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Driving B2B Sales with Shopify Wholesale Channel for Shopify Plus Stores

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Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms available today, with a robust set of features that enable businesses to sell products online. One of the standout features of Shopify Plus, the enterprise-level version of the platform, is the Shopify Wholesale Channel. The Wholesale Channel is a powerful tool that enables businesses to sell to wholesale customers with ease.

For Shopify Plus stores, the Wholesale Channel provides a streamlined and effective way to manage their wholesale business. It allows businesses to create a separate wholesale storefront with unique pricing and products while still using the same Shopify account to manage Shopify Wholesale Channel inventory, orders, and fulfillment. This feature makes it easy for businesses to manage both their wholesale and retail operations in one place.

In this article, we will explore the many ways that businesses can use the Shopify Wholesale Channel to drive B2B sales. We will discuss the benefits of the Wholesale Channel, how to set it up, and some best practices for managing a successful wholesale business on Shopify Plus. Whether you are an established e-commerce site or just starting wholesale, the Shopify Wholesale Channel offers powerful tools to help you grow your B2B sales.

What Is the Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel?

Shopify Plus is an enterprise-level e-commerce platform designed for high-volume businesses that require advanced functionality, customization, and scalability. It offers a range of features and capabilities that enable online stores to create and manage online stores, sell products, and engage with customers.

One of the key features of Shopify Plus is the Wholesale Channel, which is a powerful tool that enables e-commerce sites to create a separate, password-protected storefront that’s designed specifically for wholesale customers. This storefront can be customized to reflect the brand and store’s products. It offers a range of features and functionalities tailored to wholesale customers’ needs.

When thinking about what does the Wholesale Channel do in Shopify, the following functions come to mind:

#1: Create a separate wholesale storefront

With the Wholesale Channel, you can create a separate, password-protected storefront that’s designed specifically for your wholesale customers. This storefront can be customized to reflect your brand’s identity. It offers a range of features and functionalities that are tailored to the needs of wholesale customers.

#2: Offer custom pricing

You can set custom pricing for wholesale customers, which can be based on a variety of factors such as quantity, product, customer type, or order history. This function enables you to offer competitive pricing to your wholesale customers while maintaining profitability.

#3: Manage customer accounts

The Wholesale Channel allows online stores to create and manage customer accounts, which can be customized to reflect the needs and preferences of each customer. Shopify merchants can also set up different pricing tiers based on customer accounts, which enables them to offer different pricing and discounts to different customer segments.

#4: Offer bulk ordering

Wholesale customers generally order products in bulk, so the Wholesale Channel offers a range of features that make it easy to place large orders. Shopify merchants can set up minimum and maximum order quantities, offer quantity discounts, and enable customers to add multiple products to their carts at once. Indeed, Shopify Wholesale Channel checkout is a huge benefit.

#5: Manage orders and shipments

The Wholesale Channel offers a range of tools that enable Shopify Plus merchants to manage orders and shipments for their wholesale customers. E-commerce sites can view and track orders, create custom packing slips and invoices, and generate shipping labels and tracking information.

As you can see, Wholesale Shopify Plus Channel is a powerful tool enabling your online store to create a separate storefront designed specifically for their wholesale customers. It offers a range of features and functionalities tailored to wholesale customers’ needs, enabling e-commerce sites to offer competitive pricing, manage customer accounts, and streamline the ordering and fulfillment process.

Additionally, contact Shopify Plus customer support to learn more about Shopify Wholesale Channel pricing. Shopify Plus offers individual pricing for its clients. If cost is a consideration for you, check out the various pricing tiers and plans Shopify offers standard online stores.

bags of foods
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Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel Best Features

Here are the top 10 best features of the Wholesale Channel in Shopify Plus:

#1: Integration with other Shopify Plus features

The Wholesale Channel integrates seamlessly with other Shopify Plus features, such as inventory management, fulfillment, and reporting. This feature enables merchants to manage their entire e-commerce operation from a single platform.

#2: Easy setup and management

The Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel is easy to set up and manage. Shopify merchants can use the intuitive drag-and-drop interface to create their storefront, set up pricing and shipping options, and manage customer accounts. Plus, the Wholesale Channel is fully supported by Shopify’s world-class customer support team.

#3: Secure and reliable

The Wholesale Channel is built on Shopify’s secure and reliable platform, ensuring wholesale transactions are safe and secure. Plus, Shopify offers 24/7 monitoring and support to ensure that the Wholesale Channel is always up and running smoothly. As you can see, Shopify help Wholesale Channel is one of its most outstanding features.

#4: Advanced reporting and analytics

The Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel offers advanced reporting and analytics tools that enable Shopify stores to track sales, monitor customer behavior, and analyze the performance of their wholesale business. This data can be used to make informed decisions and improve the efficiency and profitability of their wholesale operations.

#5: Multi-currency support

The Wholesale Channel offers multi-currency support, enabling e-commerce sites to sell to wholesale customers worldwide in their local currency. This feature makes it easy for e-commerce sites to expand their wholesale business internationally and reach new markets.

The Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel offers a range of powerful features and functionalities tailored specifically for wholesale customers. From customizable storefronts to advanced reporting tools, the Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel enables your store to streamline its wholesale operations, improve profitability, and grow its business.

How to Set Up the Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel

When thinking about how to add the wholesale channel to Shopify, you will find that setting up the Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel requires several steps. Still, the process is relatively straightforward and can be completed with the help of the Shopify Plus platform.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up the Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel:

#1: Sign up for Shopify Plus

To set up the Wholesale Channel, you must have a Shopify Plus account. If you don’t already have one, you can sign up for a free trial at the Shopify Plus website.

