IRX Birmingham 2025 – B2B Ecommerce Focused Report

Event Overview
This year, I attended the InternetRetailing Expo (IRX) at the NEC in Birmingham. Traditionally occupying a full exhibition hall, this year’s event was notably scaled down, filling only half the usual space. Despite this, my strategic focus on the B2B ecommerce sector ( currently the fastest-growing sector ) proved particularly fruitful. Concentrating on fewer, more relevant exhibitors allowed for deeper conversations and stronger connections than in previous years.

Exhibitor and Presentation Quality
While exhibitor numbers were down particularly among payment providers, ecommerce agencies, and consultants the quality of presentations was significantly higher. Interestingly, there were no “startup-style” niche stands which usually present emerging tech. Attendee interest skewed heavily toward independent consultancy sessions over vendor-led talks, indicating a growing preference for unbiased, strategic insights over product promotion.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Discussions
AI was a dominant theme, with a consistent message: AI is only as effective as the quality and richness of the data feeding it. Some vendors were hesitant to reveal the inner workings of their AI tools, casting doubt on transparency. The industry is moving toward using AI for:

• Mining customer data to discover new revenue opportunities
• Driving personalization by showing customers and sales reps sector-specific and trending products
• Using telemetry to automate reordering of consumables and parts
• Leveraging login data for proactive customer engagement (e.g., push notifications)

Key B2B Ecommerce Insights
The standout presentation posed critical questions for B2B decision-makers:

• Is it easier for customers to buy offline than online?
• What digital tools can simplify the customer’s job?

Strategic Recommendations for B2B Leaders:

• Digital Integration: Digital operations must become central and internalized. Outsourcing core ecommerce is no longer viable.
• Executive Guidance: Many CEOs lack a digital execution roadmap agencies must guide them.
• KPIs to Watch: Acquisition, adoption, and revenue per customer across all channels.
• E-Procurement: Seamless integrations must be prioritized.
• User Roles: Assign admin access for sales reps within customer accounts.
• Customer Dashboards: Visualize order history, product volumes, and trends to enhance repeat ordering.

Customer Adoption & Change Management

• Sales reps often resist ecommerce due to lack of commission align incentives accordingly.
• Create an advisory panel of customers and internal staff before development begins.
• Offer a personalized UX with basics like customer logos.
• Train internal staff first; they become advocates for customers.
• Develop sharable, simple ordering documentation for new users.
• Accept resistance as part of the process use it to inform your roadmap.

Technology and Automation

• Integrate tools like Google Sheets automation to encourage online ordering.
• Avoid locking down content gated B2B content reduces AI-driven search discoverability.
• Use YouTube transcriptions for enhanced SEO visibility.

Conclusion & Next Steps

• Build a digital strategy even post-launch.
• Form an advisory group.
• Continuously track and improve key metrics.
• Explore innovation to outpace competitors.
• Choose flexible ecommerce platforms.
• Partner with agencies experienced in solving B2B ecommerce challenges daily.

Final Reflection
Specializing in the B2B zone led to more productive networking than previous years. While attendance and exhibition scale were modest, the event’s improved presentation quality and targeted engagement made this year’s IRX a valuable investment – considering the entrance was free and it cost me €30 return to travel from Dublin for the day.