Study Finds Amazon Business Driving Distributor Investment but Not Taking Much Share

Channel Marketing Group, Raleigh, NC, released results of a recent study of over 230 construction and industrial distributors regarding electronic commerce and found that although Amazon is viewed as a threat most distributors are using it as an incentive to accelerate investment in online sales and ordering processes.

In the report, “2017 State of eCommerce, Distributor Perspective Report” CMG asked distributors how they defined e-commerce, what percent of business each e-commerce initiative contributed to sales, their experience, what is needed to improve their sites and the impact of Amazon Business.

“While percent of sales are low, it is also projected that Amazon Business will not dominate these industries but may be used more for reverse showrooming and price negotiation with distributors,” said a release announcing the report. “Amazon is viewed by distributors as a threat to their business and hence has been an impetus for investment as well as accelerating the pace of decision-making in many distributors as well as ‘opening eyes’ to a more digital sales and ordering process.”

The 41-page report shares results from the survey, verbatim input from open-ended questions as well as insights from the two dozen distributors that were interviewed.  Primary distribution industries are the electrical industry, industrial supplies, contractor supplies, plumbing and HVAC industries.

The complete report can be purchased at www.electricaltrends.com in the Research Report section.