E-commerce in wholesale is growing in volume sales and is set for continued growth in the next few years.
Wholesalers need to understand the scale of the opportunity and suppliers need to learn how they can best support wholesalers in maximising e-commerce sales.
Ian Moore, Strategy and Digital Director at Bidfood, comments: “One of the few positives born out of the pandemic was that it forced a much-needed focus on digital advancements across all industries, including wholesale. There was a rapid deployment of new and improved ecommerce platforms and subsequently, a boom in online orders.
“While life returns to a new sense of normal, for many however, growth across online platforms has plateaued slightly, giving us a clearer picture of what the trends associated with online ordering are. For us, it’s about providing choice and being adaptable to customers’ needs.”
Online ordering will continue to be ever important to Bidfood’s customers and is therefore likely to continue to grow. However, the reality is that one size doesn’t fit all. Providing more traditional ways of ordering products, such as telesales, or a mixture of on and offline ordering, continues to be incredibly important, alongside ecommerce and integrated solutions.
The majority of ecommerce strategies will continue to grow, especially as the last few years have seen significant investment in digital offerings. But with the constant evolution of technology and consumer needs, it will be crucial for every aspect of a digital strategy to evolve simultaneously with those two factors.
“With the progression of technology and tools available, data has and will continue to become even more important to all businesses. It’s important though to ensure data is being shared not just for data’s sake, but rather to add value, gain insight and ultimately support us in understanding what our customers need. So what is going to add value to the customer offering? For us, it’s the alignment between wholesaler and supplier,” adds Moore.
“Our priority is to ensure the data is insightful and improves the customer journey. A complete picture of data will need to be taken in order to map out the road ahead of our customers. For example, will the data make the customer see more relevant offers or promotions on the products they purchase frequently, bringing them greater and easier value?
“I believe wholesalers realise the importance and benefits of digital innovation and likewise, suppliers are more aware of the importance ecommerce has on the industries in which they operate. You will find that some suppliers are even reaching out to wholesalers for help and advice, not just data.”
Being able to differentiate between online and offline sales, and what the customer wants from the different platforms, is key for wholesalers to match their offering and services to each customer’s differing needs. What a customer wants from an ecommerce solution versus an integrated procurement solution, and even a telesales offering, may vary, so it’s important to understand what path the customer is choosing and why. This will help enhance that customer’s journey, rather than trying to create a single way of working.
The starting point for this understanding is the ability to identify the differing sales channels and customer preferences for each.
“The secret to maximising ecommerce sales is surprisingly straightforward – place the customer at the heart of everything you do! It’s not just what you want to sell to the customer, it’s about understanding what the customer wants to buy, how they want to buy it and what other value you can add whilst making their experience as streamlined as possible,” says Moore.
“Ecommerce in the B2B space as a whole has matured and the food industry is no different. It’s evolving to provide a suite of tools and solutions (with ordering remaining a key aspect). These may be in the form of menu planning, cost effective solutions, understanding allergens or simply making ordering the products the customer wants as easy as possible. It’s the role of the wholesaler to understand the customer journey and provide the support tools to help them along the way.”
Joe Moulton, Marketing Manager, Birchall Foodservice, comments: “Sales can be maximised by engaging more with customers, suppliers and your sales team. It’s important to ask your customers what they need from your e-commerce site before developing a new feature or strategy. If you launch a feature without consulting your target audience, you risk wasting a lot of time and money. You should also consult with your sales team as they speak to customers on a daily basis.
“Engaging with suppliers is key too. You need to make them understand the importance of fully optimising their product pages. You should encourage them to spend time on your e-commerce site to understand if their listings are as strong and effective as they could be.”
It’s also worth noting the importance of having an app version of your e-commerce platform. The app version of Birchall’s e-commerce site, OrderMate, allows customers to order anytime from any place, be it in the kitchen or store rooms when checking stock, or on the couch at the end of the day.
