G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
1
2023 G2 Software
Buyer Behavior
Report
The Value-Driven Buyer
Economic challenges drive businesses to
invest in technology—and expect fast results
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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With every year that passes, it’s easy to feel stunned by the disruption in every corner of the
corporate world and dwell on how easy the years prior seem. It’s been over 3 years since the
economic effects of the pandemic set in, weighing on business in every sector and geography.
And this year, governments around the world have taken major steps to curb ination while
businesses deal with the ramications of the economic upheaval.
But software continues to eat the world—unphased. In fact, G2’s latest research shows that
despite the upheaval, most businesses are increasing their software spend.
To help software vendors navigate this turbulence and nd growth on the other side, G2
surveyed over 1,700 global software buyers to understand their plans, behaviors, and attitudes.
Our research uncovered that vendors vying for a piece of that increased spend still face
signicant roadblocks. Notably, businesses facing pressures to show results are urging vendors
to not just tell them how their offerings can drive value but show them—within 6 months. Our
research uncovered 5 insights dening today’s (and tomorrow’s) software buyer and delivers
recommendations for you to move the insights into action.
Security remains an important theme, but 2023 will undoubtedly be remembered as the year AI
stormed onto the scene with the spotlight on large language models and generative AI. Simply
put, organizations are looking at how AI can save costs and support business growth—and
they’re willing to pay for it, as indicated by larger deal sizes.
The G2 team is thrilled to share our analysis to help you win, serve, and retain customers in 2023
and beyond. We hope that as you read, you identify tactics that can inform your own go-to-
market strategies and support future growth.
Chris Voce
Vice President of Market Research at G2
Cautiously optimistic
buyers expect more
value from their
software purchases.
Economic challenges are putting software buyers in a
dicult position: continue investing in tech with lower
budgets and less room for error.
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
Table of Contents
Foreword 2
Buyers forecast spending increases in the face of economic uncertainty 4
Sellers face challenges as buyer expectations and scrutiny grow 6
5 factors shaping the buyer over the next 12 months 9
1. Buyers see AI as foundational to their business strategy 10
2. AI will drive legal teams to be increasingly involved in software purchases 12
3. Buyers stick to processes but still succumb to timing pressure 13
4. Value, scalability, and ease are top considerations for software buyers, but priorities shift based on
company size
14
5. Solutions that work together without added complexity are key 15
Recommendations 16
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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Buyers forecast spending increases in
the face of economic uncertainty
Businesses are increasing their software spend in the face of broader macroeconomic concerns
as they lean into the competitive advantage of a digital strategy. Despite fears of a tech
spending pullback, G2’s 2023 Buyer Behavior study shows buyers are willing to invest in software
49%
Spending will increase
42%
Spending will remain the same
9%
Spending will decrease
BUYER SPEND OUTLOOK FOR 2023
49% of buyers say spending will increase this year (2023).
Only 9% say it will decrease:
• 77% (overall) say economic uncertainty was a factor in
the change
• 76% of those who say spending will increase say
economic uncertainty was a factor in the change
(compared to 80% of those who say spending will
decrease)
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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55%
Spending will increase
Executive
leaders
Percentage of respondents who
predict spending will increase
39%
Spending will remain
the same
Senior-level
employees
6%
Spending will decrease
Entry-mid
level
In 2024, 55% say spending will increase, and only 6% say it
will decrease:
• 76% say economic uncertainty is a factor in the change
• 75% of those who say spending will increase say economic
uncertainty is a factor in the change (compared to 78% of those
who say spending will decrease)
BUYER SPEND OUTLOOK FOR 2024
BUYER SPEND OUTLOOK FOR 2024 BY ROLE
There was little change in buyers’ spending
outlook from last year to this despite the
economic environment.
The outlook for software spend in 2024 is even brighter.
Even pessimistic buyers are optimistic about next year. Of those who
say spending will decrease this year, 39% say it will increase in 2024,
compared to 25% saying it will decrease (37% say it will stay the same
as this year).
Executive leaders (VPs, SVPs, C-suite) are the most optimistic
about spending in 2023 and 2024, outpacing senior-level employees
(managers, directors, high-level individual contributors) and entry and
mid-level employees.
60
58%
2%
7% 7%
38%
43%
55%
51%
50
40
30
20
10
0
Spending will
increase
Spending will
remain the same
Spending will
decrease
40%
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
But…sellers face
challenges as buyer
expectations and
scrutiny grow.
