Internet Retailing Expo (IRX) 2025 was one for the books. For the first time ever, the event included a dedicated B2B area, bringing together a stacked line up of expert speakers and a bespoke selection of solutions vendors (including yours truly). We would be remiss not to thank our friends at the B2B eCommerce Association for pulling it all together.
With Hokodo’s exhibitor booth manned by a pair of our finest payments experts, our Marketing Manager was sent out onto the conference room floor to soak up expert insights and nuggets of wisdom from the various panels and keynote sessions. Here are 5 things that he learned.
1. B2B customers visit your platform because they have to, not because they want to
Early in his opening keynote, Global Managing Director of the B2B eCommerce Association Justin King told a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed crowd that their customers don’t actually want to interact with them. Not in a mean way, of course. But in the sense that B2B customers research products and make purchases because their job requires them to – not because they want to.
Therefore it is crucial for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors to be fully aligned with customer needs and demands, Justin went on to explain. B2B e-commerce is all about creating experiences that help buyers to do their jobs. When they log in to your platform, the messaging and functionality should focus on their job and their needs, not your marketing.
Justin’s checklist for creating a future-proof foundation is as follows:
- Focus on the customer, their job and their needs
- Digital transformation is everyone’s job
- Product content is the fuel for AI
- The time to embrace change management is now
2. Make sure you’re offering an experience – not an assault course
The primary failing of B2B e-commerce is that it prioritises tech and transactions over the customer experience, ultimately resulting in low adoption and stalled growth.
In her straight-talking session, Lynsey Sweales – an E-commerce and Omnichannel Consultant at Digital North Star – explored the three main friction points that undermine e-commerce strategy and success in B2B:
- Not working as a team – e-commerce success is everyone’s responsibility
- Lack of customer understanding – what you think they need versus what they actually need
- Lack of customer journey mapping – you could be inadvertently creating friction at key conversion points
Ultimately, Lynsey’s advice is to work collaboratively to ensure you’re crafting useful experiences – not assault courses – for B2B buyers.
3. Without personalisation, e-commerce is just another product catalogue
On day two of IRX, Candyspace’s Jade Lloyd (Optimisation Manager) and Tim McMillen (Director of eCommerce) took to the stage for a deep dive into the importance of personalised experiences in B2B e-commerce.
The key takeaway? Without personalisation, self-service is just another catalogue. But personalisation in B2B isn’t about being flashy or checking a box. It’s about being useful and making it easier for customers to do their jobs. Sound familiar? It should do, because it was the underlying message of nearly every track and panel at IRX.
As Jade and Tim put it, “B2B buyers want netflix, not spreadsheets.”
4. AI is redefining product search and discovery
Given how much of a buzzword artificial intelligence has become, it was surprising – and refreshing – to see only a handful of AI-focused sessions at IRX this year, all of which delivered genuine value.
Ben Adams, Co-founder and CEO of Start with Data, kept the late afternoon crowd engaged with one such session about the importance of structuring product data for AI discovery. We learned how technologies like ChatGPT and agentic shopping platforms are redefining discovery and decision-making, and why merchants must act quickly to ensure their products can be seen, understood and recommended by AI.
“Data fuels the AI revolution,” said Ben, explaining that AI agents interpret context and intent, changing the customer journey so it looks something more like this:
- Buyer expresses intent not as a keyword or SKU but an expression of outcome
- AI agent interprets the query using comprehension and reasoning. What is the buyer trying to achieve?
- Tools and memory are used to match the intent against product data
- AI agent answers, either recommending or ignoring your product
For this reason, it’s imperative for B2B sellers to create structured data, including intent-ready contextual information, for their entire product catalogue.
5. The best e-commerce platform is the one that solves your problems
Alright, that sounds obvious, but you might be shocked by how many B2B suppliers base their decision on features and functionality instead of finding the platform that is best suited to solve their problems.
In his rousing track on day two of IRX, the B2B eCommerce Association’s Chris Gee (CTO & UK Chapter Lead) talked us through how to select the right e-commerce platform, providing a structured approach to evaluating solutions, assessing integration needs and choosing tech that aligns with your business objectives.
Lots of people ask Chris what the best B2B e-commerce platform is, but the honest answer is “it depends.” With 80+ platforms available to choose from, you must first determine what you need your tech to do before selecting a provider that fulfills your requirements. #NeedsBeforeFeatures
Big thanks to IRX, the B2B eCommerce Association and everyone else who made the event such a success. We’re excited for next year already!
