The line between ecommerce and brick-and-mortar stores is blurring.
Consumers now expect a hybrid in-store experience that combines the see-it, touch-it, try-it benefits of traditional retail with the on-demand product availability and personalization offered by ecommerce.
To deliver the best of both worlds, retailers must embrace digital transformation — as noted by S&P Global, 43% of brands that operate physical stores now leverage customer data for personalized experiences, and 41% are spending on improved in-store capabilities such as modern POS tools, cloud-based inventory management, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking.
The result is a physical retail landscape that overlaps significantly with ecommerce environments. This creates a paradox: While the right ecommerce solutions can help brands succeed, they often lack the in-house expertise to build effective frameworks.
B2B ecommerce solutions can help close the gap — if brands can find the right fit. Here’s what retailers need to know about driving digital transformation in tandem.
Shifting to digital-first practices doesn’t happen by accident. Instead, it requires a concerted effort that includes planning, strategy, testing, implementation, and follow-up.
For many businesses, this is a bridge too far. Consider recent data from the NYU Stern School of Business, which found that the average net margin for retail is just over 5%.
While spending time and money on integrated ecommerce solutions could help boost this bottom line, unexpected deployment issues could leave brands underwater.
Three challenges are common in the shift from traditional to transformed.
Making the move to ecommerce-driven retail solutions is naturally complex. Legacy tools may not support the always-on connections required by ecommerce applications, and brands may not have the IT infrastructure necessary to keep pace with the resource demands of new technologies.
Consider the rise of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI (GenAI) frameworks. While these tools support the development of conversational AI agents capable of “thinking” independently, they also come with power, cooling, data storage, and processing throughput requirements that often outstrip current hardware.
Data siloing is also a challenge in digital transformation. If retailers don’t have a solid strategy for deployment and implementation, they may struggle with redundant ecommerce implementations that lead to duplicated data sets and missed analytics opportunities.
Digital maturity also plays a role in the shift to ecommerce solutions. Defining maturity is often a challenge — while retailers understand the qualitative role of technology in business success, quantifying this impact can be difficult.
As noted by the B2B Ecommerce Association, four components make up digital maturity:
Why: Why is your rationale. Why is digital transformation necessary? Why does it matter for your specific product, brand, or customer base?
How: How speaks to your strategy. This includes short and long-term plans, decision-making frameworks, and top priorities for transformation.
What: What describes operations. These operations include departmental workflows, digital security initiatives, and the KPIs required to measure ecommerce efficacy.
With what: With what is your technology stack — the applications and tools that make “what” possible. Common examples include local databases, cloud platforms, AI solutions, and B2B ecommerce integrations.
Efficacy rounds out the top challenges. This is the ability of retailers to go beyond implementation and achieve measurable success.
According to the “Retail at the Crossroads 2026” report from Valtech, 85% of retailers have launched AI pilot projects, and 86% now use an omnichannel touchpoint model. However, just 14% of organizations say they have achieved effective personalization across their sales channels.
The result is a disconnect. Despite time and money spent laying the groundwork, digital transformation doesn’t always deliver on its potential.
B2B partnerships can set the stage for success, or leave companies frustrated that they’re not moving forward.
Potential benefits of B2B partnerships include:
Outsourced expertise: Specialized B2B providers offer market and solution expertise to support sustained growth.
Ongoing support and service for digital solutions: As-a-service B2B solutions typically include ongoing support and service to help reduce the risk of downtime and ensure operational security.
Access to new features and functions: B2B providers are continually developing, testing, and implementing new functions. For example, next-generation product experience solutions may include support for both SEO and GEO best practices.
Streamlined integration and deployment: Speaks for itself.
There are also potential pitfalls in working with B2B solution providers, such as:
Hidden costs and fees: Hidden costs can sink profitability. Always get the full story.
Hype instead of help: Any company can claim they offer best-of-breed B2B solutions. Take time to review and research potential partners.
Lack of visibility: If retail staff don’t have complete access to ecommerce solutions, visibility suffers, and digital transformation becomes difficult.
Challenges with data governance: In the same vein, a lack of transparency can lead to challenges with data security and governance.
So what does an effective ecommerce solution look like? Five signs signal you’re on the right track.
B2B ecommerce tools should deliver a combination of personalization and usability. One or the other isn’t enough — if solutions can create personalized customer experiences but are unwieldy and difficult to use, teams can spend more time fighting processes than generating profit.
Easy-to-use options that offer only limited personalization, meanwhile, make it challenging to drive sustained ROI.
Automation also plays a role in effective ecommerce solutions. This automation may take the form of data collection, content creation, or customer follow-up after first contact.
Tools should multiply rather than replace your current efforts. Here’s an example. While traditional product information management (PIM) systems create a single source of product truth, they often struggle with the scale of digital-first retail operations.
Product experience management (PXM) solutions, meanwhile, enable the automated collection, management, enrichment, and distribution of product data at scale.
Data is more valuable in context. While information about customer buying behaviors, preferred contact channels, and recent service experiences provides point-in-time insight, a complete analysis of this data can help uncover new connections and identify emerging trends.
AI has arrived. According to Salsify’s “2026 Consumer Research” report, 61% of shoppers now use AI shopping tools, and 14% trust AI recommendations enough to purchase without other input.
As a result, it’s critical to leverage B2B solutions that are AI-ready, not simply AI-curious.
Digital transformation is a dynamic and ongoing process. As customers become more comfortable with companies leveraging data to create customized experiences, retail strategies must keep pace.
To stay ahead of the competition in 2026, brands need improved personalization processes paired with automated workflows that support AI-driven analytics.
In practice, this requires a digital transformation strategy that combines in-house expertise with B2B ecommerce solutions to drive sustained growth.