• Seek quick returns on their investments. Vendors
are on the hook to show quick value. Of respondents
who anticipate software spending to increase
in 2024, the necessity to realize an ROI within 6
months is the most important consideration during
the purchase process. The urgency to quickly
demonstrate ROI is even greater in APAC as shorter
contract lengths increase the pressure to show value
within 6 months of purchase.
Though businesses will spend more
than ever, sellers will face headwinds
as buyers:
1 year
1 year
1 year
6 months or less
6 months or less
6 months or less
APAC
EMEA
NORTH AMERICA
AVERAGE CONTRACT LENGTH BY REGION
2+ years
2+ years
2+ years
47% 34%
24%
23%
13%
11%
9%
56%
60%
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
• Struggle to balance speed and security. The disconnect between
buyers’ recognition of the importance of addressing security and
privacy concerns and their behavior continues to be an issue.
Overwhelmingly, 88% of respondents cite “needed to move quickly
to deliver results from software so didn’t have time” as the main
reason for leaving IT and InfoSec teams out of the software
purchasing decision.
Additionally, even with 86% requiring a security assessment
prior to software purchase, more than half (54% of respondents)
admit to buying software that has not been approved or vetted for
security by their organization’s IT or InfoSec team. All of this can
lead to purchase delays and needless customer churn.
86% of buyers require a security
assessment prior to purchase,
but only 24% involve a security
stakeholder during the research
phase of the buying process.
14% leave it until implementation.
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
• Favor the incumbent. Buyers prefer to work with sellers whose products they
already use. 83% of buyers prefer buying products from the same vendor
instead of switching vendors. This is because using multiple vendors to build a
tech stack offers buyers a chance to explore best-of-breed solutions but adds
complexity. It requires managing more contracts and potentially complicates
integration—and 82% of buyers say it’s important for the software they buy to
integrate with tools they already have.
HAVE YOU EVER PURCHASED SOFTWARE AT WORK
THAT HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR VETTED BY
YOUR IT OR INFOSEC TEAM?
WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO PURCHASE SOFTWARE
THAT WAS NOT APPROVED OR VETTED BY YOUR IT/
INFOSEC TEAM?
54%
Yes
88%
Needed to move quickly
to deliver results
12%
We don’t have a clear
process for this
2%
I don’t know
44%
No
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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5 factors
shaping the buyer over the next 12 months.
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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Hype around generative AI has spurred a genuine frenzy of businesses looking
to secure a competitive advantage. In fact, 81% of respondents say that it is
important or very important that the software they purchase moving forward has
AI functionality—and less than 5% say AI functionality is not important at all.
Buyers trust AI-powered solutions—78% trust or trust strongly the accuracy and
reliability of AI-powered solutions. This built-in level of trust is a competitive
advantage for any AI-powered product.
78% trust the accuracy and reliability of AI-powered solutions.
81% of buyers say it’s important that the software they purchase has AI.
AI buyers are...
• More willing to spend. Companies are willing to spend on AI despite economic
uncertainty, and often because of it. 59% of AI buyers anticipate spending in
2024 will increase—10 percentage points higher than overall.
• Involved in bigger deals. 84% are typically involved in deals larger than $50,000
compared to 75% for non-AI buyers. 72% are typically involved in deals larger
than $100,000 compared to 60% for non-AI buyers.
• Often eschewing IT. 55% have purchased shadow IT. Circumventing established
IT and InfoSec vetting processes, particularly with complicated AI-powered
solutions that handle sensitive data, may present signicant future business
risks.
Buyers see AI as foundational
to their business strategy.
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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84% trust or trust strongly the reliability and accuracy of AI-powered solutions (6
points higher than overall), and 88% say it’s important or very important that the
software they purchase moving forward has AI functionality (7 points higher than
overall). AI buyers are leaning into its importance for their businesses and trusting
the technology to drive results.
Trust in AI remains high overall, but APAC buyers, in particular, are hungry for
AI-powered solutions and willing to trust them to deliver a competitive edge in a
rapidly growing market.
APAC buyers trust AI solutions’ reliability and accuracy more than their EMEA
and North American counterparts. 47% of APAC respondents trust strongly in
AI reliability and accuracy—16 percentage points higher than North American
respondents and 10 points higher than those in EMEA.
