2026年工业电商与数字销售基准报告（英文版）-Zoovu

•REPORT

2026Industrial

Ecommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmark

Report

Insightsfrom150B2Bbuyerjourneysacross50industrial,lifesciencesandhealthcare

manufacturersandsuppliers’digitalchannels

Z

SellingBenchmarkReport1

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport2

Explore

thereport

03

Executivesummary

04Section1

Thebuyer’sjourneyis

overloadedandunsupported

05Section2

TheB2Bdiscoveryjourney:

Whatbuyersneedvs.whattheyget

07Section3

50industrialleadersanalyzed

14Section4

WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

23

Drägercasestudy

Executivesummary

B2Bbuyersfacedigitaljourneysthatdon’tmatchthecomplexityoftheirneeds.Insteadofclarity,

they’remetwithsprawlingcatalogs,staticspecsheets,andfragmentedpathsthatleavethemconfusedandfrustrated.Theresultisaprocessthatdrainsbuyerconfidenceandmakessalesteamslessefficient.

Ouranalysisof150productjourneysshows

justhowwidespreadtheproblemis.Discovery

toolsarealmostinvisible,withonlyahandfulof

companiesmakingthemeasytofind.Product

pagesareheavyonspecsbutlightonanswerstopracticalquestions.AndwhileCPQexists,itoftensitsdownstream,hiddenbehindlogins,redirects,orgenericformsthatdecaytheprocessand

requiressignificanttimeinvestmentfromsales.

It’snosurprisethatnearlythreeinfourB2Bbuyersdescribetheirpurchase

journeyas“verycomplex”.

Gartner,BuyerEnablementGuide

Withoutmodern,guided,andAI-powered

discovery,companiesrisklongersalescycles,lowertrust,andultimately,missedrevenue.

Thelessonisclear:fixthe“C”inCPQbymakingconfigurationbuyer-facingandguided.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport3

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1.Thebuyer’sjourneyisoverloadedand

unsupported

B2Bbuyerstodayfaceanoverwhelming

amountofinformation,yetgetverylittleguidance.Industrialsitesarepackedwithtechnical

documentation,specsheets,andpartnumbers,butthesematerialsassumebuyersalreadyknowexactlywhatthey’relookingfor.Withoutclear

discoveryandconfigurationtools,mostarelefttosiftthroughcomplexityontheirown.

Theresultisafragmentedjourney:buyershaveplentyofdatabutlittledirection.WithCPQtoolslockeddownstreamandbuiltforreps,buyers

areleftunsupporteduntillateinthefunnel,evenas75%saytheypreferarep-freeexperience

(

Gartner

).It’snosurprisedigitalinteractionsnowcarry2–3×moreweightthantraditionalsales

(

McKinsey

).ExpectationsshapedbyB2Caren’tbeingmet,andthegapcostscompaniesin

time,trust,andrevenue.

78%

preferrep-freepurchase

Gartner

2-3x

moreimportant:digitalvs.sales

McKinsey

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2.TheB2Bdiscovery

journey:

Whatbuyersneedvs.whattheyget

Toevaluatehowwellindustrialcompaniessupportdigitaldiscovery,welookedatfourtouchpoints:

1.Navigation

2.Categorypages

3.Productdetailpages

4.CPQprocess

Insteadofjudgingthemonfeaturesalone,weusedabuyer-centriclens:theZoovuHelpMeframework.

Ateverystep,buyersareaskingforhelptofind,

choose,learn,andbundle.

Here’showthoseneeds

maptothedigitaljourney.

2.TheB2Bdiscoveryjourney:whatbuyersneedvs.whattheyget

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport6

1.HelpMeFind→Navigation

GuidingQuestion:Howeasyisitforabuyertoreacharelevantproductfromthehomepage?

Buyerswantfast,intuitivepathsintoamassivecatalog.Instead,manyarestillforcedtoknowpartnumbersorproductcodesjusttogetstarted.Navigationisthefirsttestofdiscoveryandoftenthefirstfailure.

2.HelpMeChoose→Categorypages

GuidingQuestion:Whatdiscoveryexperiencesareavailabletohelpbuyersnarrowdownalargecatalog?

