What Hardware SMBs Will Buy – and Why

What kinds of hardware will small and midsized businesses (SMBs) buy in the next 12 months? Are these investments upgrades/replacements or are they a new tech category for the buyer? And why are SMBs making these investments? To find out, we recently surveyed 500 U.S. SMB principals.

At the category level, SMBs are most likely to buy laptops, desktops and tablets, followed by mobile phones, servers and networking equipment, and POS equipment. In every case, small businesses (SBs, with 20-99 employees) and midsized businesses (MBs, with 100-500 employees) have significantly higher purchase intent than very small businesses (VSBs, with 1-19 employees).

SMB 12-Month Tech Purchase Plans

Not surprisingly, most tech purchases will be upgrades to or replacements of existing technology, as opposed to technology that the company hasn’t used before. The category with the highest planned investment in new-to-the-company technology is POS, where roughly 30% of purchases will be a new kind of tech for the buyer. On the low end, only a little over 10% of PCs and tablets will be a new tech category for the buyer.

SMB Tech Purchase Status

What’s driving SMB tech purchases? Productivity. That’s the number one reason cited by all three size groups.

For VSBs, supporting business growth and staying competitive with other businesses are also top drivers of tech investment. SBs have a different tech investment rationale; after increasing productivity, they are equally motivated by improving the customer experience and improving IT security. For MBs, the second most important driver of tech investment is adding capabilities to their organization, followed by improving their customer experience.

SMB Tech Purchase Drivers

The implication for B2SMB tech marketers? Emphasize the productivity gains your solutions provide first and foremost. Demonstrating quick payback is essential in the current moment of economic uncertainty.

‍Looking for actionable SMB insight? Bredin’s global research gives you high-value insights to improve your go-to-market, product, pricing, UX, and other strategies. We also generate uniquely valuable data for high-impact content, PR, social, and sales support programs.