There are approximately 2 Billion digital buyers across the globe to date. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the customers spent around $601.75 billion on online commerce in 2019. Every year, eCommerce whittles down a huge part of traditional commerce, therefore, it is expected that 95% of all purchases will be conducted through eCommerce by 2040.

E-Commerce is rapidly growing, and the stats say quite a lot about it. Considering its popularity and productivity the merchants, regardless of the type of business- B2B or B2C that they are in, are opting for eCommerce to conduct their business. Ecommerce works great for both B2B and B2C and incurs incredible profits.

However, if you are a company that carries both the business process i.e. B2B and B2C, and want to level up by taking it online, then it might be a costly process for you. Running two different types of business online, in which one(B2C) is emotionally driven and the other(B2B) is logically driven, is a real challenge requiring you to maintain a separate platform for each. And therefore, you need to invest double the effort and time to run your business smoothly. Numerous platforms in the market facilitate hybrid eCommerce, allowing you to conduct and manage both B2B and B2C businesses in parallel. Before we dig deeper, let us first introduce you to what hybrid eCommerce is all about.

What is a Hybrid eCommerce Solution?

A hybrid eCommerce solution is an approach that empowers you to manage your B2B and B2C businesses from a single place instead of doing it separately on two different platforms. The hybrid E-Commerce platform possesses the features that allow you to create and manage your account for both B2B and B2C businesses in parallel, creating a unique experience for both types of customers. It enables you to scale your business to a greater dimension without much hassle.

Why choose a Hybrid eCommerce Platform?

  • Multi-user interface

    As both B2B and B2C vary in factors like price, and purchase volume, a single UI does not work, which is the major reason behind people conducting it separately. The hybrid eCommerce platform solves this problem, providing a multi-user interface for each of the types individually. The multi-user interface allows you to present the same product on two different business customizations, making the process smooth and error-free.

  • Inventory management from Single Datastore

    In the traditional setup, you have to maintain two different accounts on different platforms, requiring you to manage your inventory for both the platforms individually. The hybrid E-Commerce platform proves to be extremely handy in this aspect allowing you to maintain a single inventory database and operate it on both the business dimensions simultaneously. So, no more managing and making entries in the database twice, the hybrid platform will do this for you.

  • Multi-channel Capabilities

    A hybrid e-commerce platform not only allows you to manage your business accounts over an online platform but also allows you to connect your digital and physical stores and also the retail partners. This helps you to know your customer well by analyzing their behavior over various channels, both physical and digital stores. Knowing your customers’ shopping behavior as well as interest allows you to serve them with more personalized and relevant products as well as content, hence leading to long-lasting customer retention.

  • More Economical

    One of the biggest motivations to opt for a hybrid eCommerce solution or platform is its time effectiveness. By liberating you from investing the same effort and time to perform the same task on two different platforms, the hybrid eCommerce platform saves a lot of your time which you can utilize in some other productive work, thereby saving cost of the man power.

    With the hybrid approach, you need not maintain two separate databases, create separate catalogs, personalize the content twice based on the business process, rather you can do all these things from a single place and at once

  • Bulk Ordering

    You are taking your B2B business online but if your customer still has to make orders or confirm product units over calls, emails, or messages then there is no point in making it online. Unlike B2C, B2B customers order the products in greater quantity and the hybrid eCommerce platform helps you with the same, allowing both the B2B and B2C customer to place their order at utter ease, regardless of the product units.

  • Scalability and Performance Trackability

    Hybrid eCommerce platforms, required to handle B2B and B2C processes together, offer higher scalability. It is capable of handling varying customer demands based on seasons and locations. Not only this, but it also allows you to track your performance through the in-built analytics feature, based on which you can design your future business strategies.

How to Find the Right eCommerce Platform for your Business?

Once you have decided the type of business you want to take forward- B2B, B2C, or the hybrid, you need to decide the best platform to take your business online.  There are different variables to consider while choosing the most appropriate platform for e-commerce, especially for the Hybrid one.

Handling both B2B and B2C in unison requires the hybrid eCommerce platform to fulfill the criteria of both business types. As both B2B and B2C have a distinct set of requirements, which have to be dealt with simultaneously, you should consider the following factors or for that matter the B2B challenges while picking your hybrid platform.

  • B2B sales cycles are generally longer than B2C cycles, involving more number of people.
  • B2B requires bulk ordering, customized price quotation, and shipping requirements.
  • B2B requires more detailed documentation and invoices.
  • B2B and B2C require distinct product catalogs, pricing, and tax rates.
  • Running both B2B and B2C simultaneously requires higher scalability and efficiency to handle larger traffic and transactions.

Make sure the platform you choose can handle all these B2B requirements along with the B2C ones. There are various platforms that facilitate  hybrid commerce- such as Shopify Plus, Big Commerce, WooCommerce, and Magento, allowing you to start your hybrid journey at immense ease.

Are You Ready to Start Your Hybrid eCommerce Journey?

If yes, the foremost as well as one of the most important steps that decides the success of your ecommerce store is the eCommerce platform you choose. Though, various platforms facilitate you to conduct hybrid commerce, choosing the best that fits your requirement aptly is a tedious task.

Our experts, having a tremendous business and technical aptitude as well as being updated with the latest market trends, can help you choose the most appropriate platforms for your business based on your business requirements. So, wait no more, Reach out to us to start your hybrid eCommerce journey. Or if you are new to digital commerce and want to create an outstanding eCommerce store for your business, Hire our web developer, and create a noteworthy online presence for your brand.

Hybrid eCommerce- A new trend in the eCommerce industry_cta