Categorypagesshouldsimplifychoiceswithguidedfilters,comparisontools,andselectors.Toooften,theyactasstaticlists,overwhelmingbuyersrather

thanhelpingthemchoosewithconfidence.

3.HelpMeLearn→Productdetailpages

GuidingQuestion:DoPDPsgobeyondstaticspecstoprovidecompatibility,confidence,anddecision-enablement?

Specsanddocumentationareabundant,buttheyrarelyanswerthepracticalquestions:Willthisworkinmyenvironment?What’sthedifferencebetweenthesetwooptions?Buyersdon’tjustneeddata,theyneedcontexttolearn

andvalidate.

4.HelpMeBundle→CPQ

GuidingQuestion:Whatisthemostcommonnextstepafterabuyeridentifiesaproduct?

Configuringandpurchasingiswherediscoveryshouldturnintoconversion.

ButmostCPQprocessesaregatedbehindlogins,redirects,ordealerhandoffs.Buyerswanttheabilitytobundleandconfiguresolutionsontheirownterms,withoutlosingmomentum.

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03

50industrialleadersanalyzed

Ouranalysisof150productjourneysrevealedwherediscoverybreaksdown,andwhatbuyersactuallyneedinstead.

3M⃞)ngersonnamo忧obock。

画Festo冷PENTAIRGstraumann

VAUTOMATIONDIRECT⃞okimberly-clark$FLIR

互互GcacoMedtronicSCHAEFFLERVari,

CATERPILLAR"metsoxylem

HoneywellORonSMC.

3.50industrialleadersanalyzed

Methodology

Forthisreport,weanalyzed150productjourneysacross50industrial

companies.Insteadofauditingentirewebsites,westeppedintotheroleofa

prospect:comingincoldwithaneedtosolve,butnospecificproductinmind.Oneachsite,weidentifiedthreerepresentativeproductsandretracedthe

journeyabuyerwouldtaketofind,evaluate,andmovetowardpurchase.

Thisapproachallowedustocapturehowdiscoveryreallyworksinpractice,startingatthehomepageandmovingthroughnavigation,categorypages,productdetailpages,andquotingorconfigurationflows.Byfocusingon

product-leveljourneysratherthanwholesites,weuncoveredtherealityofwhatbuyersfacewhennavigatingmassivecatalogs,densespecs,andfragmentednextsteps.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport8

3.50industrialleadersanalyzed

HelpMeFind→Navigation

Navigationisthebuyer’sfirstinteractionwithyourbrand,anditsetsthe

tone.Buyersarriveasking,‘DoyouhavewhatIneed?’Withoutclearentry

points,they’reforcedtodig,guess,orgiveup.Strongdiscoverytoolsanswerthatquestionwhilealsocapturingbetterleads,surfacingbuyerintent,and

speedingquotingandsales.

Avg.5.3

categoriesinmainnav

27%

offerdiscoverytoolsupfront

•LESSONFirstimpressionsmatter.Discoveryshouldstartatthedoor,notthreeclicksdeep.

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3.50industrialleadersanalyzed

HelpMeChoose→Categorypages

Filtersandsearchshouldsimplifyacomplexcatalog,butmostcategorypagesaddfrictioninsteadofclarity.Buyerswanthelpchoosing,notaguessinggamewithdozensofcheckboxes.

91%

usefilters(avg.19

each),butmostaregenericratherthantiedtoproductspecsorbuyerneeds

39%

havemeaningfulonsearch

•LESSONTruechoicecomesfromguidance,notendlessfilterlists.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport10

3.50industrialleadersanalyzed

HelpMeLearn→Productdetailpages

PDPsarepackedwithspecsbutshortondecision-enablement.Buyerssee

whataproductis,butnotwhetherit’srightforthem.Toooften,contentis

buriedinknowledgebases,PDFs,andtechnicalsheets,leavinginformation

withoutclarity.Withoutsignalslikestock,pricing,orcompatibility,confidenceislowandrepsremaintheonlypathtoanswers.