PERCENTAGES OF RESPONDENTS WHO
TRUST STRONGLY IN AI:
Unsurprisingly, AI buyers trust AI and view
it as an important part of their technology
strategy going forward.
APAC
47%
EMEA
37%
NA
31%
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
84% of overall respondents indicate their IT department is responsible for
conducting security or privacy assessments when evaluating software. But 40%
indicate their legal department is involved as well, and this shoots up to 55% in
EMEA countries due to its more stringent digital regulations. Over the coming year,
G2 believes legal’s role will become increasingly prevalent around the globe. This is
because generative AI solutions increase the necessity for legal involvement. Buyers
and vendors have to scrutinize how their own company’s data will be treated and the
risks associated with generative AI output.
AI will drive legal teams to
be increasingly involved in
software purchases.
APAC
38%
NA
36%
EMEA
55%
PERCENTAGE OF ENTERPRISE RESPONDENTS WHO
SAY THAT LEGAL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING
SECURITY AND PRIVACY ASSESSMENTS
The department
responsible for the
buying decision.
Legal
department
IT
department
Infosec
department
PERCENTAGE OF
RESPONDENTS WHO
IDENTIFY A DEPARTMENT
AS RESPONSIBLE FOR
CONDUCTING SECURITY OR
PRIVACY ASSESSMENTS
IT Departments run security
assessments, but Legal’s
responsibility is increasing.
20%0% 40% 60% 80% 100%
84%
31%
28%
40%
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
A majority of companies have a set process in place for buying
software. 83% of respondents say they have an ocial buying
process, though only 67% of small businesses say they have an
ocial process.
Research is the most time-consuming aspect of the buying journey,
according to 36% of respondents, with evaluation coming in second
at 29%.
But, business pressure still drives
changes in behavior.
Of those who purchased shadow IT, medium-sized companies
(87%) and enterprises (93%) did so because they needed to move
quickly, compared to 76% of small businesses. Processes in large
companies tend to be more complicated and slower, while their
departments or business units demand faster results.
Buyers stick to processes but still
succumb to timing pressure.
RESPONDENTS SAY RESEARCH IS THE MOST TIME CONSUMING
PART OF THE BUYING JOURNEY
Research
0% 10%
15%
20%
29%
36%
30%20% 40%
Evaluation
Decision
Implementation
Respondents who say they spend the most time on a stage.
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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Out of a list of 14 considerations for purchasing software, the top 5 were consistent
regardless of company size. Small business buyers prioritize ease of use and ease of
implementation. Medium-sized and enterprise companies need solutions that will
be able to keep up with their growth, with both ranking scalability as the third most
important criteria.
Buyers prioritize value over cost; regardless of size, buyers are more concerned about
showing value than focusing on software costs or total cost of ownership (TCO).
Small businesses Medium-sized companies Enterprises
1
How easy the tool is to
implement
Receive ROI within 6
months
How easy the tool is to
implement
2
How easy the tool is to
use
How easy the tool is to
implement
Receive ROI within 6
months
3
Receive ROI within 6
months
Ability to scale as my my
team/company grows
Ability to scale as my
team/company grows
4
Receive ROI within 1
year
How easy the tool is to
use
Receive ROI within 1
year
5
Ability to scale as my
team/company grows
Receive ROI within 1 year
How easy the tool is to
use
6
At least weekly usage
by all users
At least weekly usage by
all users
At least weekly usage by
all users
7
Quality of customer
support
Quality of customer
support
Quality of customer
support
8
Number of features
That the tool easily
integrates with other
software we already use
That the tool easily
integrates with other
software we already use
9
That the tool easily
integrates with other
software we already
use
Number of features Number of features
10
How much the software
costs
How much the software
costs
What kind of security
does the software
provide
Value, scalability, and ease are
top considerations for software
buyers, but priorities shift based
on company size.
4
4
THE TOP 10 CONSIDERATIONS FOR PURCHASING
SOFTWARE, BY COMPANY SIZE
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
82% of respondents mention it is important to them that the software they
buy integrates with their existing solutions. Buyers rank ease of integration
higher than the cost of the software, the kind of security it provides, or
its TCO. Buyers prefer to work with fewer vendors (78%) and use a single
solution instead of multiple tools (84%). When multiple solutions are
required, 77% of buyers prefer to buy complementary products from the
vendors they already work with.
