What is B2B: A Complete Guide to Business to Business (2025)

Explore business-to-business models, market size and growth, key B2B vs. B2C differences, and common challenges in our 2025 guide.

The value of the global B2B ecommerce market hit $19.34 trillion in 2024 and is projected to reach $47.54 trillion by 2030. That’s nearly three times bigger than B2C ecommerce, which is expected to reach $17.77 trillion in the same timeframe.

So, what’s driving this growth?

A new generation of business buyers insist on the same seamless experience they get as consumers: self-serve storefronts, real-time pricing, and flexible fulfillment. But when it comes to B2B, audiences now expect additional layers, like net payment terms, custom catalogs, and bulk order logic.

Ahead, you’ll learn what B2B looks like today, the models B2B merchants are using to grow, how it compares to B2C, and the challenges and trends in 2025 and beyond.

What is business to business (B2B)?

B2B, or business to business, is a business model where companies sell products and services to other businesses, rather than directly to consumers. If your customer is another business—whether they’re buying to resell, fulfill, distribute, or operate—you’re in B2B territory.

Most people think of software companies when they hear B2B. And yes, this business model includes information technology platforms that sell email tools, inventory software, or analytics dashboards to ecommerce merchants.

But the B2B world is way bigger than software as a service (SaaS). 

B2B industries also include:

• Wholesalers supplying goods to retailers
• Manufacturers producing bulk SKUs for private labels
• Logistics partners, suppliers, and agencies powering ecommerce operations behind the scenes

Case in point: Filtrous. David Yadzi launched the business from his garage, selling lab-grade syringe filters to other companies. Today, Filtrous serves the University of California, Los Angeles and other labs around the world, with a modern B2B wholesale experience built on Shopify.

After struggling to scale or keep up while using BigCommerce, Filtrous migrated to Shopify and launched in just 63 days with amazing results:

• 27% increase in organic conversion
• 12 hours of manual work saved weekly across sales and support
• Faster self-serve ordering and fewer customer calls

“We’re confident that no matter how big we grow, or how many orders we get on a given day, that Shopify could handle it,” says Yin Fu, Filtrous’s director of ecommerce. 

Examples of B2B

Here are a few notable examples that show what B2B companies look like in action in commerce:

• Faire: Faire connects independent brands with retail buyers. Let’s say you hand-make soy candles or linen aprons. Faire lets you list your products so boutiques and store owners can order in bulk. Buyers get net payment terms, sellers get wholesale exposure. Consumers never touch the transaction.
• EcoEnclose: EcoEnclose sells compostable mailers, recycled shipping boxes, and custom packaging supplies to ecommerce companies. If your business needs 2,000 branded boxes by next Friday, that’s a B2B order.
• Shopify: Shopify is a textbook B2B business. We don’t sell products to consumers—we sell the platform that powers thousands of B2C (and B2B) brands. Whether you’re a one-person candle shop or a global retailer, you’re buying a business tool to run your store. That’s B2B, through and through.

Types of B2B business models

Not all B2B businesses operate the same way. Some go deep into one niche. Others cast a wide net. And some blur the lines between B2B and B2C entirely.

Here are the three big B2B business models to know.

Vertical B2B

Vertical B2B businesses serve a specific industry or supply chain (also known as a “vertical”). Every product, feature, and customer touchpoint is tailored to a single sector. They go deep instead of wide.

Take Chemnet, a global marketplace built for the chemical trade. Or Machinio, which connects buyers and sellers of used industrial machinery. Vertical B2Bs are tailored ecosystems: offering curated inventories, integrated logistics tools, and insights specific to their sectors. They know exactly what their buyers need, and usually they can deliver solutions better than a generalist could.

Some experts refer to vertical B2B as “the future of ecommerce.” But focus comes with tradeoffs. Scaling takes time, customer acquisition is expensive, and inventory is often limited to a tight supplier pool. Plus, with giants like Amazon and Alibaba eyeing vertical expansion, competition is heating up fast.

Horizontal B2B

Horizontal B2B businesses serve a wide range of industries with the same core solution. Instead of going deep into one vertical, they solve a common problem, like payments, packaging, or communications across multiple sectors.

When you think of horizontal B2Bs, think of:

• A payment gateway that handles transactions for florists, SaaS companies, and retailers alike
• A packaging supplier that sells branded mailers to cosmetics brands, bookstores, and coffee roasters

Or, consider a platform like Slack, which powers team communication for companies across various industries: Shopify, IBM, T-Mobile, Target, Uber, and Etsy, among others. 

The product stays largely the same, but the use cases vary.

The upside is scale. Horizontal models can expand quickly and serve a larger customer base without having to start from scratch in every new industry.