84%

includeimages,

73%descriptions,66%compatibleproducts

14%

showstock,

24%price,41%add-to-cart

•LESSONSpecsalonedon’tclosedeals,decisionsupportdoes.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport11

3.50industrialleadersanalyzed

HelpMeBundle→CPQ

MostcompaniesstilltreatCPQassales-only,hiddenbehindloginsor

redirects.ButtraditionalCPQsdon’tmovedealsmuchfaster,theystillleaverepsdoingtheheavylifting.Self-serve,visualconfigurationchangesthat.It

givesbuyersconfidencetoexploreandqualifythemselves,whilegivingsalesaheadstartwithcleanerinputsandfewerback-and-forths.Theresult:fasterquotes,shortercycles,andmoreproductivereps.

60%ofsiteshadnobuyer-facingCPQ.

Ofthosethatdid:

40%configurators14%sparison7%3Dmodels

10%sidislling13%12%rs4%eIarches

•LESSONConfigurationisn’tjustasalestool,it’sbuyerenabler.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport12

3.50industrialleadersanalyzed

Pricing&transparency

Accordingto

Gartner

,75%ofB2Bbuyerspreferarep-freebuyingexperience,and

McKinsey

reportsthat70%areopentofullyself-servicepurchasesover$50,000,withmanynowwillingtospendmorethanhalfamilliondollars

throughdigitalchannelsalone.Transparencyiscentraltothatshift.Yetinouranalysis,only23%ofproductdetailpagesshowedpricing.Whenpricingis

hiddenbehindaloginforexistingcustomers,motivatedprospectsareleftinthedarkattheverystartoftheirjourney,introducingfrictionattheexactmomentbuyersarereadytomoveforward.

75%

ofB2Bbuyers

preferarep-freebuyingexperience

Gartner

70%

areopentofully

self-servicepurchasesover$50,000

McKinsey

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4.WhereB2B

discoveryworks

Whilemostexperiencesfallshort,some

companiesshowwhathelpingbuyersreally

lookslike.Thesehighlightsprovethat

configurators,visualizations,anddynamic

filterscansimplifycomplexity,boostconfidence,andacceleratepurchasedecisions.

HelpmefindHelpmechooseHelpmelearnHelpmebundle

NavigationCategorypagesPDPsCPQprocess

4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

HelpMeFind→Partfinders

Whatitis:Toolsthathelpbuyerslocatereplacementoraccessoryparts.

Whyitmatters:Repeatbuyersneedspeedandaccuracy.Partfinderscuterrors,simplifyre-orders,andbuildtrust.

GroheAG→Searchbypartnumberorguidedflowbyproductfamily.

Kärcher→Identifypartsandaccessoriesbymodelorequipmenttype.

Worksbestfor:after-marketandconsumableswhereprecisionmattersmost.

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4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

HelpMeGetNarrow→Dynamicfiltering

Whatitis:Filtersthatupdateinreal-timeascriteriachange(vs.staticcheckboxlists).

Whyitmatters:Helpsbuyersnarrowmassivecatalogsquickly,avoidingdecisionfatigue.

Flowserve→Filterspumps/sealsbyoperatingconditions.

Graco→Combinesdynamicfilterswithvideocontextforfasterdiscovery.

Donaldson→Simplifiesfiltrationcategoriesfornewandrepeatbuyersalike.

Worksbestfor:broadproductcatalogswithhundredsormoreSKUs.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport16

4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

HelpMeLearn→2D&3Dvisualizationtools

Whatitis:Interactiveor3Dmodelsthatshowform,function,orapplication.

Whyitmatters:Buildsconfidencebeforepurchase,especiallyforexpensiveorperformance-drivenproducts.

GEHealthcare→DiagnosticPDPswith3Dmodelstoexploremachines.

BOSTONtec→Workstationbuilderletsusersdesignadjustablesetupsin3D.

SpraySystems→Nozzlemodelssimulatesprayperformancefordifferentapplications.

Worksbestfor:high-valueorperformance-drivenproductswherebuyersneedtoseeittobelieveit.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport17

4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

HelpMeChoose→Guidedsellingassistants

Whatitis:Toolsthatrecommendproductsthroughguidedquestions.

Whyitmatters:Theyreduceuncertaintyandturnoverwhelmingcatalogsintoconfidentchoices.

Eppendorf→PipettingSystemFindermatchesbuyerstotherightworkflows.MettlerToledo→BenchScaleFinderrecommendsscalesbasedon

applicationneeds.

Dräger→ProductFinderandVOICEdatabasemapsolutionsbyindustryorhazard.

