2026 Buyer Insights

They might add the item to their cart and mull it over, skim a few more reviews, or check if it’s in stock locally to skip shipping delays. Essentially, they’re answering the question, “What’s the best solution for me? They might read product reviews, watch tutorial videos, reference a buying guide, or ask for recommendations on r/pourover on Reddit. They might start Googling “why does pour-over coffee taste better” or “how to improve home coffee,” but they’re not actively looking for specific product types.

Before committing, they’re probably assessing their options, comparing prices and looking for reassurance. They’re comparing options, doing product research, reading reviews and seeking proof that a product or service can satisfy their needs. At this point, the buyers know what issue or issues need to be solved and they’re actively exploring different solutions.

Use behavioral data over stated preferences — look at what people actually purchase at different price levels rather than relying on what they say they’ll pay in surveys. But here’s the catch — people are notoriously bad at predicting what they’ll actually pay. Luckily, those days are over, thanks to AI-powered interview tools and AI meeting assistants. Think purchase patterns, engagement rates, and market trends backed by data. My client now keeps customer feedback and competitor analysis in-house but outsources complex projects that require specialized tools and expertise.

Every interaction a customer has buyer’s journey with your brand, whether it’s online or offline, is a touchpoint that influences their journey. Each persona requires a unique approach — from the content they engage with to the way they make decisions. Keep in mind that the goal here is to guide buyers to make the best decision possible while ensuring your brand remains top of mind for customers or prospects – without pushing them too hard to make a decision. This is a critical time for businesses to offer useful resources like webinars, comparative guides and white papers. This is exactly when people begin gathering information through online research, searching social media posts or looking for suggestions from others.

Perhaps they want to initiate a return, understand how the product works, or see whether there’s a discount available on their next order. Here, they weigh their options and visit your online store—as well any competing brands that might better serve their needs. The ecommerce customer journey is the complete end-to-end experience of a customer from the initial interaction with a brand's online store to the final purchase.

A self described devotee of WordPress, Chipo is obsessed with helping people find the best tools and tactics to build the website they deserve. Understanding the buyer’s journey is only valuable if you have the tools to act on it—connecting data, context, and customer interactions at every stage. Z&D continues its research by learning more about these tools and reading about Rainstorm Storage and its competitors. During this time, businesses should focus on serving prospects the right content at the right time to keep them moving on their journey and eventually turn them into customers.

The days of the lone decision-maker are long gone—now, it’s all about buying committees, peer influence, and digital-first research. That’s why I’ve pulled together this definitive list of 50 B2B statistics—fresh for 2026—to help you (and your team) navigate the new rules of engagement. The modern B2B buyer is digital-first, data-obsessed, and increasingly AI-assisted. You don’t need all the data from all the sources at once. Armed with Strella’s insights, Ritual adjusted their pricing rollout.

Identify Triggers

When segmented by company size, small (53%) and mid-sized (39%) businesses typically have 2–3 people in buying groups. So, for example, rather than promote our pricing page to someone who’s just learning SEO, we can introduce our suite of free tools instead. Thus, it’s a good idea to look through keyword ideas that don’t contain any modifiers and consider whether they’re worth targeting. Rather than focus too much on the keywords they’re searching for, look internally. He’s eyeing our tool, looking at the list of features, hesitating on pricing, and taking our toolset for a spin. For example, we can see from the list that potential customers are comparing our toolset with our competitors’ (e.g., ahrefs vs semrush).

How buyer personas are connected to the buyer’s journey

It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. More than 60% of respondents said they engaged in some form of trial before committing to a full purchase. C-suite leaders remain the most likely to identify as decision-makers, cited by 68% of respondents.

• Once you’ve done your primary research, it’s time to zoom out and look at the bigger picture through secondary research.
• The difference between this gap and the need is key.
• Buyer personas are fictional profiles that represent different types of prospects.
• In addition to helping improve conversions, you’re building stronger relationships when you take the time to analyze every step, design tailored experiences and use data to inform your decisions.
• So, it’s crucial for brands to support buyers throughout the process, not as pushy sellers but as helpful guides giving them the right information at the right time.

Make The Most Of Buyer Insights Data

In our example, many users go to coupon sites like capitaloneshopping.com after visiting a competitor. Below, we can see that organic (unpaid) Google results drive 27.99% of competitors’ traffic. By reaching prospects earlier and more frequently, you increase the chance they ultimately buy from you. Traffic journeys are routes users take through various webpages or websites. The data you gather will help build realistic buyer personas for existing and prospective audiences.

This cookie is used to track whether a pop-up form has been shown to a user, preventing repetitive displays. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user. Stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached your site.

The most effective marketing and sales teams have a strong understanding of the audiences they’re reaching. Buyer journey mapping helps businesses make sense of what actually happens before customers make a purchase. Any touchpoint is an interaction that can influence someone’s opinion of your company, product, or service. Keep in mind that some elements of the customer journey may be beyond your marketing control, such as online reviews or word-of-mouth awareness. Even your ideal customer can go through a lengthy buying process that includes multiple opportunities for engagement. A customer journey map example can show how a customer data platform and customer feedback are integrated into understanding and improving these experiences.

Instead, AI is emerging as a complementary support tool within the decision-making process. Vendors should create optimized content that answers user search intent clearly during discovery. Instead, most marketing leaders now use Google as a verification tool within the consideration stage to verify assumptions, rather than discover options. This layered approach combines the value of candid, peer-driven insight with broader market perspective. To select a vendor who I need to engage with, I would do multiple reference checks.

These are moderated discussions with 6-8 participants that reveal group dynamics and collective opinions about your product or service. Want to feel what it’s like to be interviewed by AI? This method gives you the richest qualitative data, but, traditionally, requires significant time investment for analysis. Once you’ve done your primary research, it’s time to zoom out and look at the bigger picture through secondary research. Before you spend resources on external research, mine your internal data first.