Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel
The Shopify wholesale channel is only available on Shopify Plus and offers a separate storefront for wholesale products that is password protected. The channel acts like an extension of existing online stores where clients can browse and purchase at custom wholesale prices. All orders can be viewed from your main dashboard.
Note: there is also more recently Price lists and B2B functionality rolled out which is not using wholesale channel allowing users to keep B2B users on the single store. This content is about the wholesale channel which is Shopify Plus only which creates a separate store. The solution you use will depend on your needs and you are best off consulting with a Shopify Plus Expert before starting your wholesale trading as there are many considerations to plan with. Talk to us if unsure.
Automate your B2B business on Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus wholesale channel enables your B2B business to run itself, by providing customers with a self-service portal. The process for this can be broken down into the following:
Order placement: customers can login through the wholesale storefront and can place orders anytime without having to call or speak directly.
Order history: customers can access order & invoice history from the customer dashboard.
Order tracking: customers can log in, retrieve tracking numbers and view the order status, which is handy if an order confirmation email goes missing.
Having the option for Shopify plus wholesale self-service helps save your business time, by giving customers all the information they need without having to call or email.
What do I need for wholesale Shopify Plus to work?
You can contact us today to help with Shopify Plus wholesale channels or provide bespoke custom wholesale apps.
Shopify makes the wholesale experience relatively easy with businesses being able to set custom pricing and product descriptions, utilize available theme options, have easy payment gateway/checkout integrations and more. If you want to add a wholesale section to your Shopify store you will need the following:
A Shopify Plus account
A domain name
Wholesale products to sell
Payment gateway integration
The pros of using Shopify Plus wholesale channel
Having a separate storefront
Using Shopify Plus as an extension of existing online stores enables trusted B2B customers to have a separate area to login and browse your wholesale priced products.
For this login area, you have the option to change your store name, logo and background to create a branded look for your wholesale channel. Please note; after login the main wholesale store page has a set layout that can’t be edited.
Easily set custom pricing and order limits
As every business is unique, you can set a pricing strategy that works for you and your wholesale customers. Minimum and maximum order limits also help you control the number of products that can be ordered.
With the wholesale Shopify Plus channel, you can easily set fixed wholesale prices for products and variants, set percentage off or volume-based pricing, set minimum & maximum quantity increments and apply minimum orders storewide or per customer.
Wholesale customer dashboard
Traditionally, wholesale required more support, time and effort than regular retail customers.
The wholesale channel on Shopify plus provides wholesale customers their own dashboard, so they can purchase, track and re-order via their own account credentials. This makes your business more efficient and provides great order management support to wholesale clients.
Options for order processing
Orders made on the Shopify wholesale channel will appear as a draft in Shopify admin. Businesses can choose how to process orders in a variety of ways which gives flexibility to both you and the customer. You can choose out of the following:
Request payment and send invoices from the payment provider listed on the customer’s Shopify account.
Request payment from alternative payment methods such as wire transfers with customized invoices.
Customers can pay by credit card when willing to pay upfront.
Customers can pay with cheque by marking the order as ‘paid once the funds have reached your account’.
Customers can pay with Afterpay, which will automatically collect payment and allows them to also pay in installments.
Custom domains for Shopify wholesale store
Shopify Plus wholesale allows you to add a custom domain for a branded experience. Having a separate B2C and B2B domain will help customers easily distinguish between the retail and wholesale stores. You can choose to have a subdomain name for a closely linked store, or you can use a different domain name altogether.
The cons of using Shopify Plus wholesale channel
Overall, shopify plus wholesale is a great option for managing B2B customers and sales. There are some slight drawbacks to using this channel, some of which include the cost of the Shopify Plus platform. If you are already using this platform or are a large company, this may not affect you.
Lack of customisation on wholesale storefront
The level of customisation for the wholesale channel theme is limited. The wholesale section will unfortunately look the same as other Shopify wholesale channels, minus the logo and the products listed.
Limited custom shipping options for wholesale
The default store settings offer wholesale customers the same shipping rates that are listed on your main store. These can be overridden on the preferences pages of the wholesale channel, however you can only have one rate. This means every wholesale customer will have to pay this, or you have to manually change the rate when you review each order.
Shopify wholesale channels are not indexed
As search engines do not index wholesale Shopify channels, it makes it hard to gain exposure and new customers from search traffic.
Need help getting started or want a custom wholesale solution?
Get in touch today with our Shopify Plus experts and we can advise & support you to make the best business decisions.
