Despite the economic downturn, business people are warming up to the idea of shopping online.
More than 81% of all businesses are buying directly from suppliers’ Web sites, according to a new report from eMarketer. And 35% are using public exchanges to purchase what they need.
Online B-to-B commerce will hit $2.7 trillion by 2004, the report stated.
Steve Butler, senior analyst at New York-based eMarketer, said in a statement that “IBM has done more than $43 billion in electronic procurement during 2000, while Boeing is now processing more than 20,000 daily transactions via its Web site.”
The United States now accounts for 71% of online trade, but eMarketer predicts that Europe and Asia will catch up. Global companies like Ford, General Electric and Eastman Chemical are driving e-commerce in countries in which they do business.
Butler acknowledged that “the bubble has burst for many independent B-to-B exchanges.” But he added that most large firms “continue to see e-business as a long-term strategy.”
Network
