In the fast-evolving world of B2B commerce, merchandisers play a critical but often overlooked role. Unlike their B2C counterparts, B2B merchandisers focus on complex product catalogs, personalized pricing, and efficiency-driven experiences that cater to businesses rather than individual consumers.

As we enter 2025, B2B merchandising is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by trends like composability, data-driven decision-making, and hyper-personalization. So, what does a modern B2B merchandiser look like, and what are their biggest priorities? Let’s break it down.

The B2B Merchandiser's Juggling Act

A B2B merchandiser ensures that a company’s products are strategically presented, searchable, and personalized for business buyers. Unlike B2C, where merchandising often focuses on impulse purchases and visual storytelling, B2B merchandising is about efficiency, scalability, and relevance. A B2B Merchandiser's daily grind includes:

• Managing complex product catalogs: Thousands of SKUs, industry-specific requirements, and highly detailed specifications.
• Enabling personalized buyer journeys: Showing the right products to the right buyers based on past purchases and negotiated contracts.
• Optimizing search and discovery: Ensuring buyers can find what they need quickly with advanced filtering, personalized recommendations, and customized landing pages.
• Facilitating large and recurring purchases: Handling bulk orders, subscription models, and repeat purchasing automation.
• Integrating real-time data for pricing and availability: Making sure customers always see up-to-date inventory, contract pricing, and promotions tailored to their agreements.
• Driving conversion through seamless digital experiences: Ensuring intuitive navigation, easy-to-use interfaces, and well-structured checkout processes.

What B2B Merchandisers (Should) Care About Most

1. Obsessing Over Personalization (Without Losing Your Mind)

B2B buyers today expect the same level of personalization as they get in B2C, but at a much higher complexity. According to Gartner, 80 percent of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers are expected to occur in digital channels by 2025.

Why It Matters:

• Personalized pricing, recommendations, and promotions help increase conversions.
• Buyer-specific content improves retention and loyalty.
• Real-time integrations reduce friction in the buying journey.
• Segmented marketing campaigns allow for highly targeted offers that appeal to different industries, contract levels, or purchase histories.

2. The Customization Conundrum: Having Your Cake and Eating It Too

One of the biggest challenges in B2B merchandising is the tradeoff between customization and resource efficiency. Many companies end up with overly customized, expensive-to-maintain solutions or, on the flip side, inflexible platforms that frustrate buyers.

The Solution? Composability.

• B2B sellers need modular, API-driven architectures that allow them to tailor experiences without constant development costs.
• Composable commerce enables merchandisers to “mix and match” best-in-class solutions while maintaining a cohesive ecosystem.
• The ability to integrate industry-specific tools, such as ERP systems and procurement software, is critical for long-term success.

3. Gut Feelings? Forget 'Em! Data is King in B2B

Unlike B2C merchandising, which can lean heavily on seasonal trends and impulse-driven purchases, B2B merchandising requires deep analysis of customer data to optimize inventory, pricing, and demand forecasting.

Key Considerations:

• Utilizing analytics to understand buyer behavior, forecast demand, and optimize product offerings.
• Ensuring that pricing structures align with buyer expectations, considering volume discounts, contract pricing, and seasonal adjustments.
• Leveraging customer insights to enhance product recommendations and promotions.
• Connecting back-end systems to customer touchpoints, so account managers can personalize interactions based on previous orders and inquiries.

B2B Merchandising: Brace for Impact

As we look ahead, B2B merchandisers will continue to focus on:

• Better digital experiences: Making B2B purchasing as seamless as B2C.
• Deeper data integration: Allowing merchandisers to make informed, strategic decisions.
• Smarter personalization: Driving higher engagement and loyalty through real-time data.
• Composable commerce adoption: Building flexible, scalable ecosystems.
• Optimized search and navigation: Ensuring buyers can easily find the products they need, even in massive catalogs.

How Broadleaf Supports B2B Merchandisers

At Broadleaf Commerce, we keep B2B merchandisers in mind with features designed to support modern merchandising challenges:

• Advanced Personalization Capabilities: Dynamic pricing, buyer-specific product recommendations, and targeted promotions.
• Composable Commerce Framework: A modular architecture that allows businesses to tailor their merchandising strategies without excessive customization costs.
• Data-Driven Merchandising Tools: Analytics-based insights for inventory management, pricing optimization, and demand forecasting.
• Seamless Digital Experience Management: Ensuring products are displayed effectively across multiple digital channels while maintaining consistency and accuracy.
• Enhanced Search and Discovery Tools: AI-enhanced search capabilities, robust filtering, and dynamic category management to help buyers find what they need efficiently.

By providing these capabilities, Broadleaf enables B2B merchandisers to lead in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape.

Interested in tackling your biggest challenge in B2B merchandising? We can help.