B2B vs B2C Ecommerce: What's the Difference? (2025)

As B2B commerce evolves, the traditional divide between business and consumer experiences is rapidly blurring. 

With millennials now representing 71% of B2B purchasing decisions, buyers expect seamless, modern experiences that match their consumer lives. 

Yet many merchants need help with legacy platforms that are clunky and unintuitive, while manual processes and bloated tech stacks limit growth opportunities. 

Let's explore how B2B commerce is changing, why the traditional B2B-versus-B2C divide may be more artificial than we thought, and what it takes to succeed in both markets. 

What is B2B ecommerce?

B2B (business-to-business) ecommerce is when businesses sell products or services directly to other businesses through online platforms. B2B businesses include wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors selling to retailers or other companies. 

Brands using B2B on Shopify see up to a 3.2 times increase in reorder frequency compared to DTC orders, showing the higher volume and frequency typical of B2B transactions.

What is B2C ecommerce?

B2C (business-to-consumer) ecommerce is when businesses sell products or services directly to individual consumers through online channels. This includes retail websites, mobile apps, and social commerce where the end customer is a person buying for themselves or as a gift. Overall, B2C is more straightforward and focused on individual purchases. 

What’s the difference between B2B and B2C ecommerce?

B2B ecommerce differs from B2C in the following ways:

1. Breadth of audience
2. Average (and negotiable) prices
3. More people involved in the decision-making process
4. Pressure to produce ROI
5. Ecommerce messaging
6. Payment options
7. Retention and repeat orders
8. Marketing

1. Breadth of audience

One of the primary differences between B2C and B2B is the scale of their audiences. B2C brands often strive to reach a broadly defined group of people—sports fans, fitness-minded moms, millennials who are into music, or kids in general.

These are large demographic and psychographic groups that each demand their own customer journey map:

“The biggest difference between B2B and B2C is your target audience and the size of that target audience,” says Brad Hall, cofounder and CEO of SONU Sleep. “For example, B2C is appealing more so to the masses, and to a greater demographic of people with different likes, dislikes, and purchasing habits.

“Alternatively, B2B is presenting to a smaller audience who typically share a common goal, and therefore require more tailored sales and marketing strategies. However, the advantage of B2C is that there’s many more fish to bait, and where one doesn’t catch, the others will.”

B2B ecommerce audiences are a lot more narrow. There’s usually a set number of buyers, with a pretty straightforward profile. For example, a B2B brand might only target ad agency owners or finance VPs at tech startups.

While you might think this would limit the potential of B2B online sales, the opposite is actually true. Revenue from online B2C transactions in the US reached $1.119 trillion in 2023. The B2B ecommerce market, however, accounted for over $2 trillion during the same period.

2. Average (and negotiable) prices

A B2C ecommerce brand might need to reach and sell to hundreds of thousands of people to crack their first million in sales because they’re likely selling products at a lower rate. In B2B ecommerce, it’s common for brands to have fewer than a couple hundred customers but still generate millions—sometimes billions—of dollars in revenue.

The average order value is one of the reasons B2B is taking off. Founder Maria Boustead says that on Po Campo’s B2C site, “Most people just buy one or two things. On the B2B, retailers order 15 to 25 items at once.”

Of course, there are always outliers—B2B goods that cost only $20 and B2C goods with a price tag of $15,000. But across most industries, B2B ecommerce purchases are much higher in price.

B2B ecommerce purchases are also often negotiable, whereas B2C customers pay the dollar price listed on your public-facing website (unless you’re running a promotion). B2B customers use large-value orders as a bargaining chip. Wholesalers get volume discounts. The more they buy, the cheaper each unit is to purchase.

B2B clients equate to a large percentage of our revenue, so if we were to land a B2B client, we actually make significantly more revenue than we do with 100 B2C clients.

You’ll need an ecommerce platform like Shopify to distinguish between the two. Businesses on Shopify can display two online storefronts—one for B2C, and another password-protected one for B2B customers—to manage these differences in pricing, without investing in two back ends.

As Michael Martocci, founder of SwagUp, says, “This can allow B2B companies to put more money into sales and marketing to acquire and expand their customer base versus a B2C company that has cart values that don’t justify those investments.”

3. More people involved in the decision-making process

Here’s what a B2C buyer sounds like when they’re ready to buy: Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Ka-ching.

