What B2B Buyers Actually Need

(That Most Sites Still Don’t Offer)

B2B eCommerce has come a long way in the past decade.
Most B2B sites technically work—but they weren’t built for how buying actually happens.
We see it all the time: a decent-looking site backed by clunky processes. Buyers log in, only to email a rep for pricing. Reordering requires digging up old POs. Shared accounts cause errors because there’s no way to set roles or permissions.
It’s not about features. It’s about fit.
And most B2B platforms still assume buyers will adjust to the system, instead of designing around how those buyers actually work.
This article breaks down what B2B buyers expect now—and what it costs you when the experience doesn’t deliver.

1. Real Self-Service That Actually Works

Most B2B buyers don’t mind talking to someone—they just don’t want to need one to get through a basic order.

They’re logging in to restock the same supplies they’ve ordered five times before. Or to get a quick look at pricing for something they already know they need. If your site requires them to reach out for every step, it’s not a relationship—it’s a bottleneck.

The strongest platforms let buyers log in, see the right products at the right price, reorder what they’ve bought before, and keep things moving. When that works, sales teams can focus on strategic support—not chasing down order details that should’ve lived in the UI.

And when it doesn’t? Buyers will quietly find workarounds. Or new vendors.

2. Account Structures That Reflect Real Buying Teams

In a real business, the person building the cart isn’t always the one approving it.

And the person placing the order isn’t always the one managing the payment or fulfillment.

When everyone has to share a login—or worse, forward screenshots to each other—you’re forcing buyers into a broken workflow before the order even gets placed.

The right setup gives companies room to operate how they already do. Multiple users. Role-specific permissions. Shared access to payment methods and invoices. A place where buyers, admins, and approvers can all do what they need without stepping on each other’s toes.

If your site isn’t built for that, they’ll piece it together over email. But they won’t enjoy it—and they won’t stick around if someone else makes it easier.

3. Payment Options That Match Procurement Realities

Most procurement teams aren’t paying with a credit card. And no one wants to call accounting to finish a checkout.

Yet that’s exactly what happens when a buyer reaches the payment step and realizes their options are: credit card… or nothing.

For many companies, that’s just not how buying works. They’re operating on purchase orders. Net terms. Shared accounts. And when your checkout doesn’t reflect that, it creates an unnecessary blocker at exactly the wrong moment.

Modern B2B buyers expect:

Net 30/60/90 terms
Invoice-based checkout
Stored company payment methods
Optional PO fields and order notes

Offering invoice-based checkout, stored company payment methods, or simple PO support isn’t a luxury—it’s a signal that you understand how businesses actually buy.

And when that signal’s missing, the trust will be too.

4. Reordering That Doesn’t Feel Like Starting Over

Most B2B orders are repeat orders.

The buyer already knows what they need. They just want to get in, reorder it, and move on. But if they have to rebuild the cart from scratch every time—or dig through old emails just to find a past PO—you’re turning a five-minute task into a 30-minute chore.

That’s how buyers drift away. Not out of frustration, but inertia. The simpler option becomes the preferred one.

The best B2B experiences include:

A “Buy Again” button
Quick order forms for known SKUs
Saved carts or templates
Bulk add-to-cart from a spreadsheet or list

These aren’t wishlist features. They’re sanity-saving basics for teams that need to move quickly and accurately—often across dozens or hundreds of SKUs.

5. Personalized Buying Experiences

B2B buyers have expectations the moment they log in.

They’ve worked with you before. They’ve negotiated terms. They know what products they’re supposed to see—and what pricing they’ve agreed to.

So when they land on a site that shows public pricing, irrelevant products, or a “call for quote” message, it doesn’t just feel off. It undermines trust.

A personalized catalog isn’t a fancy feature. It’s the digital equivalent of knowing your customer when they walk in the door. And when it’s missing, buyers start to wonder if the relationship actually matters.

The strongest platforms remember the details. They get the product visibility, pricing, and terms right—every time. No questions. No surprises.

Because when buying feels like starting from scratch, loyalty wears out fast.

Why It’s Worth Fixing

This isn’t the kind of work that shows up in splashy product launches or glossy design showcases.

But it’s the work that makes your site genuinely useful—and worth coming back to.

When your B2B experience actually supports the way buyers operate, things start to move faster. Your team spends less time answering repeat questions. Buyers stop emailing just to place simple orders. Reordering becomes something they can handle in two clicks instead of twenty.

We’ve helped brands double their reorder volume—not by changing pricing or product, but by fixing how buyers interact with the site after login. It doesn’t take a full rebuild. It takes solving the right problems first.

Start by paying attention to the points of friction your best customers are already working around.

That’s where the opportunity is.

How We Help

At SwiftOtter, we help B2B brands modernize in a way that actually fits the way they work. Sometimes that means rethinking reordering flows. Sometimes it’s account-level permissions, flexible invoicing, or cleaning up how the checkout handles payment logic.

Often, it’s smaller adjustments that remove just enough friction to make the experience feel intuitive again.

Our goal isn’t to sell you a new platform.

It’s to make the one you have work harder for your customers—and easier for your team.

If that’s the direction you’re headed, we’d love to be a part of it.

Not Sure Where to Start?

You don’t have to do everything at once.

Start with:

Asking your best buyers what slows them down
Watching how your internal team helps people complete orders
Fixing the places where good customers are building their own workarounds

You don’t need a digital overhaul. You need a buying experience that makes sense for the people already trying to buy from you.

How We Help

We build B2B sites that make it easy for real teams to get what they need—quickly, accurately, and with as little friction as possible.

Sometimes that means building multi-user workflows.

Sometimes it means simplifying checkout.

Sometimes it means fixing the little things that break trust over time.

Whatever the path, our goal is the same:

Make buying easier, so you can sell better.

If that’s what you’re aiming for too, let’s talk.

Ready to Untangle the Complexity?

If your tech stack is holding you back, we’ll help you realign it—so your team can move faster with confidence.