But casting a wide net also has its limits. Broad positioning can make it harder to stand out. And features that work for one industry might miss the mark for another.

B2B2C hybrid model

In the business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model, you sell to businesses and reach the end customer—either directly, through your partners, or both.

One business example of the best and most profitable B2B2C model is Amazon.

When Amazon opened its platform to third-party sellers, B2B brands could list products and access millions of customers without building their own distribution engine. And it worked. 

As of 2024, third-party sellers make up a major chunk—60%—of Amazon’s $630 billion revenue.

App stores work the same way. Apple’s App Store and Google Play let software companies (B2B) distribute directly to mobile users (B2C) inside a trusted ecosystem. One marketplace, two audiences.

Buyers—whether business or consumer—want the same things: choice, speed, and transparency. B2B2C gives sellers a way to meet them where they are, while still owning part of the experience.

The main challenge is providing clean pricing logic, shared inventory visibility, and messaging that works for both a procurement lead and a first-time shopper.

B2B vs. B2C: key differences

The business-to-business model isn’t the same as selling directly to consumers. The stakes are different. So is the process.

The clearest way to grasp why B2B and B2C strategies diverge is to look first at who’s on the receiving end and how concentrated that audience is.

As Brad Hall, cofounder and CEO of SONU Sleep, explains: “The biggest difference between B2B and B2C is your target audience and the size of that target audience.” 

“B2B is presenting to a smaller audience who typically share a common goal,” he says, “and therefore require more tailored sales and marketing strategies. However, the advantage of B2C is that there’s many more fish to bait, and where one doesn’t catch, the others will.”

Here are the main differences between B2B and B2C ecommerce:

Aspect	B2B	B2C	Example
Decision process	Multiple stakeholders—legal, procurement, IT	One person—fast, informal, often emotion-driven	B2B: A retailer’s ops team approves a bulk packaging order. B2C: A customer buys a phone case from Casetify.
Sales cycle	Ranges from a few weeks to months and sometimes even years	Short; can happen within minutes or days	B2B: A chain of salons negotiates skin care supply with Luminance. B2C: A shopper buys a cleanser from Luminance via its DTC site.
Pricing	Tiered, negotiated, or personalized per account	Fixed and public; same for all customers	B2B: Faire offers volume-based pricing to boutique retailers. B2C: The same candle is sold at retail price on Etsy.
Relationship type	Long-term; built on recurring orders, service, and reliability	Transactional or brand-loyalty driven	B2B: CeramicSpeed supplies parts monthly to bike shops. B2C: A cyclist buys a single part from CeramicSpeed’s site.
Purchase flow	Often begins with a formal request for proposal (RFP)—a structured document inviting vendors to submit bids, followed by internal evaluations, compliance checks, and contract negotiations	Influenced by reviews, ratings, peer recommendations, and fast checkout options	B2B: A beverage brand solicits packaging proposals from 3 vendors. B2C: A shopper compares ratings and buys a water bottle from Hydro Flask.

While B2B may feel more structured and slower-moving than B2C, it also opens the door to larger order values, recurring revenue, and deeper client relationships.

Take it from Bernie Schott, owner and CEO of REECH, who says, “REECH customers typically buy a yoga mat every one to two years max, but a studio that stocks REECH mats will typically purchase 10 every two months.” 

Shopify brands selling B2B see up to 3.2 times more reorders than DTC, highlighting the higher volume and repeat nature of business buyers.

But what if you don’t want to choose just one business model?

B2B doesn’t exclude B2C

You don’t have to choose between selling to businesses and selling to consumers. Many companies do both—and do it well.

For example, a cellphone brand could ship thousands of devices to a telecom provider and also sell directly through its own online store.

Basically, the same goods or services—just packaged differently for each audience.

Take CeramicSpeed, a premium bicycle parts manufacturer based in Denmark. It sells to individual riders, bike shops, and OEMs across more than 50 countries—all from a single Shopify store.

Its needs were specific:

• B2C shoppers wanted to browse by terrain type.
• Business clients searched by SKU and needed fast, frictionless reordering.

Since switching to Shopify, CeramicSpeed streamlined both sides:

• 29% increase in average B2C order value.
• 33% boost in B2C conversion rate.
• 5% faster B2B order placement through sales reps using the Shopify mobile app.

CeramicSpeed now runs one site, powered by integrations like Klaviyo and Shopify Subscriptions, with tailored workflows for each buyer type. “In the US, our sales reps drive to different bike shops in America, and one feature we could not live without is the Shopify app,” says Lukas L. Dalsgaard, CeramicSpeed’s ecommerce specialist.

Running both sides of the business—B2B and B2C—requires different mechanics.

And while B2B ecommerce platforms like Shopify can help unify both under one roof, selling to other businesses comes with its own set of challenges.

