Starting a Wholesale business on Shopify could be an exciting step for you to increase your sales, market reach, and average order value. As per a recent report in 2024, over 1 Million businesses in 175 countries, use Shopify. The vast number of Shopify users indicates the rising e-commerce potential across the globe and the immense potential it has for both wholesale and retail sellers.
Though selling wholesale on Shopify is quite different from selling retail on Shopify, the platform offers a lot of features and applications that allow you to set up and run your Shopify wholesale website. This includes managing a large number of products, variants, and collections, setting up wholesale pricing and volume discounts, bulk order forms, advanced wholesale shipping rates, net payment terms, and more.
In this article, we will walk you through the essential steps to set up, launch, and run a successful Shopify wholesale website. From initial setup to advanced customization, you’ll learn how to craft a user-friendly Shopify site that meets the specific needs of wholesale buyers.
Understanding Shopify Wholesale
If you want to start or are already running a wholesale business, taking it online might unlock massive potential for your business by allowing you to reach out to merchants who are lurking online to buy wholesale products in bulk to resell. Shopify, along with its 3rd party applications, provides the platform for you to create and run a Shopify wholesale website successfully.
When you are selling wholesale on Shopify, the focus is to sell products in bulk and provide big discounts to your customers on their bulk purchases. When you are selling products in bulk, you can reach other businesses and retailers and not limit your store’s reach to just individual customers, which results in increased sales volumes.
Also, wholesale transactions are generally higher in volume and increase the average order value of your business.
From personalized pricing, B2B onboarding, products and collection management, net payment terms, and wholesale invoicing, you can automate almost everything using Shopify apps to seamlessly run your Shopify wholesale website.
Difference between selling retail and wholesale on Shopify
Let’s see how retail selling on Shopify differs from Wholesale selling
- Selling on Shopify can be explained in two parts – either individual customers (retail/D2C) or merchants (wholesale/B2B).
- Products are generally offered at market prices in retail, whereas wholesale involves much lower pricing to accommodate resellers.
- Retail selling generally has smaller volume transactions with lower average order values but generally higher profit margins.
- Wholesale transactions are larger, focusing on bulk sales which might have lower profit margins per unit but are compensated by the high volume of purchases.
- Retail operations on Shopify are more straightforward, and there is no need for customized pricing and discounts, or complex payment terms, and feature direct and simplified shipping.
- Wholesale operations require setting up different pricing structures such as volume discounts and tiered pricing to suit the buying patterns of bulk buyers.
- Additionally, wholesale selling involves more complex operational needs like custom shipping rules and longer net payment terms for customers.
Setting up your Shopify wholesale website
Since now we understand everything about Shopify wholesale, let’s check on some quick steps for you to create your Shopify wholesale website.
- Creating a wholesale section or a separate wholesale store
Depending on your business needs, the first step for you is to decide whether you just want to run a separate Shopify wholesale website, or a combined retail (D2C) and wholesale store together.
There are 3rd party apps on Shopify like Wholesale Pricing Discount that allow you to do both as per your needs. You can create a dedicated wholesale store or a D2C, B2B combined Shopify store while ensuring that both aspects of your business run seamlessly and independently under one roof.
You also need to implement a wholesale sign up form on your website so that people interested in bulk buying from your store can create their accounts for personalized pricing, discounts, and deals. - Implementing wholesale prices and discounts
The second step for you is to create bulk pricing strategies for your products. As discussed above, when you sell wholesale on Shopify, retailers will buy products in bulk quantities from you. To accommodate this, you have to implement wholesale pricing or volume discounts, and tiered pricing on your products. You have to customize these discounts based on the purchase quantity, customer tags, specific products or collections, etc.
The discounts on bulk purchases will encourage users to buy more from you and will increase your average order value significantly. - Managing your products and collections for wholesale
In case you are running a D2C and B2B store together on Shopify, you will have to manage your products for both retail and wholesale. There might be some products or collections that are exclusively for wholesale and vice versa.
Using an access control app for Shopify like Wholesale Lock Manager, you can create rules on who can access your specific products and their prices based on factors like login status, customer tags, etc. This will help you display or hide products on Shopify. - Implementing a Bulk Order Form for fast ordering
Ordering in bulk can become a hassle for your wholesale customers if you are not using a bulk order form. Bulk buying requires adding products in multiple quantities and customers have to jump back-and-forth between pages to add products, variants, and their quantities.
Therefore, the next step for you is to implement a wholesale order form that enables you to offer a single page product selection experience for your bulk buyers. - Setting up Net Payment Terms
Unlike D2C orders, where transactions are one time and of small volume, in B2B transactions you will have the need to set up net payment terms like Net 30, Net 60, or Net 90.
This payment flexibility will ease the load on the customers of paying large amounts upfront, which can be a decisive factor for small retail merchants and will help you build trust and retain your wholesale customers.
Conclusion
Creating and running a Shopify wholesale website can significantly boost your business’s sales and growth. With Shopify’s powerful tools and apps, you can easily manage bulk orders, offer custom pricing and discounts, and provide a personalized shopping experience for your wholesale customers.
Keep in mind that the success of your Shopify wholesale website depends on understanding and meeting the needs of wholesale buyers. By focusing on a seamless shopping experience, competitive pricing and strong customer relationships, you can build a thriving wholesale channel on Shopify
Frequently Asked Questions.
- Is Shopify good for wholesalers?
Yes, Shopify is excellent for wholesalers. It offers robust tools and apps specifically designed for managing bulk orders and large inventories, making it a popular choice for wholesale businesses. - How to open a Shopify wholesale store?
To open a Shopify wholesale store, sign up for Shopify, choose a theme, install necessary wholesale apps, set up bulk pricing and discounts, and finally, customize your store to cater to wholesale buyers. - Who should sell wholesale on Shopify?
Businesses looking to expand their market reach and increase sales through bulk transactions should consider selling wholesale on Shopify. It’s ideal for those who want to supply products to other businesses or large groups. - Can I use Shopify for both retail and wholesale together?
Yes, Shopify can manage both retail and wholesale operations simultaneously. You can use apps to create separate areas for retail and wholesale customers within the same store. - How do I set up pricing tiers on Shopify?
Set up pricing tiers on Shopify by using wholesale apps like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B, which enables you to offer different prices based on the quantity purchased or customer type. - What should I consider when choosing products to sell wholesale on Shopify?
Choose products that have a high demand in bulk, ensure you can maintain a good profit margin at wholesale prices, and consider the ease of shipping large quantities.
