How to Use AI Negotiation in B2B Ecommerce

These ideas are based on the 12 months of conversations with Nibble clients about their B2B-specific challenges and opportunities. The opportunities here are enormous (with a few challenges, of course!)

In the coming months, I'll be speaking at two major B2B events about change and innovation, and I'd love to hear if these ideas resonate with you. I’m not claiming to have all the answers, but here are four quick wins that are easy to implement and can deliver fast, positive results.

Staying Ahead in the Rapidly Changing World of B2B eCommerce

The B2B landscape is quickly moving toward digital-first interactions. Gartner project that, by 2025, 80% of B2B sales will occur online. As a new generation of buyers prefers self-service digital channels over traditional sales calls, this shift is reshaping the industry.

For Digital Directors in B2B, leveraging these changes often requires adopting new practices—no easy feat when faced with entrenched systems, rigid processes, and sometimes inflexible customers, teams and bosses! Here are some actionable ideas that engage customers on their terms and help differentiate in a crowded marketplace.

1. Reduce Customer Support Costs and Focus on Complex Inquiries

We all know that AI-driven tools can streamline routine inquiries, allowing customer support teams to focus on more complex, high-value cases. However, you might not know that allowing AI negotiation is a big win when dealing with cost-sensitive smaller businesses, who, from my experience, are laser-focused on cost-saving. With rising national insurance and minimum wages, there’s never been a greater need for cost-efficient solutions.

For instance, a Nibble client in networking equipment uses automated negotiations to handle low-complexity requests. This frees their team to focus on strategic support while AI tools engage small business customers even after hours, keeping operations efficient. They saw a 27% lift in conversions from A/B tests with Nibble, offering less than a 3% discount but driving an impressive 20% increase in average order value.

They also focus giving these small discounts on supplier-backed promotions to improve profits. Because Nibble increases engagement and boosts sales of these products it’s a win-win-win for supplier-wholesaler-customer!

2. Use AI Negotiation to Deliver 24/7 Support—A Hit with Small Business Customers

Small business customers can be some of the most demanding. For a family-owned business or sole-trader, buying often happens in the evening when traditional customer service is unavailable. AI negotiation allows these customers to access trade pricing and bulk deals outside business hours, boosting self-serve sales, increasing conversion, and protecting margins from blanket discounts.

Across various industries—pharmaceuticals, telecom equipment, industrial supplies, and more—Nibble has demonstrated strong results in B2B sales with small businesses but I particularly love this story:

One of our long standing clients, Capsuline, only use Nibble in the evenings when the sales team have gone home. We are there primarily to handle international demand; however, they observed that a few regular customers wait until after hours to engage with Nibble, because they prefer the experience!

3. Transform "Call for Price" Forms into High-Value Lead Generators

Transforming routine “call for price” forms into high-value lead generators. This can be a game-changer!

We spoke to one U.S. client who receives 15–30 “call for price” form submissions daily for bulk orders. Despite sales incentives, the close rate was just 15-25% because the team just didn’t pick them up fast enough. A new manager took over the form submissions personally for one day just to see what he could achieve. He managed to push this to a 45% conversion rate – 3x higher!! - by personally handling the requests IMMEDIATELY they came in.

Nibble’s AI takes it one step further by negotiating initial prices, then handing off top leads to sales reps for tailored follow-up which could be specialised delivery, services or payment terms. This smooths the customer journey while allowing sales teams to focus on closing high-value deals.

Internally we call this version of Nibble the ?? Hot Lead Generator ?? don't tell marketing.

4. Efficiently Clear Seasonal Stock and Manage Inventory

Perhaps the greatest similarity we see between DTC and B2B ecommerce is in inventory management. No one wants to be on sale all the time, and it can feel like a race-to-the-bottom.

Nibble’s AI negotiation is more subtle and tailored.

We have boosted seasonal stock clearance with smarter end of line pricing where you just need to free up warehouse space fast. Here we have consistently seen conversion improve >20% and much better engagement and margins than headline deep discounts.

Prepare for the Future of B2B eCommerce, it's seller-free!

Gartner summed it up well:

“Over the next five years, an exponential rise in digital interactions between buyers and suppliers will break traditional sales models… Gartner’s research shows that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur in digital channels, driven by a growing preference for seller-free experiences.”

To remain competitive, B2B leaders need to embrace scalable, AI-driven strategies that enhance customer engagement, streamline operations and ensure continuous support. Nibble's AI negotiation technology, available as an easy plugin for platforms like Magento, BigCommerce, and Shopify, enables just that and could be an easy win for you!

At Nibble, we see negotiation as a relationship-building opportunity, not just a transaction. Let’s keep talking…