Here’s what a B2B buyer sounds like: “Okay, I’m ready to share this with my manager, who’s going to pitch it to the senior direction team then pull in finance and legal. I wonder if we should run it by the marketing team, too?”

When the book The Challenger Customer was published in 2015, an average of 5.4 stakeholders were involved in the average B2B sales process—and that number has since climbed to between six and 10. In addition, the authors of this must-read for B2B professionals found a clear correlation between the size of buying teams and the likelihood of a sale being successful.

Here’s perhaps the most important point to take away: Your content—your About Us page, product pages, PDFs, demo videos, pitch decks, catalogs, and so on—are going to be shared with at least six decision-makers within the organization.

What does that mean for your B2B operation? First, you need to invest as much into creating an optimal user experience as B2C brands do. From easily shareable content that shares how business customers can resell your products to post-purchase customer support, the buying decision for companies is vastly different from individual consumers.

This key difference between B2B and B2C ecommerce also means you need to ensure that when someone visits your site, they find reasons to trust your brand and believe you’re the best solution for their problem. That’s why it’s crucial to optimize your user experience and clearly communicate your brand story.

Most often, B2C ecommerce transactions have a single-step buying process that results in a shorter sales cycle. For B2B transactions, the buying process is almost always multi-step, and involves more communication than a B2C. This results in a longer sales cycle overall./p>

4. Pressure to produce ROI

Individual customers purchase products for themselves. Granted, while they don’t want any purchase to be a waste of money, it’s less of an issue for an individual consumer to make one single purchase. With B2B purchases, however, customers place a multi-unit order they need to resell and profit from. There’s much more pressure to make the right decision.

As Brian Folmer, founder of FirstLook, says, “B2C customers routinely buy products of all types, constantly testing things out and, in my case, buying on a whim. Emotions are a bigger part of their consideration. How does this brand make me feel, and do I support their mission?”

However, Brian says the thought process behind a purchase changes with B2B ecommerce: “B2B customers, on the other hand, are usually buying with a purpose in mind ahead of time. Not as many ‘this is fun’ type purchases. In that vein, a company making a purchase usually considers one of two things: Will this make us more money, or help us save money?

“It’s a bit more rudimentary compared to B2C buyers, though the purchases are usually much more expensive, which is why they try to leave emotion out.”

Much like B2C marketing, you’re proving the value of your product. The main difference in B2B ecommerce is proving the resale value of your inventory (high sell-through rates, good profit margins, or brand loyalty), rather than the benefits for the end consumer.

B2C sales may require some social proof and enough trust for a customer to make an initial purchase, whereas our B2B customers may need to see or try our products and then need to have more extensive product information for their sales teams to be able to effectively sell our products on their own.

5. Ecommerce messaging

Speaking of marketing materials, another key difference between B2C and B2B ecommerce is the messaging you’re using to attract and convert customers.

Take it from Maria Boustead, founder of Po Campo, a bike accessories company that sells to both B2B and B2C customers. Maria says that across the two platforms, “The product descriptions are somewhat different, as we are talking to different people.

“For example, on the B2B, we say who the product is intended for (i.e., commuters or e-bike riders), so they can pick the right products for their customers.”

B2B customers also want different information from B2C customers. Brandon Chopp, digital manager for iHeartRaves, says, “Since B2B buyers are typically looking for more complex products, it’s important to provide detailed product information on your ecommerce website. This includes things like specs, dimensions, application examples, and user manuals.

“The more information you can provide, the better equipped buyers will be to make a purchasing decision.”

Retailers ease this pain point when selling B2B through ecommerce marketing messaging. You could:

• Share case studies of brands that have bought your products and resold them at a higher margin
• Talk about how, for some retailers, your products have the highest sell-through rate in the store
• Use social media to showcase user-generated content from happy customers other B2B buyers have resold to

6. Payment options

B2B and B2C ecommerce operations share one common goal: to get paid for the products they sell online. But the way in which customers prefer to pay for those goods differs based on the type of customer they are.

The most popular payment methods for B2C consumers are:

• Digital wallets
• Credit cards
• Debit cards

When B2B buyers place online orders, however, the checkout process is fundamentally different from B2C. Businesses often opt for alternative B2B payment methods such as bank transfer, and use a buy now, pay later model—such as net 15, 30, or 60—to pay for inventory after they’ve sold it themselves

Shopify is a B2B ecommerce platform that allows you to accept B2B payment methods without creating an entirely new store. Get access to B2B Checkout, which allows business customers to view company-specific information—such as payment terms, preferred payment method, and wholesale discounts—each time they order.