Faye Foot, Ecommerce Manager of Cotswold Fayre, comments: “Since the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve seen the number of online orders double. Ecommerce has made it easier for retailers to find wholesalers and distributors online and place orders independently. Our customer base consists of busy shop managers, seeking a convenient way to place orders that is easy to navigate, ultimately saving time. To this point, we continue to improve the site speed, ease of navigation and streamline the buying process for our customers.”
Over the next 12 months, Cotswold Fayre is placing significant emphasis on automation and personalisation to elevate the customer experience. These two areas of focus will enable the company to provide a tailored shop front for each retailer type, supplying each with appropriate content and the most suitable products. Cotswold Fayre will continue to reduce manual intervention by improving system integration, website search and navigation, plus the use of data-driven algorithms, which in turn will streamline the online ordering process and improve the overall customer experience.
“There is more to do in terms of sharing data, with both suppliers and customers,” adds Foot. “Here at Cotswold Fayre we have strong partnerships that allow for sharing of data to and from all stakeholders, that benefit all. We’re able to see trends in sales and provide stockist information, as well as category gap analysis – great for our suppliers! And we share with suppliers the results of any digital campaigns and online activations they fund, providing insight as to the performance and impact on web sales and buying decisions of those customer that purchase via the website. In terms of customers, they receive category sales and brand performance by region and type of retailer that provide opportunity to swap out slower moving ranges.”
“Developing a user friendly website that is tailored to the audience, easy to navigate, and has detailed product categorisation is essential. Offering personalised features such as shopping from their wishlist so they can quickly add regular products to their basket, it eliminates the need to search for products repeatedly, saving valuable time and effort allowing them more time to discover new products or take advantage of offers,” adds Foot.
Site search is an extremely powerful tool to help customers quickly locate products. It also allows wholesalers to upsell and merchandise similar products, helping customers discover products they may not have initially considered. It’s also a great data collection tool; gaining insight into customer search terms and ensuring best results are shown and to strategically promote and upsell related or complementary products.
Seasonal demands play a crucial role in shaping customer preferences and purchasing patterns, by recognising and aligning your product categories and promotional activity in line with trends, you can anticipate and capitalise on the retailer requirements, that are driven by end-consumer needs.
Exceptional customer service is also crucial at every phase of the e-commerce journey, extending beyond traditional channels like phone or email support. It involves ensuring that the website itself provides the right content to assist customers and answers their questions on the spot. This includes a clear and informative ordering processes, a comprehensive FAQ section, and of course the use of live chat functionality to offer real time support.
Niall Deveney Marketing Manager, Dunns Food and Drinks Ltd, comments: “Our digital orders have grown rapidly over the last few years. They were already climbing before COVID but we have gone from 35% before lockdown to around 70% of orders being digital each month.
With more and more customers going online each month it’s increasingly important that the platforms are fit for purpose. Dunns is working to fully populate its product imagery and data so that customers can reap the benefits when ordering.
“We work closely with our suppliers to build joint business together progressively,” adds Deveney. “It’s important that suppliers share assets and data back to allow wholesalers to fully market their products.”
Dunns is actively tracking ordering patterns each month. Although the majority of ordering has moved online, it still leaves 30% that are placing their orders by other means (telesales/email/account manager) and this means Dunns can focus resources as needed.
“Every supplier is different and naturally have different resources available to support in this area. Depending on scale, wholesalers need the basic assets necessary to showcase each product online as a minimum and there are still gaps where some suppliers are playing catch up.
“We are already seeing returns from the work we are putting in with imagery and optimised descriptions. Customers want to be able to search the products they are looking for easily, and to know what they are looking at.”
Andy Whitworth, wholesale director at Parfetts, comments: “Parfetts is experiencing an increase in online orders, and they now account for 40% of our total sales. This has been achieved without a drop in cash and carry sales. Online provides exponential sales opportunities by increasing the geographical area we can service.”
Parfetts is continually investing in e-commerce. Its order app and website offer industry-leading technology that’s designed to support its customers.
