Business-to-business buyers say they will be happy to use an avatar to buy in the metaverse, a new report suggests. 

Some 67% of respondents to Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology’s B2B Future Shopper report said they would like to do their online buying in virtual worlds using an avatar in the future. Right now, however, 71% of buyers want to buy from businesses that have both physical and online ordering platforms so that they can shop across channels. And 71% say they would like to shop more easily through their mobile devices, with 66% wanting similar experiences to those offers by consumer brands.

In the meantime, 46% find the online B2B buying experience frustrating. While 68% expect to increase their use of digital channels for purchases, over half (51%) say sellers don’t understand the friction points in the current online buying process and 45% feel it’s more complicated than making offline purchases.

The changing way that buyers want to shop is key since more than three-in-five (62%) say the current economic climate has made them more likely to change suppliers, with the lack of face-to-face interaction from hybrid working a factor for 47% of C-Level executives and procurement leads.

Forty per cent say they have changed all their suppliers in the last year – and 62% of B2B buyers say that they now doing more of their B2B buying online because of working from home.

source: https://internetretailing.net/b2b/b2b-shoppers-happy-to-use-an-avatar-to-order-in-the-metaverse-but-also-keen-to-buy-more-easily-online-study/