4 (out of 8!) trends and predictions shaping B2B digital commerce in 2026

In the last publication of our annual report, Pivotal Trends and Predictions in B2B Digital Commerce, we highlighted a trend you may have noticed yourself: The gap between B2B outperformers and laggards has widened considerably. 

In 2026, that gap is set to grow even further — and the driving force is agentic AI.

AI won’t arrive suddenly. It will creep in, step by step, quietly reshaping workflows, productivity and customer experiences. Eventually, every process will bear its mark.

B2B organizations have adapted before. Just a few years ago, most weren’t even digital. Today, a growing number of manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers have embraced eCommerce at scale. According to Gartner, 75% of B2B organizations will complete their highest revenue deals via digital channels by 2028.

So, what’s the next step for B2B organizations that want to take advantage of AI-driven commerce? Build AI readiness — a foundation that’s important not only for enabling the agentic future but also for strengthening your business as a whole. 

The state of the digital commerce market today shows that building readiness is already underway: 

• About 85% of B2B organizations now operate an eCommerce storefront or self-service portal.

• 56% of B2B companies reported new-product revenue growth through digital channels. 

Despite the incredible strides the B2B sector has made in digitization over the past few years, the buyer experience still lags behind. Only 17% of manufacturers use data to personalize journeys, and just 7% deliver seamless experiences across digital channels. 

According to Dentsu, professional decision drivers — product information, clarity, speed and trust — dictate whether buyers choose, remain loyal to or switch suppliers. Unsurprisingly, B2B leaders who focus on getting the buyer experience just right close deals 31% faster, highlighting the tangible business impact of digital excellence.

This is where AI enters the scene — not as a gimmick, but as a transformative enabler. Dentsu estimates that 77% of all B2B buying processes used AI in 2025, and that the proportion of heavy users grew to 40%. Forrester reports similar findings: 89% of B2B buyers have adopted generative AI as one of the top sources of self-guided information throughout every phase of their buying process. 

As AI in all shapes and sizes promises to reduce the experience gap, the question is: How ready are B2B organizations to take advantage of this opportunity? While the large majority of manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers have made great strides in all things digital — even though many are still at early stages — AI readiness is uneven.  

This highlights a critical insight for B2B leaders: The future of B2B digital commerce won’t be driven solely by AI. It’s going to be driven by how well their organizations can orchestrate AI, human expertise and digital systems to create a competitive advantage. 

Let’s take a look at four (out of eight) predictions for 2026 — and what they mean for your business. 

B2B buyers and sellers are already using AI — particularly GenAI — for a wide range of use cases from the awareness phase to post-purchase and engagement.

From creating order lists to getting buying approvals across multi-layered organizations, automation has long been the bread and butter of B2B commerce. Agentic capabilities in particular will help B2B companies apply advanced automations and unlock operational efficiency further, such as: 

• Autonomous purchasing agents: Interpret sourcing requests, evaluate suppliers and prepare quotes with minimal human oversight.

• AI-powered sales agents: Surface leads, nurture opportunities and trigger outreach, accelerating pipeline velocity without increasing headcount.

• Intelligent post-purchase agents: Monitor accounts, trigger replenishment, resolve service issues and escalate only complex problems.

Moreover, as consumers leverage ChatGPT & Co. for product discovery, this behavior is expected to spill over to B2B faster than anticipated. For B2B organizations, this means creating product content and explaining how it’s used, in addition to product descriptions. Tapping into frequently asked questions from customers and search intent data will also help B2B organizations craft content that’s indexable by AI channels. 

The shift to agentic AI won’t happen overnight, but 2026 will mark the year when AI begins operating inside buying and selling workflows rather than simply informing them. The companies that prepare their data, processes and systems today will be the ones that capture the earliest and most meaningful gains. 

These initial agentic steps will lay the foundation for the next phase of AI-enabled commerce: Autonomous selling and agent-to-agent (A2A) commerce. 

As D2C becomes more common and B2B buyers start expecting the same ease, transparency and promotional rhythm they see in consumer retail, “business buying” will increasingly feel like “consumer buying” — with urgency, personalization and even demand spikes around seasonal events. 

