For the better part of a decade, wholesale has been in reaction mode: direct-to-consumer (DTC) disruptors, a pandemic, tariff whiplash, elevated costs.
But wholesale leaders are now approaching growth with discipline, conviction, and clear eyes.
The State of B2B eCommerce Report produced by NuOrder by Lightspeed calls it the “wholesale maturity gap,” and it's shaping the next chapter of B2B commerce.
Some brands are aiming to be “the easiest wholesale brand to do business with,” says Tom Groves, senior director of account management at NuORDER.
Key takeaways:
· Nearly 78% of senior leaders now rank B2B wholesale as their No. 1 investment channel—up from 72% last year—while DTC physical retail fell from 40% to just 18%.
· 54% of leaders are prioritizing operational and supply chain cost reduction, 46% are investing in pricing flexibility, and 43% are working to improve margins through smarter retailer negotiations.
· Sell-through visibility has taken a huge leap forward, moving from occasional insight to operational input. Medium visibility into retail sell-through jumped from 36% to 74% year-over-year, and 67% of brands now use that data frequently in daily decisions.
· Only 9% of those surveyed report fully integrated ERP systems with seamless data flow—down 16 points year over year. The other 86% are stitching things together with partial integrations and manual workarounds.
· Lack of standardization as a pain point climbed from 34% to 62%. Data entry errors or note-taking mistakes now plague 42% of brands (up from 17%). Difficulty scheduling market appointments jumped from 16% to 50%.
· Inventory forecasting leads the way at 44% (up from 22% last year), followed by process automation (41%) and pricing optimization (38%, up from just 12%).
- The brands winning in 2026 are the ones making themselves frictionless partners for retailers. They’re sharing sell-through data openly, collaborating on assortment planning, offering 24/7 digital ordering, and tailoring product mixes to specific partners and regions.