When it comes to contract renewals, 83% of respondents (36% strongly
agree, 47% agree) prefer buying products from the same vendor instead of
switching vendors. As for the products, 60% always conduct research and
consider new alternatives, but 45% renew without considering new options.
5
Solutions that work together without
added complexity are key.
I WOULD PREFER TO PURCHASE ONE TOOL TO SOLVE
MULTIPLE BUSINESS PROBLEMS THAN MULTIPLE TOOLS.
84%
AGREE
82%
AGREE
83%
AGREE
78%
AGREE
IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT THE SOFTWARE I BUY
INTEGRATES WITH TOOLS I ALREADY HAVE.
I LIKE TO BUY COMPLEMENTARY PRODUCTS
FROM A SINGLE VENDOR I ALREADY WORK WITH.
I PREFER TO RENEW A PRODUCT THAN SWITCH TO A
NEW VENDOR.
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
Lead with a richer view of value
Simple ROI calculations fail to capture the full impact of a solution’s potential on a
customer’s environment. Vendors are more frequently employing business value
advisory consultants to learn about and advise on how solutions create business
value over time. More complete assessments include bottomline cost savings
or risk mitigation, topline business growth examples, and strategic growth
opportunities.
For instance, digital workspace solutions that enable remote work can lower
the bottomline. They enable device cost savings using thin clients and reduce
breaches. But they also potentially allow contact center workers to help more
customers. Buyer interest in AI opens up opportunities to communicate both
bottomline and topline value.
Use buyers’ preferred channels to earn their trust
Buyers are decreasing their reliance on salespeople and gravitating to other
trusted sources of information and self-service. The top 85% of most inuential
sources include industry experts, colleagues or professional networks, online
reviews, and other internal inuencers.
A Software company salesperson is the least inuential source in purchasing
processes at 1%, decreasing from 3% year over year (YoY). The importance of
vendor-published content has reduced from 10% to 7% YoY.
Vendors must build product awareness across communities, experts, and review
platforms. Buyers still trust software company websites and rely on them most
when making major purchasing decisions for their company, but they are slowly
reducing in importance YoY, going from 38% in 2021 to 33% in 2022, and 32% in
2023.
66% of respondents say salespeople at a software company are not generally
involved in the research phase of the purchasing process—up from 63% who said
this in 2022 and 60% in 2021.
To win, serve, and retain customers in the upcoming year, G2 believes
vendors should:
84%
Yes
No
16%
PERCENTAGE OF BUYERS WHO USE ONLINE REVIEW SITES
Recommendations
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
Offer self-service options across multiple channels
throughout the process
Buyers are looking for self-service options at every stage of the buying process.
Enterprise buyers, in particular, want the majority of the software purchase
process to be self service. Regionally, APAC buyers prefer self service the most:
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR
SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS AT EVERY STAGE OF THE BUYING
PROCESS
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS WHO WANT ALL OR MOST
OF THE FOLLOWING PARTS OF THE BUYING PROCESS TO BE
SELF SERVICE
Implementation is not as cut and dry as the other stages, particularly for more
complicated pieces of software, doubly so for complex solutions that need to
integrate with an entire tech stack of different tools.
Buyers may want the majority of the implementation process to be self service
(the importance buyers attribute to ease of implementation, ranked rst among
buyer considerations across all respondents, highlights this), but just 41% of
enterprise buyers want all of the process to be self service.
Research Evaluation Decision Implementation
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
34%
34%
35%
42%
32%
40% 40%
46%
36%
41%
36%
47%
Research Evaluation Decision Implementation
100
80%
81%
78%
74%
78%
80%
80%
82%
81%
83%
83%
86%
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
NA
Small
business
EMEA
Medium-sized
companies
APAC
Enterprises
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G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
Buyers are ooded with contacts from salespeople every day
and may take steps to avoid even more. For example, 61% of
respondents indicate they are less likely to purchase software if the
vendor requires personal information (email address, name, etc.)
prior to releasing pricing data or product demos. This indicates
buyers want time to conduct research before entering into
discussions with sales.
ARE YOU LESS LIKELY TO PURCHASE A
SOFTWARE PRODUCT IF A VENDOR REQUIRES
YOU TO PROVIDE INFORMATION (EMAIL ADDRESS,
NAME, ETC) PRIOR TO RELEASING PRICING
INFORMATION OR PRODUCT DEMOS?
Offer multiyear deals for buyers seeking consistency
in their tech stacks
Introduce offerings to help buyers but they
may not want to talk just yet.
