The global COVID-19 pandemic marches into its third year and continues to produce major supply chain hiccups for many manufacturers and distributors. As such, more organizations will continue latching on to B2B marketplaces to buy and sell goods and services, according to data and analysis in Digital Commerce 360’s 2022 B2B Marketplace 400 research report.
Today, these marketplaces are part of the ecommerce mainstream. And in that mainstream are Amazon Business’ dominating presence and the proliferation of marketplaces springing up to serve numerous vertical markets from health care and automotive to chemicals and agriculture.
These marketplaces’ proliferation in the U.S. is catching up to more mature marketplaces. It’s even surpassing Europe. There are 400 in the United States, and more are on the way. That compares with between 260 and 300 in Europe, based on counts by Dealroom.com and Point Nine Capital, a Berlin-based venture capital firm.
B2B marketplaces have surged in number
Three years ago, Digital Commerce 360 was following about 75 to 100 B2B marketplaces. Today, the B2B Marketplace 400 research report has metrics and analysis on 400 commercial and vertical-industry marketplaces spread across 18 industries. They range from automotive parts, chemicals, energy, and construction supplies to labor and logistics.
These marketplaces can take shape according to multiple ecommerce ownership arrangements. But there are two categories of marketplace types. The first: Industry (vertical) marketplaces that bring together buyers and sellers in a particular industry such as automotive parts, steel, health care, and multiple other segments. The second is commercial third-party (horizontal) marketplaces, such as Amazon Business and Alibaba.
Amazon Business remains the single most dominant B2B marketplace. In 2022, Bank of America Securities projects Amazon Business will post $41.5 billion in gross merchandise volume. That would be up 31.7% from a projected $31.5 billion in 2022. Based on these projections, Amazon Business singlehandedly would account for 31.9% of all B2B marketplaces sales, or one in every three transactions, based on a Digital Commerce 360 estimate. As soon as 2025, Amazon Business could post annual gross merchandise volume of about $83.1 billion, BofA Securities says.
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