For instance:

• 30% of B2B companies report generating major revenue streams during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season.

• 79% of B2B companies report selling directly to consumers, up from 66% in 2024. Nearly half of those not yet selling D2C plan to do so. 

Selling directly to end-users or smaller buyers forces manufacturers and wholesalers to rethink their strategies and adopt tactics once reserved for B2C brands. What was once a niche or experimental move is now rapidly gaining ground — even as organizations recognize that shifting to D2C is no small feat. 

The need to assume responsibility for logistics, fulfillment, shipping and customer experience — functions historically managed by intermediaries — acts as a powerful forcing function, driving greater process clarity, surfacing inefficiencies and prompting a broader re-evaluation of operating models and strategic priorities.

The fact that over 71% of B2B buyers are Millennials or Gen Z — with only 29% born before 1980 — reinforces the shift toward not only online purchasing per se, but also online purchasing that works. That’s why 75% of buyers would switch to a supplier that offers a better online experience.  

The rise of D2C, a younger, digital-savvy workforce and the shift toward consumer-grade experiences becoming the standard are interconnected trends. They’re pushing for easy online ordering, transparent pricing, personalized offers and seamless checkout that mirror their B2C experiences. 

More than designing consumer-like experiences on their digital storefronts, B2B organizations need to handle pressure on commerce infrastructure systems. The shift toward hybrid models brings far more SKUs, order types and transaction volume, forcing B2B companies to rethink their technology stacks, buyer journeys and data management. 

In B2B commerce, ERP and other systems of record remain the backbone of operations. Many commerce platform decisions are still driven more by how seamlessly they connect to existing ERP systems. 

Stability and risk mitigation continue to dominate decision-making, particularly in manufacturing and distribution, where disruptions to core systems can have significant operational consequences. CIOs and CTOs typically lead these decisions, while marketing and commercial teams play a smaller role unless the organization has advanced digital sales operations.

However, the #1 challenge when implementing B2B eCommerce is integrating data and inventory with the ERP and CRM systems. 

AI is now helping transform ERP integration from a necessary chore into a strategic advantage. By automatically detecting data inconsistencies, predicting inventory needs and even recommending workflow optimizations, AI reduces manual reconciliation, prevents errors and keeps commerce and ERP systems synchronized in real time. 

Intelligent automation will enable B2B teams to efficiently handle routine ERP tasks, such as posting orders, updating accounts and managing approvals, without slowing down commerce operations. 

As AI represents the next inflection point in B2B commerce, it will accelerate digital maturity across organizations. Rather than focusing solely on building basic eCommerce portals or transactional systems, B2B companies will be raising the bar by deploying more personalized and automated experiences that leverage AI to elevate every touchpoint of B2B buyer journeys. 

Many organizations will approach AI through minimum viable product (MVP) initiatives: Small, targeted implementations that solve specific pain points before scaling them out across the business. 

This incremental approach allows companies to integrate AI safely, measure results and build internal confidence while simultaneously reinforcing and expanding their digital capabilities. The result is a shift from years-long replatforming projects to phased migrations and iterative innovation cycles, where each stage adds measurable business value.

In 2026, B2B organizations that adopt this approach will not only accelerate time-to-value but also achieve agility, scalability and resilience in their digital operations. 

AI-powered capabilities — combined with modular platforms — will enable companies to experiment, optimize and continuously evolve their commerce ecosystems, creating competitive advantage and setting new standards for buyer experiences.

AI in all shapes and sizes will be the next inflection point for B2B commerce. Leaders aren’t waiting to see how AI will play out — they’re moving fast and raising the bar. B2B organizations that embrace AI, invest in scalable platforms and prioritize digital maturity will thrive, while those that delay risk falling further behind.

Integrated data, aligned processes and organizational readiness are critical to orchestrating AI and human expertise effectively. This is also where a “back to basics” mindset matters: Core SEO principles and other digital best practices remain as important as ever. You don’t need to restructure your strategy to make room for AI — you should continue on your digitization path with an AI lens.