7. Retention and repeat orders

B2B ecommerce has the advantage of default retention. Unlike B2C customers who don’t replenish items until they’ve used a product (and provided they enjoyed it), B2B buyers often need a consistent supply of inventory to resell in their own stores.

Take it from Bernie Schott, owner and CEO of REECH, who says, “REECH customers typically buy a yoga mat every one to two years max, but a studio that stocks REECH mats will typically purchase 10 every two months.”

Capitalize on this advantage with a B2B sales team that prioritizes delivering excellent customer service. Build partnerships and be forthcoming with marketing ideas, upcoming trends, or sneak peaks at new products you’re about to launch.

Similarly, for buyers who prefer a self-serve approach, use a B2B ecommerce platform that makes reordering easy. With Shopify, customers can sign in to a company profile to view previous orders, payment terms, and wholesale discounts. They’re able to replenish their own stock with just a few clicks.

8. Marketing

Marketing to businesses is fundamentally different from marketing to consumers, although they both happen online. B2B marketing focuses on building long-term relationships and showcasing value over time. Your B2B ecommerce platform can make or break your marketing campaigns. That’s why brands levering B2B on Shopify see up to 50% increase in reorder frequency compared to alternative B2B selling methods. 

B2C marketing moves at a much faster pace and broader scale. In 2023 alone, Shop Campaigns helped brands acquire over 1 million new customers, with 50% of brands getting their first order within 48 hours of campaign creation. This rapid conversion rate highlights the more immediate nature of consumer marketing.

Some other differences in marketing approaches include:

• Investment and returns: B2B marketing involves higher initial costs but yields longer-term relationships, while B2C requires smaller upfront investments with constant renewal.
• Content strategy: B2B content tends to be more technical and solution-focused, while B2C content emphasizes lifestyle and emotional benefits.
• Sales cycle: B2B involves multiple touchpoints and stakeholders, while B2C typically has a shorter, more direct path to purchase.

Do B2C and B2B ecommerce have any similarities?

The differences between B2B and B2C ecommerce are significant. But while the differences result in marketers and owners embracing different mindsets, philosophies, and strategic approaches, B2B and B2C ecommerce have a few similarities too.

The buying experience is becoming more similar 

Around 87% of B2B buyers would switch suppliers or pay more for a better buying experience, which highlights how important the digital experience has become. B2B is no longer just about the product or price, but about meeting modern expectations for self-service and intuitive purchasing.

Key elements that both B2B and B2C buyers now prefer:

• Self-service capabilities: The ability to place orders themselves online rather than going through traditional channels
• Streamlined ordering: Quick bulk-ordering tools and easy reorder capabilities that mirror consumer checkout experiences
• Personalized experiences: Tailored pricing, product catalogs, and content that adapts to specific customer needs
• Omnichannel consistency: A unified brand experience across all touchpoints, whether buying for business or personal use
• Modern interfaces: Clean, intuitive design that makes complex B2B workflows feel as simple as consumer shopping

Just as B2C shifted heavily toward digital over the past decade, B2B is following the same trajectory. By 2025, 80% of all B2B sales will happen online. This means B2B sellers must deliver the polished, efficient experiences that were once exclusive to B2C, because that's exactly what their buyers have come to expect.

Multichannel matters

The vast majority of B2C and B2B buyers spend their time on similar channels. They rely on YouTube for instructional content and networks like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook for social engagement. Just as a university student might check Facebook to learn about their classmates, a C-suite executive uses Facebook to share photos of their kid.

The use case may be different, but both parties can be found in the same place.

According to Forrester, 59% of buyers prefer to do research online instead of interacting with a salesperson, because reps push their sales agendas rather than solving the problem. It’s likely that many of these buyers start with Google, but—just like with their B2C counterparts—multichannel browsing and buying habits dominate.

In other words: don’t assume that just because your audience is B2B you can ignore Facebook or Instagram. The B2B brands that embrace these channels while everyone else ignores them are likely to be the ones that capitalize on cheaper reach and less competition.

