Overview
For this report, we analyzed the ordering data of three distributor partners with the largest number of retailers on Provi in NY & CT. Our goal was to evaluate on- and off-premise retailer ordering activity before and after placing their first orders on Provi, as well as how ordering activity correlated with the distributors use of digital sales tools.
Key Takeaways
On average, retailers ordered more SKUs and more frequently, once they started ordering on Provi, significantly increasing distributor revenue per retailer.
Two of three major beer, wine and spirits distributors studied saw revenue increase 18%-37% and order frequency increase up to 41% after incorporating Provi into their ecommerce strategy.
Distributors with high usage of digital tools, sample sheets and lists, designed to make sales reps jobs easier, experienced higher increases in revenue and order frequency per retailer.
Distributors A & B used sample sheets and lists up to 327% more frequently than Distributor C, resulting in an 18%-37% sales increase compared to Distributor C’s 5% decrease.
More Stats Worth Knowing
- Global online sales on B2B ecommerce sites, log-in portals and marketplaces increased 17.8% to $1.63 trillion in 2021, according to Digital Commerce 360.
- The North American B2B ecommerce market is expected to surpass $4.6 billion by 2025, according to Statista.
- 18% of B2Bs’ revenue is coming directly from ecommerce, per a McKinsey & Company report.
- B2B marketplace sales soared to $112 billion in 2022, a 100% increase from 2021, and grew 5x faster than B2B ecommerce revenue overall, according to the 2023 U.S. B2B Market Report.
Using Digital Sales Tools on Provi
A benefit of ecommerce marketplaces is the ability to interact with B2B buyers at their point of purchase. Sales reps can meet buyers at their preferred place of purchase and use digital tools to make the buying (and selling) process easier. On Provi, reps have access to many digital tools to streamline ordering for their buyers, such as creating Sample Sheets and Lists.
Creating Sample Sheets is an easy way to share products they are tasting with specific retail accounts. They are shared either digitally or by generating PDFs customized for each retail account, complete with labels, pricing, and notes one may want to provide on the products. Each Sample Sheet created is organized by the date they plan on sampling the products, and can be used for multiple accounts sampling all the same or varied products on that date.
Sample Sheets are intended to:
- Record the products a rep plans to bring on tasting visits with buyers
- Document specific accounts visited
- Note the buyer's reactions
- Have access to the history of tasting visits
Lists allow a distributor rep to create collections of products from their portfolio that can be shared with customers.
Lists are a great tool for:
- Pitching new products to buyers
- Creating proposals such as new “By the Glass” options
- Creating collateral for market visits and events
- Facilitating social media engagement with shareable hyperlinks