even well-planned rollouts can go sideways without the right safeguards. Here are four common implementation pitfalls—and how to avoid them:

• Scope creep: Data shows that 41% of project failures are due to scope-related issues. Once you let extra features slip into Phase 1, schedules slide and budgets balloon. Lock the minimum viable features up front and park every other request in a clearly visible backlog for later sprints. 
• Integration afterthoughts: McKinsey finds that companies capture only 31% of the revenue lift and 25% of the cost savings they expect from digital transformations, and late-stage integration rework is a prime culprit. Treat API contracts, data-mapping, and mechanical fit as Day-0 tasks, prototyping a single end-to-end transaction (or a physical dry run) before full build begins.
• Training fatigue: The forgetting curve shows learners forget ~70% of new information within 24 hours and up to 90% within a week if there’s no reinforcement. Swap one-and-done workshops for micro-videos, tips, and just-in-time nudges so critical steps are refreshed at the moment of need. 
• No exit plan: Without a clear rollback or pivot path, a stalled rollout can quietly drain your budget for years. Build in escape routes—like data-export scripts and contract opt-outs tied to KPI milestones—so you can cut losses cleanly if needed.

Maximizing ROI from your B2B products

Launching a new B2B product is just the beginning.

To get real value from it, you need to measure the right things, support adoption, and expand the ecosystem around it over time. This section covers how to track performance, improve usage, and drive long-term returns. Here's how to do that:

Establishing meaningful KPIs

Before building dashboards and reports, decide why you want to implement the product. Start with a short story, like “We bought demand planning software to free cash from excess inventory and cut stockouts.” 

From that storyline, pull two or three metrics that matter to the business more than to the vendor. This could be:

• Finance: Inventory days-on-hand, free cash flow, and margin lift
• Operations: On-time-in-full (OTIF), scrap or defect rate, and throughput per hour
• Sales and CX:Average order value, renewal rate, and customer effort score

Define thresholds for each key metric. For example, OTIF dropping below 96% for two consecutive months should trigger a root-cause review. Build these KPIs into the system during implementation so you can track them from day one.

Optimizing usage and adoption

Even the best tool fails when users cling to old habits. To drive real adoption, pair formal training with subtle, respectful nudges that make the new workflow the easiest option. Here’s how: 

• Launch like a product. Host live role-based training, circulate video quick-starts, and publish an internal FAQ in Slack or Teams.
• Appoint a success owner. Give one person authority to chase lagging adoption, celebrate quick wins, and surface blockers to leadership.
• Remove escape hatches. Archive the legacy spreadsheet or decommission the manual station to make the new system the default.
• Automate next best actions. Use webhooks or in-app tips to prompt replenishment orders, license renewals, or preventive maintenance tasks before a user even realizes the need.

Scaling your B2B product ecosystem

Once your initial rollout shows it’s working, double down. Choose add-ons that plug into existing APIs and data models. Bundle accessories or services (e.g., tooling subscriptions for CNC buyers, maintenance contracts for conveyors) to lift lifetime value.

Trial a new module in one region or business unit, document the lift, then replicate in a new market. Tools like Shopify Managed Markets replicate storefronts in new currencies and languages while keeping inventory and pricing logic centralized.

Calculating long-term value and ROI

List every cost bucket, like licenses, headcount, consumables, maintenance, and upgrades, so nothing is missing from the balance sheet. Then, layer in your tangible wins, like cash unlocked from leaner inventory, labor hours saved, and revenue lifts.

Run a payback and NPV calculation with your finance team’s hurdle rate. Then revisit the numbers each quarter with fresh KPI data. A positive NPV indicates that the investment will generate returns exceeding its minimum requirements and creates a compelling case for approval.

Future trends in B2B products for 2025 and beyond

B2B commerce has already moved through three major waves—from static catalogs to AI-powered self-service. 

You never know when the next wave will hit—but being prepared means watching what’s gaining traction now. These are the trends shaping how B2B products will be built, sold, and evaluated in 2025 and beyond.

AI and machine learning (AI/ML) integration

The AI hype is real and showing no signs of slowing down. McKinsey estimates AI/ML will contribute between $2.6 and $4.4 trillion in annual productivity gains once embedded across functions such as customer operations, sales, and R&D.

On the IT side of the house, Forrester predicts tech leaders will triple their adoption of AI-for-IT-operations (AIOps) platforms in 2025 to tame rising technical debt and keep increasingly complex stacks resilient. 

Firms will start to embed more AI/ML into the buying flow, whether through chat-based configurators, auto-generated spec sheets and webpages based on the company profile, or avatar-based onboarding for new buyers.

API-first approach and composable architecture

Buyers want tools that slot into their existing tech stack. Forrester calls this the shift toward “abstracted, intelligent, and composable” cloud architectures that let enterprises swap components at will rather than commit to monoliths.

Practical implications of this trend include: 

• Public, well-documented APIs become a baseline requirement on RFPs.
• Event streams (such as webhooks, MQTT, or EDI 2.0) must broadcast real-time state changes to ERPs, CRMs, and supply chain control towers.
• Buyers favor usage-metered endpoints and “pay-as-you-scale” modules they can assemble. 

Enhanced security and compliance features

Cyber risk and AI regulation are tightening simultaneously. Forrester predicts the EU will issue its first fine to a general purpose AI provider under the new AI Act in 2025. 

Meanwhile, zero-trust mandates and sector-specific frameworks (HIPAA, PCI DSS 4.0, CMMC 2.0) push vendors to prove security posture up front. Some action items to get ahead of this trend:

• Ship role-based access, field-level encryption, and audit-ready logs by default.
• Provide compliance packets that automate vendor-risk reviews.
• Embed AI model governance from day one to show buyers transparency. 

Sustainability and ESG considerations

Sustainability considerations are becoming more prominent everywhere in the world. 

With the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) now in force, the European Commission has set 2025 as the kickoff year for implementing a unified Digital Product Passport (DPP). 

Draft rules published in April 2025 outline the data fields—origin, material content, repair instructions, and carbon footprint—that all products must carry in machine-readable form. By 2030, any item sold in the EU will need a QR-coded DPP to clear customs and prove circular-economy compliance.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule, adopted in March 2024, starts phasing in from fiscal year 2025. Large accelerated filers will have to report material Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions, climate-related expenditures, and governance processes in their annual filings.

In Singapore, SGX-listed companies are required to file climate reports aligned with the ISSB standards for FY 2025, including full Scope 1 and 2 data and Scope 3 the following year. Large unlisted firms (≥ S$1 billion revenue or S$500 million assets) join the regime by 2027, while a national carbon tax schedule climbs to S$45 per metric ton in 2026-27 and as high as S$80 by 2030.