Let’s take a closer look at what types of difficulties B2B businesses face.

Common B2B challenges

The B2B market is exciting, often lucrative, and complex. If you’re stepping into enterprise-grade relationships, here’s what you need to brace for and how to adapt.

Longer sales cycles

You’re not selling to one person. According to surveys from Databox, the average B2B buying decision takes between three and five months. And the buying journey is far from linear. The number of touchpoints depends on the deal size and industry, but studies from around the web report anywhere from 11 to 60 or more touchpoints per B2B buyer. 

That complexity means each deal advances in careful increments rather than instant clicks—an experience Kevin Callahan, co-founder of Flatline Van Co., sums up well. 

“Most often,” says Kevin, “B2C ecommerce transactions have a single-step buying process that results in a shorter sales cycle. For B2B transactions, the buying process is almost always multi-step, and involves more communication than a B2C. This results in a longer sales cycle overall.”

A long B2B sales cycle can strain your cash flow, clog your pipeline, and drag out forecasting.

Here are some ways to get over those hurdles: 

• Invest in search engine optimization (SEO): B2B buyers take their time, so meet them where they’re researching. Consistent B2B blogging (9 or more posts per month) results in a 35.8% year-over-year increase in Google organic search traffic. That approach significantly outperforms less frequent blogging (one to four posts per month), which yields a 16.5% increase. Even low-volume, technical keywords can bring high-intent traffic from decision makers. Build content that speaks to every stakeholder, from first-click explainer blogs on your company website to last-mile product documentation.
• Give potential buyers a clear path forward, without needing a call every time: Shopify’s B2B tools let you send draft orders, offer net payment terms, and enable self-serve reordering from day one. It’s how you keep the deal warm while the buyer loops in finance, legal, and IT to get their buy-in.

📚 Read: What Is B2B Marketing? Strategies and Trends

Customer concentration risk

Big business clients often bring big revenue. But if too much of your business relies on a few buyers, you’re exposed. 

High customer concentration occurs when any single customer accounts for 20% or more of your revenue. If that buyer delays payment, renegotiates terms, or walks away, it’s a direct hit to your cash flow.

You don’t want one buyer holding the purse strings. Diversify your book to protect your margins.

Here are some tips for mitigating risk: 

• Track account-level revenue regularly: A simple monthly spreadsheet can reveal who’s driving what, but Shopify’s customer sales reports make it even easier. Use Shopify’s customer sales reports to track revenue distribution across your accounts. 
• Build more balance: Branch out into new segments, stagger contract lengths, or proactively grow midsize accounts, so you’re not leaning too hard on one purchasing company.

Customization at scale

B2B buyers want it their way: Custom pricing. Custom product variants. Custom delivery terms. Custom payment schedules.

A May 2025 study from Adobe and Forrester found that nearly three-quarters of consumers and B2B buyers say brands should understand when, where, and how they want personalized interactions. Yet 53% of buyers say brands still don’t understand which moments actually deserve personalization.

Customization is a tall order when you’re managing dozens (or hundreds) of unique buyer accounts. Here are some ways to overcome that challenge: 

• Standardize where you can, personalize where it counts: Build reusable templates for quotes, catalogs, and tax rules—then layer on account-level customizations.
• Shopify Plus makes tailored buying experiences possible, without a dev team on standby:
• Assign custom catalogs and price lists to each buyer.
• Configure net payment terms and tax settings by location.
• Integrate customer relationship management (CRM) tools to centralize buyer insights.

B2B demands more, yes, but when it clicks, it compounds. The number of B2B decision-makers willing to spend as much as $10 million or more on an ecommerce transaction has increased by 83%. 

The B2B businesses ready to meet that level of confidence are the ones with tech stacks built to handle complexity without breaking.

B2B FAQ

What does B2B mean?

B2B stands for business to business. It refers to commercial transactions that occur between two businesses, as opposed to a business and an individual consumer. In a B2B model, one company sells goods and services, or information, to another company that needs them for its operations, production, or resale.

What is B2B with an example?

B2B involves one business providing goods or services to another business. Example: A raw materials supplier (Business A) sells bulk quantities of fabric to a clothing brand (Business B) for the production of their apparel line.

What is B2B and B2C?

B2B (business to business) involves transactions between two businesses. The target customer is another company, and sales often involve larger volumes, longer sales cycles, and more complex decision-making processes between multiple stakeholders.

B2C (business to consumer) involves transactions directly between a business and an individual consumer. The target customer is the end user. Sales cycles are typically shorter, and purchases are often driven by personal preference, price, and convenience.

What is the B2B market size?

The global B2B ecommerce market is valued at $32.11 trillion as of 2025 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.5%, reaching $36.16 trillion by 2026.