73% of B2B buyers are comfortable placing an order of more than $50,000 online, up from 59% in 2022. McKinsey’s 2026 Global B2B Pulse Survey of nearly 4,000 decision-makers in 13 countries finds buyers using an average of ten channels across a purchase.
What the article says
McKinsey’s 2026 Global B2B Pulse Survey draws on responses from nearly 4,000 decision-makers across 13 countries. In the 2022 survey, 59% of respondents were comfortable placing orders of more than $50,000 online; this year the figure is 73%. Buyers report using an average of ten channels across a purchase and follow what McKinsey calls the “rule of thirds,” dividing their interactions roughly evenly among in-person, remote, and digital channels. 71% of B2B companies now offer e-commerce; among those, roughly one-third of revenue flows through digital channels. 60% of market leaders report double-digit revenue growth, compared with 21% of laggards.
Why it matters at the top of the house
For a manufacturer or distributor, a $50,000 order no longer waits for a rep. The question for a president is whether the website and the distributor’s portal can take that order, at the right price, without a phone call. The rule of thirds is the planning number: the field rep, the inside team and the site each carry about a third of the buyer’s contact. The survey is cross-industry and does not break out manufacturers, so it reads as a benchmark, not a mirror.
Source: McKinsey & Company, “The surprising economics of B2B growth: The new survival threshold—and what it takes to thrive,” by Candace Lun Plotkin, Victor Garcia de la Torre, Greg Kelly, Steve Reis, Jennifer Stanley, and Tjark Freundt, May 28, 2026. Research: McKinsey 2026 Global B2B Pulse Survey. The Marketing Table shares the link and a note on why it matters; the article and its copyright belong to the publisher.
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