THE COVID-19

PANDEMIC CONTINUED TO BE THE BIGGEST

CHALLENGE FOR COMPANIES

WITH DECREASING

REVENUE ,

WHILE A FOCUS ON ONLINE OPERATIONS

PROVED TO BE

THE BIGGEST LEVER FOR COMPANIES

EXPERIENCING GROWTH .

CHECKOUT , A LEADING

2Checkout conducted a global study with over 1,000 companies to understand the main priorities and challenges related to B2B digital commerce operations and strategies . The COVID-19 pandemic continued to be the biggest challenge for companies with decreasing revenue , while a focus on online operations proved to be the biggest lever for companies experiencing growth .

Key findings :

• For 2021 , more B2B companies reported YoY revenue increases while fewer registered a decrease , which signals a slow but steady recovery for the post-2020 pandemic year

• A focus on online channels was the number one contributing factor cited by companies that achieved growth

• Companies used a greater mix of channels to reach their prospects , with online direct a priority . Assisted sales and email were next .

Insights from the report include :

• Factors impacting B2Bs – A focus on online channels was the number one contributing factor cited by companies that achieved growth , impacting 70 % of respondents , with 45 % attributing it to a transition to an online channel and 25 % the scaling of their online presence .

• A total of 54 % of respondents considered COVID-19 to be a significant factor influencing their growth .

• While the impact of the pandemic is slowly declining , it continues to be a significant factor for 75 % of the businesses experiencing revenue losses .

• Revenue growth – A solid 47 % of the companies surveyed experienced a YoY revenue increase for 2021 , while 36 % remained flat . Only 16 % experienced a decrease , less than the 19 % that reported declines in 2020 .

• Challenges – Difficulties with expanding to new markets or regions topped the year ’ s challenges for 45 % of respondents . Longer sales cycles were cited by 29 % of respondents . The primary challenge for the remaining 18 % was the difficulties with growing client lifetime value .

• Priorities – In line with growth drivers , 50 % of respondents stated implementing and improving direct online sales ( via selfservice ) as the priority . A total of 39 % noted the launching of new products , followed closely by a focus on client retention at 38 %.

• Main areas of investment – Marketing activities ( 62 %), product development ( 46 %) and sales processes and sales automation ( 42 %) were high on the B2B investment list , which mostly mirrored what was reported for the previous year .

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