People are people

One of the biggest myths about reaching a B2B audience versus a B2C one involves the person on the other end of the transaction. For far too long, organizations have assumed that a B2B buyer is a completely different type of person than a B2C buyer.

Whether they’re a university student or Fortune 500 exec, they’re still human. And all humans are made of the same neurons and chemicals that trigger emotions and drive us to behave a certain way.

There’s a great opportunity for B2B marketers to leverage psychology to connect with their target audience. Understand the value of highlighting benefits over features. Realize the role that fear can play when a buyer is deciding between two similar solutions.

Trends for B2B and B2C ecommerce 

Whether you’re selling to businesses, consumers, or both, these are the trends to look for in commerce. 

Replacing omnichannel models with unified commerce

Unified commerce means all your sales channels, operations, and back-end processes are connected to one place. You can use this data to create a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints, whether you’re selling wholesale or B2C.

Many retailers have historically approached this incorrectly. They've tried to achieve it by stitching together separate systems—like having one platform for their physical stores (POS) and another for their online store (ecommerce), then trying to connect them through integrations and middleware.

More retailers are moving to true unification, with commerce platforms like Shopify, where everything runs on a single platform with one source for product, order, and customer data. 

The business impact of this trend is convincing: 

• Unified POS/ecommerce systems can reduce technical maintenance needs by up to 60% by eliminating middleware.
• Implementation is 20% faster compared to traditional systems.
• One retailer (Oak + Fort) reported saving about 180 hours per week across their organization by unifying their systems.
• Unified commerce drives an 8.9% increase in GMV on average.

While many businesses start thinking about unified commerce to save money or increase efficiency, they discover it's also better for the customer experience. When all systems are truly unified, businesses can create seamless experiences whether a customer is shopping online, in-store, or through B2B channels.

The growing importance of first-party data and personalization

Twenty-five years ago, ecommerce businesses built customer understanding through third-party cookies and loosely connected marketing tools. 

That era is ending due to changing regulations and privacy laws. A report from Deloitte found that 61% of high-growth companies are shifting toward first-party data for their personalization strategies. First-party data is any information you collect directly from customers or buyers, like store visit data and purchase history. 

Retailers are shifting to truly personalized storefronts built on first-party data. This includes:

• More sophisticated lead-capture strategies
• Building habits around customer sign-ins
• Self-serve functionality for customers
• Personalized product recommendations
• Saved carts and preferences
• Highlighted discounts or store credit

This trend represents a shift in how commerce works, moving from tracking customers pseudonymously to building explicit, value-based customer relationships where personalization feels less like surveillance and more like service.

Evolving customer acquisition and retention strategies 

How retailers spend their acquisition budgets and maintain relationships is also changing. The traditional method was straightforward: spend money on ads to find customers and business buyers. Today, businesses are looking for customers who deliver:

• High average order value (AOV)
• High retained margin
• High lifetime value (LTV)

Both B2B and B2C brands are diversifying beyond ads, with new approaches like:

• Brand collaborations
• Influencer partnerships
• Data cooperatives that let merchants pool their insights
• Customer referral programs
• Retail partnerships

Acquisition is also no longer in a silo—brands are treating acquisition and retention as deeply interconnected activities. For example:

• Personalizing the entire customer journey from discovery through post-purchase
• Creating special experiences for customers based on how they discovered the brand
• Building self-serve subscription programs customized to acquisition channels

More access to data 

Perhaps the most interesting development is data cooperatives like Shopify Collective. Traditionally, larger retailers had an advantage because they had more customer data to work with. 

New models are emerging where independent merchants can pool their data—while keeping individual customer information private—to get insights that rival or exceed what large retailers can achieve. These collaborative approaches can reduce customer acquisition costs by up to 50%. 

Offer B2C and B2B ecommerce through one back end

The differences between B2C and B2B ecommerce are stark. You’ll need to personalize the shopping experience based on common traits each customer shares.

The good news? With B2B on Shopify, you can operate two online storefronts from the same back end—no switching tools or expensive software needed. Plus, our data shows that B2B merchants see up to a 53% increase in GMV per buyer within their first year on the platform, while customer profiles and metafields help both B2B and B2C merchants create personalized experiences that drive sales growth.

Need help distinguishing between B2C and B2B customers? Shopify has decades of combined experience, plus a network of Plus Partners, to help make both operations a success.