The Industrial Buyer Pulse is a research initiative we field three times a year that tracks how North American industrial buyers evaluate, shortlist, and select suppliers. It provides a decision-grade view of four areas that influence revenue and pipeline outcomes: Buyer Confidence, Research and Supplier Selection, Digital Buying Enablement, and Supply Chain Health and Risk.
This Summer 2026 report captured the perspectives of 280 senior North American industrial decision-makers in July 2026. It also tested a new question on contestability. How much category business is genuinely open to a challenger? What gets a supplier eliminated before a single conversation even takes place? The data reveals budget confidence firming even as pre-contact shortlisting fell to 71%, down from 76% the wave before, and incumbents winning more of what’s left without a fight.
Download the report to learn why a missing certification disqualifies suppliers nearly five times more often than an outdated website, how 43% of buyers say an incumbent usually wins the next order without ever facing a competitive look, and why capital budget confidence rebounded to growth territory after three waves of gradual cooling.
