business-to-business

noun

busi·​ness-to-busi·​ness

: a sector of business activity that focuses on commerce performed between businesses rather than between a business and a consumer

a company that specializes in business-to-business

Business-to-business, the sale of goods and services to other companies rather than to the public, has flourished for centuries.

—Joanne Legomsky

—usually used before another noun

Business-to-business sales rose 4.4% from a year earlier, but retail sales increased less than 1%.

—The Wall Street Journal

business-to-business companies

the business-to-business market

—abbreviation B2B

Examples of business-to-business in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like any ambitious transformation, the evolution into business-to-business (B2B) can only be as successful as the people who power it. —Katya Laviolette, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

The company recently posted positive financial results for 2023, with revenue up 7.4% to $524 million and an 11.5% increase in subscribers (thanks to business-to-business partnerships). —Marc Schneider, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2024

For the past three years, VC firm Notion Capital has published a top 100 list of Europe’s up-and-coming business-to-business software startups, most of them at the Series A Stage. —Trevor Clawson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

The entire gain in subscriptions came from business-to-business partnerships, which grew by 1 million to 4.8 million. —Glenn Peoples, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024

And business-to-business partnerships are incredibly important. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2024

As a business-to-business solution provider, Iverson Dental Labs has carved out its distinct niche with achievements that go past saving chair time for doctors and patients. —Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024

This number is on the rise as the streamer belatedly entered the bundling model with B2B or business-to-business deals in India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and the Middle East with partners including OTT Play, Watcho, Times Prime, Airtel, Jio and Vi. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024

Some business-to-business companies and advertising conglomerates such as WPP have, in recent years, appointed such leaders in roles that focus on promoting their own products and services to business clients. —Patrick Coffee, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above