Worksbestfor:complexcategorieswithmanyvariations.

Zoovu•2026IndustrialEcommerce&DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport18

4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

HelpMeBundle→Configuratorsthatbuildpartnumbers

Whatitis:Toolsthatturnspecsintopartnumbersorbundlesautomatically.

Whyitmatters:Helpsbuyersconfigurecomplexsolutionsontheirown,reducingerrorsandcuttingsalesdependency.

Festo→Configuratorsforcylindersandvacuumsystemsgeneratepartnumbersinstantly.

AtlasCopco→Toolandcompressorconfiguratorsensurecompatibilitywithtechnicalneeds.

Straumann→Implantconfiguratorsassembleprecisebundlesandabutments.

Worksbestfor:complex,technical,orhigh-stakespurchaseswhereprecisionmatters.

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4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

AIinB2Bdiscovery:Earlysignsofwhat’spossible

AIindigitalcommerceisstillemerging,andmostcompanieshaven’t

movedpaststaticsearchorfilters.ButsomearealreadyusingAI-assistedtoolstoguidebuyersthroughcomplexchoices,recommendsaferormorepreciseproducts,andreducetheneedforsalesintervention.Thesecasesdemonstrateboththepromise,andthepitfallsofAI-powereddiscovery.

WhereAIaddsvalue

3M→BondingProductSelector

Guidedquestionsrecommendadhesivesandtapesbasedonmaterialsandstrengthneeds,helpingbuyersmaketherightchoicewithouttrial-and-error.

Dräger→VOICEDatabase

Hazard-basedproductfindersuggeststhecorrectsafetyequipmentfor1,500+chemicals,improvingconfidenceinsafety-criticalbuying.

MettlerToledo→BenchScaleFinder

Interactiveassistantthatreturnstailoredscalerecommendationsbasedonbuyerinputs,acceleratingdecisionsindensecatalogs.

WhereAImissesthemark

Invariousevaluations,“AIsearch”toolswereimplementedbutfeltlike

rebrandedkeywordsearch,resultsweregeneric,oftennobetterthanstaticfilters.Wealsosawchatbotspositionedas“assistants”thatweren’ttrainedtobetrulyinteractive:theydeliveredcannedresponses,dead-endedwhenfacedwithrealbuyerquestions,andultimatelycreatedmorefriction.Theseexampleshighlighttheriskoflabelingsomethingas“AI”withoutactually

addingrelevance,guidance,ordecisionsupport.

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4.WhereB2Bdiscoveryworks

Thedatachallenge

Eventhebest-intentionedcompaniesstruggletodelivermoderndiscoverybecausetheirdataisspreadacrossdifferentsystemsandstructuredfor

internal,businesspurposes.ProductinformationlivesinPDFs,spreadsheets,andlegacysystems.CatalogsspanthousandstomillionsofSKUs,eachwithdensetechnicalspecsthataren’tbuiltfordigitalexperiences.Theresult:

disconnecteddatamakesithardtopowertheintuitive,guidedbuyingjourneysthattoday’sB2Bbuyersexpect.

Insteadofsimplystatingaproduct’sdimensionsormaterials,organizationsshouldincludecontextsuchasusecases,benefits,andcustomeroutcomesinshortformnaturallanguage.

Gartner

Kärcher,theworld’slargestmanufacturerofcleaningequipment,set

outtostreamlinethebuyingprocesswithmoderndigitalsellingexperiences.Thechallenge:complexdataandsellingneedsacrossamassive,fast-growingcatalog.TheyturnedtoZoovutosolveit.

ZoovuonboardedandharmonizeddatafromERP,PIM,catalog,andofflinesources,thenenhancedandoptimizedittopowercustomerexperiences.

Withthatfoundation,Kärcherlaunchedproductfindersacross5productcategories,localizedtheexperiencesto19countriesacross4continents,anddeliveredrealbusinessimpact:

•Reducedmanualdatawork

•Cutproductselectionfromdaystominutes

•Increasedqualifiedleadvolume

•Becamethego-tosolutionforsalesandsupport

Bottomline:byintegratingandtransformingdatawithanautomateddataengine,Kärcherelevatedthebuyerexperienceandmadeeverysalesrepmoreeffective.

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4.