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ECOMMERCE RESHAPED WEBINAR SERIES
One Storefront, Two
buyer Journeys:
A Playbook for the AI Era
22nd October 12pm EST | Free Virtual Event
AI didn’t create two kinds of B2B buyers. It exposed a divide that was always there. For years, most manufacturers and distributors have run one storefront, one strategy, and one set of systems designed to serve every customer the same way. That worked — until buyers started using AI, and stopped
buying the same way.
On one side are long-tail buyers: roughly 80% of your customers but only 20% of revenue. They’re increasingly starting their research inside AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, building shortlists before they ever reach your website. On the other side are core buyers: about 20% of customers but 80% of revenue. They’re moving toward AI-assisted procurement that connects directly to supplier data and automates routine purchasing.
Same storefront. Two journeys that pull further apart every quarter.
The urgency is no longer theoretical. Gartner projects AI agents will influence the majority of B2B purchasing by 2028 — more than $15 trillion in transactions. Nearly half of B2B buyers already report using AI in a purchase decision, and 67% say they’d prefer a rep-free experience entirely. Forrester now ranks generative AI as the single most-cited source buyers use to research purchases, ahead of peers, review sites, and product experts.
The mistake is treating these two groups as one.
This session unpacks what’s actually changing on each side of the split, and gives you a practical framework for building an ecommerce strategy — and the data and infrastructure behind it — that serves discovery-driven and procurement-driven buyers without forcing a trade-off.
This is the first session in Ecommerce Reshaped, Commerce’s 2026 webinar series on the forces reshaping digital selling. Register for the full series to stay ahead all year.
Why attend
This isn’t a trends overview you could skim in a whitepaper. It’s a working session built to give you something you can take back to your team:
A clear framework for identifying your own long-tail / core mix — and why the right investments differ for each
What AI-ready product data and discoverability actually look like in practice, beyond traditional SEO
A pragmatic, start-small roadmap — know your mix, audit your data, build the right pipes — with no risky all-at-once overhaul.
Live Q&A with the speakers — bring your questions.
What to expect
Welcome and series introduction
The shift in B2B search behavior: How buyers use AI today and what the data shows
What AI looks for in B2B content – and how Commerce helps you get found
AI sponsored visibility: The new paid acquisition landscape
Your practical playbook: Tactical steps for manufacturers and distributors
Live Q&A
This is part of Ecommerce Reshaped, Commerce’s 2026 webinar series on the forces reshaping digital selling. Register for the full series to stay ahead all year.
Who you'll hear from
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Register for the full series
Why AI is splitting your B2B customer base into two very
different buyers – and how to build one ecommerce strategy
that serves both
What we'll cover
When discovery moves into answer engines, visibility stops being about ranking in search and starts being about whether AI systems can read, trust, and recommend your products.
We’ll discuss the data, content, and trust signals that decide it.
What long-tail buyers now expect: AI-ready discovery and self-service.
Strategic accounts aren’t abandoning procurement workflows — they’re automating them.
We’ll look at the shift from static files and EDI to real-time operational data, and what agent-ready purchasing actually requires.
What core buyers now expect: connected, real-time procurement.
A practical model for supporting two journeys from one foundation — and a look at how Commerce is building for AI-driven discovery and procurement, from open APIs to emerging agent-ready capabilities.
How to turn strategy into infrastructure for both.
"Right now we’re in the gradual phase, but it’s going to be very sudden at some point. The question I have for B2B companies is: are you ready for that? Because it’s coming very quickly."
— Andy Hoar, CEO, Paradigm B2B
Why AI is splitting your B2B customer base into two very different buyers – and how to build one ecommerce strategy that serves both
"Right now we’re in the gradual phase, but it’s going to be very sudden at some point.
The question I have for B2B companies is: are you ready for that? Because it’s coming very quickly."