Industrial Buyers Become More Satisfied with Online Purchasing

July 26, 2002
Thomas Register, a information resource for supply-chain purchasing, found that the level of buyer satisfaction with online purchasing has more than doubled

Thomas Register, a information resource for supply-chain purchasing, found that the level of buyer satisfaction with online purchasing has more than doubled over the last three years and nearly 60 percent of industrial buyers plan to increase online purchasing this year, according to the results of its May Industrial Purchasing Barometer (IPB) Survey.

The survey was conducted randomly among Thomas Register's pool of 760,000 opt-in online users. Respondents from the manufacturing and engineering industries, wholesale trade, distribution and government buyers, participated in the survey, which asked them to rate their satisfaction with online purchasing today versus three years ago, and if they plan to increase online purchasing this year. The majority of respondents (57 percent) said they were moderately satisfied with online purchasing today compared to 59 percent who said they were not satisfied with online purchasing three years ago. Another 59 percent of industrial buyers plan to increase online purchasing this year. About 35 percent said their online buying would remain the same. Only 7 percent said they did not plan to increase their online buying or planned to do less online buying.

“Speed and access to information, products and services are key for companies today to be competitive, especially in the current economic environment,” said Ruth Hurd, publisher of Thomas Register. “It's obvious that buyers recognize the advantage online purchasing offers and are committed to realizing its benefits.”

Thomas Register has a history of monitoring the psyche of industrial buyers. The monthly IPB Barometer was implemented to track the changing attitudes and behavior of the industrial purchasing community.

Related

Photo 226496518 / Mohd Izzuan Ros /Dreamstime
Iillustration 19276996 / Dirk Erck / Dreamstime