Building on the heritage of our long-running Future Shopper research, the study reveals both the forces reshaping enterprise purchasing and the sector differences across seven priority industries that determine how suppliers earn attention, build confidence, and turn preference into decision.
Enterprise procurement in healthcare and beauty has reached a critical inflection point. Driven by regulatory compliance, stakeholder buying groups and heightened career-reputation sensitivity, buyers are balancing rapid digital transformation with an intense demand for verified human expertise.
VML’s "The Future Buyer: Healthcare & Beauty" report examines how healthcare and beauty buyers research, evaluate and select suppliers for major investments – and what it takes for suppliers to win their business.
Download our 2026 Healthcare & Beauty report
Operating in high-stakes, heavily audited sectors, buying groups (averaging 5.6 stakeholders) default to safety. A significant majority will select an established brand over a lower-priced or feature-rich alternative simply to protect internal credibility.
While other B2B sectors have shifted discovery to Generative AI and search engines, healthcare and beauty procurement remains relationship-first. More than half of enterprise buyers initiate research through direct supplier relationships.
To justify selections to finance committees and C-suites, buyers require machine-readable, objective validation: rigorous technical specs, third-party audits, analyst ratings and demonstrated market longevity.
Healthcare and beauty buyers expect digital convenience alongside the reassurance of dealing with people they trust.
The world of B2B marketing is being disrupted. 55% of buyers now begin supplier research with Generative AI. To win, your brand must be found by AI, trusted by people and approved by the buying group. Introducing The Future Buyer Report series by VML – a comprehensive study of modern B2B buying behavior based on first-party research with 750 buyers across eight international markets. Seven reports, seven industries – delivering a clear view of what influences buying decisions and how brands can act.
According to VML’s 2026 study, significant procurement decisions in healthcare and beauty involve an average of 5.6 stakeholders. The most influential functions are finance (57%) and the C-suite (57%), followed by procurement (49%) and IT/Technology (45%).
45% of buyers use generative AI tools to begin supplier discovery, and 70% of those using AI chat tools leverage them during supplier research. 85% expect AI to play a role in their next major investment decision, particularly in spend analysis (38%), contract risk flagging (36%), and market scanning for emerging suppliers (43%).
According to the report, 33% of initiatives end without a decision primarily because of risk or compliance concerns (47%) and budget uncertainty or reallocation (43%). Unlike other B2B sectors where internal misalignment is common, healthcare and beauty deals stall when suppliers fail to prove implementation safety and demonstrable
After a preferred supplier is selected, it takes an average of five weeks for healthcare and beauty buying teams to achieve final internal agreement and contract sign-off.
Discovery is led by direct supplier outreach (51%), followed by Generative AI tools (45%), traditional search engines (43%), and industry trade events (43%). Notably, 36% of buyers establish a firm supplier preference before speaking directly with a supplier.
Reputation is critical: 83% of buyers will pay a price premium for a trusted brand. However, healthcare and beauty procurement is significantly more price-sensitive than general B2B: 34% prioritize the lowest price on major investments compared
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