Predictions 2025: Younger Business Buyers And GenAI Will Upend The Status Quo
Younger generations and the growing influence of artificial intelligence are reshaping the business buying landscape. According to Forrester’s Buyers’ Journey Survey, 2024, over two-thirds of buyers involved in large and complex transactions valued over $1 million are Millennials and Generation Z buyers. This generational shift, combined with the rapid rise of generative AI (genAI), is fundamentally altering the way that business buyers make their purchases, and we can expect rapid changes in 2025.
Younger buyers not only know that they can get access to more information than ever without directly engaging with a provider, but they also see providers consistently missing the mark in the buying cycle. They are hungering for more: real insight into providers and solutions; better ways to collect and analyze the information they find and receive from others; and, ultimately, a better buyer experience. They’re neither afraid to take advantage of the latest technology to improve their buying experience nor are they afraid to walk away if they don’t get what they want.
Three key predictions highlight the changes that we can expect in business purchasing in 2025:
- GenAI will drive buyers to consider five or more providers for large purchases. GenAI is revolutionizing the way business buyers approach their purchase decisions. AI tools not only expedite the buying process but also enhance overall business outcomes for organizations. Over 90% of buyers who used genAI to inform purchases of $1 million or more reported positive results. These tools enable buyers to conduct extensive research, reduce biases, and evaluate a wider range of providers. As buyers become more adept researchers, we expect them to continue to expand their consideration set and include more providers because they can analyze and assess them with greater ease.
- Dissatisfaction will drive two-thirds of business buyers to seek new solutions. Younger buyers are highly dissatisfied with their buying experience. From technical implementation issues to concerns about diversity and inclusion programs, these buyers are pushing providers to meet their technical requirements while engaging them as valued partners. Younger buyers know that they have alternatives and are willing to evaluate them if they can replace their current solution.
- Half of younger buyers will include 10 or more external influencers in their purchase. As the influence of Millennials and Generation Z buyers continues to grow, they increasingly rely on external sources, including their value network, to make decisions. Today, almost one-third of younger buyers bring in 10 or more individuals outside of their organization to the decision-making process. These include online community members and industry conference attendees. Social media platforms, which give access to a host of new influencers, already rank among the top three preferred interaction types among young buyers, and their influence continues to grow.
Marketers And Sellers Must Take Control Where They Can
Old ways of doing business are no longer sufficient — marketers and sellers need to meet this new generation of buyers where they are. Marketers should identify the digital signals that buyers give off so that they can best leverage the increasingly rare, direct, and personal interactions that buyers may have with them. They’ll also need to improve both their hard and soft skills to engage with customers who are dissatisfied and willing to go back on the market to seek out better options. Finally, marketers will need to extend their outreach to include influencers, especially those on social media, who are engaging with buyers and delivering insight.
Read our full Predictions 2025: Business Buyers report to learn more about these predictions and two additional ones. Schedule a Forrester guidance session to discuss these predictions and learn how you can prepare your sales, marketing, and product teams to adapt their strategies.
If you aren’t a client, you can download our complimentary B2B Predictions guide, which covers all of our top predictions for 2025. Additional resources, including webinars, are available on the Predictions 2025 hub.