Survey of 724 People Involved in BtoB Service Adoption Decisions, “BtoB Buying Trends 2026,” Released

PADDLE, the PR unit of 株式会社イニシャル, conducted a survey of 724 people involved in decision-making for the adoption of BtoB services, covering information gathering, comparative evaluation and adoption decisions, and published the results as “BtoB Buying Trends 2026.” The survey was conducted from 9 to 11 June 2026 and received 724 valid responses.

The results showed that use of business video media for gathering business information reached approximately 80% (78%), indicating a tendency to use video alongside major media outlets, including Nikkei-affiliated media. In addition, more than 80% of respondents said they refer to information obtained through generative AI and AI search.

Among the factors influencing decisions on which company to adopt, 54.1% said that the company that first came to mind had an influence. Differences in perceptions of foreign-affiliated and Japanese companies were also identified: Japanese companies received higher evaluations for their understanding of business practices, long-term support systems and peace of mind after implementation, while foreign-affiliated companies were seen as superior in globally oriented expertise and quality.

Overall, 85.2% said they use AI as a reference, with particularly frequent use during comparative evaluation. The factor given the greatest weight in the final adoption decision was “conviction regarding implementation benefits and cost-effectiveness,” followed by the absence of significant concerns about risks such as security and legal matters.

Going forward, the survey identified the importance of building awareness, preparing information that is more likely to be referenced by AI, communicating implementation case studies and third-party evaluations, and developing content that clearly explains implementation benefits and risk mitigation.

An overview and details of the survey results are available in the PR information released by the publisher.