Multiyear deals are rare (across all respondents, only 12% say their typical contract length is 2
years or more), but there are levers to pull to entice buyers to sign longer-term contracts.
THE MOST POPULAR REASONS WHY SOMEONE WOULD SIGN A
MULTIYEAR CONTRACT:
Only 3% say nothing would sway them, they prefer yearly or monthly deals. Enterprises tend
to sign more multiyear deals, at 14% compared to 10% for medium-sized companies and 10%
for small businesses. The primary driver for larger companies to sign multiyear contracts is
discounts, but 16% of enterprise buyers look to multiyear deals for leverage to request product
enhancements and integrations.
Enterprise buyers also consistently research alternatives more than their mid-market and small
business counterparts (63% always research alternatives when a product is up for renewal).
To limit the risk of customers researching alternatives, sellers should look to secure multiyear
deals by leaning into customer feedback on product development, desired features, and
integrations.
Discounts are a common lever for securing multiyear deals. Sellers who are responsive to
customer feedback and open to product roadmap suggestions have an additional tool that may
help them secure consistent business.
5%
34%
61%
I don’t know
no
Yes
Discounts
Consistent
tech stack
Time and
resource saving
30% 24% 24%
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
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Small businesses are less likely to have security or privacy vetting process
requirements than larger companies, but most still do. 77% of small businesses
require a security and privacy assessment when purchasing software, compared
to 86% of medium-sized businesses and 89% of enterprises.
To accommodate buyers from these verticals and company sizes,
vendors must:
1. Lead with product security credentials
2. Conduct buyer interviews to dive into their security and privacy vetting process
3. Design information or implementation according to buyer needs and resources
When it comes to selecting IT services, cost (50% consider it to have a high
inuence) and customer satisfaction (51% consider it to have a high inuence)
ratings are the most important factors that inuence selection. 49% consider
alignment with industry compliance standards (ISO, ASTM, ANSI, etc.) to be
very important in a service provider. Meeting project requirements and staying
within budget are the most important qualities in a service provider, according
to respondents.
COST AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATINGS ARE
THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS WHILE SELECTING
SERVICES PROVIDERS
The process of software implementation is arguably as important as the product
itself. In fact, 93% of respondents say that the quality of the implementation
process has a signicant inuence on the decision to renew a software product.
Respondents prefer vendors’ implementation teams over third-party and in-
house implementation teams. 63% of respondents have used the vendor’s
implementation team, while 53% have worked with third-party implementers. In
comparison, only 37% have used in-house teams to implement software.
For those who worked with a third-party implementation provider, 33% chose
a provider based on the software vendor’s recommendation, the highest of any
options, followed by peer suggestion (25%) and third-party reviews (24%).
Help buyers navigate complex security requirements
Bridge the software implementation gap
0% 20%
51%
50%
49%
46%
40%
39%
40%
Customer satisfaction
ratings
Cost
Alignment with industry
standardizations
Domain expertise /
certifications
Geo presence (languages,
global oce locations)
The number of
projects completed
G2 SOFTWARE BUYER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2023
20
Authors
Gabriel Gheorghiu
Rachana Hasyagar
Patrick Szakiel
Chris Voce
Sarah Wallace
Designers
Jason Ortiz
Mike Puglielli
Contributors
Sinchana Mistry
Jigmee Bhutia
Shanti Nair
Nicole Zhang
Jenny Gardynski
Sara Rossio
Laura Horton
Palmer Houchins
Chris Perrine
Sarah Reks
Methodology
G2 elded an online survey among 1,704 B2B decision makers with responsibility
for, or inuence over, purchase decisions for departments, multiple departments,
operating units, or entire businesses. Respondents had job titles ranging from
individual contributor to manager, director, VP, or higher. G2 denes small
business as a company with 1-100 employees, mid-market as a company with 101-
1,000 employees, and enterprise as a company with 1,001+ employees. The survey
was elded in March 2023 and includes a global pool of respondents across North
America, EMEA, and APAC.
About G2
G2 is the world’s largest and most trusted software marketplace. More than 80
million people annually — including employees at all Fortune 500 companies —
use G2 to make smarter software decisions based on authentic peer reviews.
Thousands of software and services companies of all sizes partner with G2 to
build their reputation, manage their software spend, and grow their business —
including Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, and Adobe. To learn more about where you
go for software, visit www.g2.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