#2: Create a wholesale customer group

Once you have a Shopify Plus account, you need to create a wholesale customer group. To do this, go to the Customers section of the Shopify Plus dashboard and select “Groups.” Click “Create group” and choose “Wholesale” as the group type from there.

#3: Set up wholesale pricing

After creating the wholesale customer group, you need to set up wholesale pricing. To do this, go to the Products section of the Shopify Plus dashboard and select “Wholesale prices.” You can create pricing tiers for different customer groups and products from there.

#4: Create a wholesale collection

You must create a wholesale collection to make it easy for wholesale customers to find the products they need. To do this, go to the Products section of the Shopify Plus dashboard and select “Collections.” From there, click “Create collection” and choose “Wholesale” as the collection type.

how to success in shopify wholesale
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#5: Set up a wholesale storefront

You need to set up a wholesale channel to create a separate storefront for wholesale customers. To do this, go to the Sales Channels section of the Shopify Plus dashboard and select “Add sales channel.” From there, choose “Wholesale” as the channel type and follow the prompts to set up your storefront.

#6: Customize your storefront

Once you have set up your wholesale storefront, you can customize it to reflect your brand and products. You can customize the design, layout, colors, and more to create a unique storefront tailored specifically for your wholesale customers.

#7: Manage your wholesale business

Once your Wholesale Channel is up and running, you can use the Shopify Plus dashboard to manage your wholesale business. You can view and track orders, manage customer accounts, set up custom catalogs and promotions, and generate reports to analyze the performance of your wholesale business.

With these steps, you can create a powerful and customizable wholesale channel that enables you to grow your business and reach new customers.

Grow your sales with high-performing deals.

Shopify Wholesale Channel Limitations

While the Shopify Wholesale Channel offers many benefits for businesses, there are some Shopify Wholesale Channel limitations to keep in mind. Here are some of the most notable limitations:

#1: Limited Customization

While the Shopify Wholesale Channel allows for some storefront customization, it is not as flexible as the main Shopify platform. Some features and design elements may not be available, limiting a business’s ability to create a unique and differentiated wholesale storefront. If Shopify Wholesale Channel customize options are crucial for your site, you may need to use a third-party customization app to help you achieve the desired customization.

#2: Limited Product Restrictions

Shopify Wholesale Channel does not allow businesses to restrict certain products from being available to wholesale customers. This feature can be a limitation for businesses that want to offer some products exclusively to retail customers or limit certain products to certain types of customers.

#3: Limited Integration

The Wholesale Channel does not integrate with all of Shopify’s apps and features. This situation could limit your e-commerce site’s ability to use certain apps or features to manage its wholesale business.

#4: Limited Payment Options

The Wholesale Channel only supports certain payment gateways, which can be a limitation for your online store when you want to offer different payment options to their wholesale customers.

#5: Limited Customer Management

While the Wholesale Channel allows businesses to manage wholesale customers and create customer groups, it does not offer as many options for customer management as the main Shopify platform. This feature could be a limitation for businesses that need to manage large numbers of wholesale customers.

#6: Limited Marketing Tools

The Wholesale Channel does not offer as many marketing tools as the main Shopify platform, which could be a limitation for businesses that want to create targeted marketing campaigns for their wholesale customers.

Despite these limitations, the Wholesale Channel’s benefits may outweigh them, making it a valuable tool for growing and scaling e-commerce sites.

Can You Do Wholesale Without Shopify Plus?

While the Shopify Wholesale Channel is only available for Shopify Plus users, it is still possible to offer wholesale pricing and functionality on a regular Shopify account. In particular, some Shopify store owners may feel that the pricing involved in setting up a Shopify Plus store may be too high. The good news is that you can still do Shopify wholesale without Plus. Here’s how:

#1: Set up a customer group

In Shopify, you can create a customer group specifically for wholesale customers. You can create this group in the Customers section of your Shopify dashboard. You can offer wholesale pricing to specific customers by creating a customer group.

#2: Offer discounts

Instead of setting up wholesale pricing, you can offer discounts to your wholesale customers. You can set up a discount code only available to your wholesale customer group. You can also create tiered pricing for different levels of wholesale orders. Shopify Wholesale Channel discounts can become a key part of your Shopify store.

#3: Use an app

Several apps on the Shopify app store can help you set up wholesale functionality on a regular Shopify account. Check out the Shopify App Store to find the full list of Shopify wholesale apps. We recommend you check out this great post on the top Shopify wholesale apps.

#4: Create a separate storefront

If you want to create a separate storefront for your wholesale customers, you can use an app like Locksmith to create a password-protected storefront. You can then share the password with your wholesale customers, allowing them to access the wholesale storefront.

#5: Manage orders

Once you have set up your wholesale functionality, you can use the Orders section of your Shopify dashboard to manage wholesale orders. You can track orders, manage customer accounts, and fulfill orders as needed.

Going about Shopify wholesale without Plus can be a good option for e-commerce sites unwilling to go the Shopify Plus route.

Conclusion for Driving B2B Sales with Shopify Wholesale Channel for Shopify Plus Stores

The Shopify Wholesale Channel is a powerful tool for Shopify stores looking to expand their market reach. Creating a separate wholesale storefront with unique pricing and products allows you to easily manage your wholesale operations while still using the same Shopify account to manage your retail business.

Overall, the Shopify Wholesale Channel is a great option for your e-commerce site when looking to take it to the next level. Whether you are an established business or just starting wholesale, the Wholesale Channel provides powerful tools to help you grow your B2B sales and expand your customer base. By leveraging the features and benefits of the Wholesale Channel, your Shopify store can unlock new opportunities for growth and success in the competitive world of e-commerce.

Grow your sales with high-performing deals.

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