When exploring your eCommerce options, you have likely come across Shopify. Shopify is an easy-to-use eCommerce platform that allows you to quickly set up a secure and professional online shop and start selling. It’s a comprehensive platform that includes everything from inventory management to smart marketing automation tools.
For B2B companies looking to pivot towards eCommerce, Shopify offers some obvious advantages. You can easily add a Shopify eCommerce store to your website and start selling without having to make any changes to your existing website. Shopify is also a tried-and-tested platform, so many companies use Shopify to sell.
But the biggest problem facing B2B organisations is knowing which platform is right for their wholesale business. Shopify is often promoted to help small companies start selling their handmade items online. It’s rare to see B2B organisations sharing their success of Shopify.
But just because selling B2B and wholesale on Shopify is less common, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. Shopify is a powerful and flexible eCommerce platform and with a few small adjustments, it could be well suited to your eCommerce store.
Is Shopify a good option for wholesale?
The short answer is yes! While these features might not be their most widely publicised, Shopify does offer comprehensive support for wholesale businesses. You can either run two Shopify shows – one for retail and one for wholesale – or you could password protect a part of your store using the Shopify wholesale channel.
Discount codes or password protection?
When setting up your Shopify B2B wholesale storefront, you have a few options for presenting the wholesale pricing to your visitors. If you are running a B2B retail shop but you also want to include wholesale pricing, you could introduce a password-protected section of your website. Users will have to register and login to be able to access the wholesale pricing and order forms. This allows you to approve wholesale customers.
Alternatively, you could offer discount codes for wholesale customers. On the Shopify platform, you can tag certain customers as wholesale customers so that only they can see your wholesale discounts. If your wholesale prices are always a percentage below retail, this will be incredibly quick and easy to set up. This would allow you to operate one storefront with a clear and transparent pricing scale.
What about wholesale payment options?
B2B wholesale customers expect a different user experience to retail shoppers. They aren’t going to go through the usual checkout procedure and enter their debit card details for a wholesale order. It would be far more common to send an invoice with the payment terms attached. Or to request partial payment or offer payment by instalments.
With Shopify, you can offer all of these options, including more flexible payment options such as a wire transfer. This allows you to offer partial payment, payment plans and even send an invoice which allows for payment by other methods.
Advantages of Shopify wholesale
You might currently only offer wholesale through your website, but perhaps you simply ask customers to email with their order enquiry. By using Shopify, you can amplify your efforts and help to increase orders. When you switch from whole orders landing in an email inbox to a professional eCommerce platform, you can also take advantage of the marketing tools available to you. This includes in-built email marketing tools, in-depth analytics and professional designs that build trust.
If you’re ready to make the switch to selling B2B wholesale on Shopify but aren’t sure how to get started, get in touch with our team today.