**What your buyers really care about**

The B2B buyers we spoke to this year reiterated their long-standing demands for a reliable supply of high quality goods that can be easily researched, ordered frequently and delivered quickly. Bucking the relationship-first traditions of B2B, buyers revealed that, for the right price, their loyalty can be bought.

Quality and speed:
how buyers select a supplier

Quality of product or service (91%) and delivery speed (62%) remain the two most important factors for buyers when selecting a supplier. However, the importance of recommendations and reviews is on the rise. Up from 23% in 2024, 35% of buyers indicate that social proof is a determining factor in their supplier selection process.

Once they have chosen a supplier and are making a purchase, the three things most important to buyers are accurate information, full product availability and an efficient checkout process.

79%

Accurate information

52%

Full availability of product catalogue

41%

Fast and easy checkout process

Most businesses make purchases at least weekly

How frequently does your business make purchases?

As businesses brace for tough economic headwinds in 2025, buyers say they are cutting back on purchase frequency where possible. Despite this, 62% are making purchases at least weekly, including 16% that make daily purchases.

Top tip

Free shipping, loyalty programs or improved marketing efforts could all help to increase purchase frequency this year. Alternatively, a focus on increasing average order value and conversion rate could offset any potential losses of lower purchase frequency.

Buyer loyalty can be bought

Historically, B2B buyer-seller relationships have been built on a lynchpin of loyalty. In 2022, Sana Commerce reported that 84% of buyers would remain loyal to a supplier they had a great relationship with, even if they were offered preferential business terms elsewhere.¹⁴ But things are changing.

In 2025, B2B suppliers can easily lose loyal customers if they do not offer the right combination of product variety, favourable deals and flexible credit options, all backed up with great customer service for when things go awry.

¹⁴ The power of buying relationships in the evolving B2B online world, Sana Commerce

Challenges at the checkout

Which of the following challenges or obstacles, if any, do you often face when checking out online?

54%

Poor user experience

49%

No real-time product availability

31%

No payment terms

With responses mirroring those from last year, it appears that merchants have made little headway towards solving the problems that buyers face when shopping online. Over the coming months, it is imperative for merchants to understand and fix the friction points of e-commerce journeys or face losing business. This is especially important when it comes to attracting and retaining new customers, as 37% of respondents would not place a second order with a merchant that made an error on the first.