Research: how do smartphones influence B2B buying behaviour?

For most consumers, the smartphone is the main channel used in the orientation phase of a purchase. But is this also true in a Business to Business (B2B) environment? A recent survey, conducted among RAJA Group’s European clients, took a closer look at B2B smartphone usage. What emerged? Even in B2B buying behaviour, it is increasingly common to gather information via the professional smartphone and buy products on mobile. Diving deeper into the figures, we see some clear differences by country. Check out the details of all the results below.

1. B2B customers and their overall smartphone usage

Of all the countries surveyed, people in Denmark use smartphones most often for professional purposes. This puts the Danes ahead of countries such as Spain and the UK – countries that are often considered leaders in the use of mobile devices. In contrast, daily use in France is the lowest, well below the European average.

For all countries involved, the smartphone is most often accessed during break times (e.g. during lunch or coffee break). In Norway and Germany, we see that a large proportion of those surveyed also consulted their smartphone in the evening for professional purposes. In contrast, Swedes and Poles use their smartphone remarkably more often when they are on the move (e.g. during a business trip).

2. How do smartphones influence B2B buying behaviour?

B2B buyers mainly use their smartphones to gather or check information. They then do this by surfing to the websites of manufacturers or partners, for example. In Denmark and Germany, they also appear to often get information from specialised media and blogs. This has a significant impact on B2B buying behaviour, especially in e-commerce. In other words, existing customers or prospects are already well informed the moment they get in touch with a seller. In Spain and Denmark, we see that people consult social media most often. LinkedIn, in particular, stands out.

3. Which functionalities should a mobile website definitely have?

Among those surveyed, one answer stands out head and shoulders above the rest. For them, the most important functionality of a mobile website is the presence of a search function. A smart and efficient search function saves a lot of time – and therefore prevents frustration – for the user. Some other points that came up were:

• the ability to easily add products to the shopping basket based on previously purchased products;
• the ability to have an overview of the history of purchases;
• the function to keep a wishlist and complete a purchase at a later date.

Did you know that Rajapack also has a mobile website? Watch this video and get to know all the functionalities of our new mobile site:

4. M-commerce in the B2B sector

When we talk about professional purchases on a mobile website (or m-commerce), we see that Spain is at the top of the leaderboard. Nowhere else did so many respondents say they had made a mobile purchase for their employer during the past six months. In contrast, countries like France or Norway had the lowest numbers.

On average, these buyers made at least two mobile purchases during the past six months. No big surprise perhaps: especially B2B employees who are often on the road choose to purchase via their smartphone or tablet. Because they do not have access to a desktop or laptop, a smartphone/tablet is the most obvious alternative.