Parfetts works closely with key suppliers to share data that drives sales. It informs NPD, promotions, activations, and even price changes. Data enables the company to develop future strategies that increase footfall and sales. It gives suppliers access to a number of digital packages that deliver access to real-time sales and performance data for all their brands/products and works closely with them to develop activations that drive success.
Parfetts differentiates between online and in-depot sales with different promotions running in each channel.
“Ensuring that online ordering is easy and simple to use and provides customers with a positive experience.
It’s essential that online channels are provided with easy-to-access support, which at Parfetts comes from a specialist support team and field-based support team,” adds Whitworth.
“It is also key that once orders are placed, the infrastructure is in place to deliver efficiently and effectively, supporting click-and-collect and delivered customers. Again, we have invested heavily in this area by continually improving our picking and handling processes, investing in cutting-edge routing and delivery technologies, and ensuring we employ our own drivers to operate our growing company-owned fleet.”
Debbie Harrison, Joint MD, Pricecheck, comments: “With retail customers demanding more convenient forms of shopping, wholesalers are seeing a sharp rise in web orders and must modernise their e-Commerce platforms to stay competitive. As the sector embraces digital, we have seen the positive impact eCommerce can have on sales and customer satisfaction.”
The pandemic accelerated digital transformation in the wholesale sector, putting e-Commerce at the forefront of retail. In the past three years, Pricecheck has seen a 300% increase in web sales, with figures quadrupling since Covid.
Customers of today expect the same online standards from wholesalers that they would receive from retailers. To meet this ever-changing shift to online, Pricecheck launched a bespoke B2B website in 2022 and has since introduced usability features such as an improved category database, search facilities, personalised product recommendations and simple-to-use navigation.
“Digital innovation will be crucial to wholesalers in the next 12 months. Wholesalers will continue to adapt and change, whether they’re making digital investments, moving to D2C, or opening new categories,” adds Harrison.
“Customer convenience has long been driving change in the sector, and it’s never been more important than this past two years. We’ll see more delivered wholesalers either introducing or enhancing their digital offering.”
As demand for flexible ordering continues, the ability to access products 24/7 will continue to challenge stock availability, but savvy wholesalers will use technology advances to improve this area too.
Pricecheck continues to enhance its digital strategy by improving our eCommerce and B2C capabilities as a wholesaler – from developing online sales platforms to directly supplying online retailers. As a result, it has created new opportunities, increased demand, and extended its customer base.
“Communication between wholesalers and suppliers is important to build strong relationships and improve the flow of information. By working more closely with brands and manufacturers, wholesalers can benefit from deeper market insights to successfully promote brands to customers through eCommerce platforms,” says Harrison. “By having a wider understanding of demand and market structure, wholesalers can be more direct in how and who they sell stock to for maximum return on sales.”
Yulia Petitt, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Sugro UK, comments: “Since taking up the group e-Commerce offering, the participating members advised that they have seen a substantial increase in average basket size with their customers as well as a significant reduction in the order taking costs.”
Wholesalers have been reporting 100% customer satisfaction driven by efficiencies of 24/7 ordering system capabilities as well as accuracy in capturing the orders with fewer mistakes in comparison with other order capturing methods such as phone or email.
Wholesalers have seen an increase in average online sales of up to 50% since adopting the group solution, with up to 30% of their turnover now being generated online via the app. They have also reported an increase in active online users of over 150% year on year.
Members have seen new customers placing orders via the app platform with up to 30% of incremental sales driven by the app.
“Wholesalers who can offer a tailored improved customer experience will certainly succeed. Understanding the audience and tailoring the customer experience to their needs across all online touchpoints will help to maximise reach and profit for wholesalers. At Sugro, wholesalers can use bespoke targeted segmentation based on customer type and location as well as create multi-layered pricing and promotional structure which is individual for each of their customers,” adds Petitt.
“It is also a great way to reach new customers and new markets via tailored introductory offers and bespoke advertisement and pricing which is key to expanding the existing customer base and increasing sales.”
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