Shopify Wholesale: Complete Setup Guide & Best Apps

Year-on-year, Shopify’s B2B gross merchandise volume increased by 109% in Q1 2025. And this is no insignificant blip; this is a fundamental change in how merchants are scaling their business.

But for the vast majority of merchants running their businesses on Shopify, deciding whether to go for Shopify Plus, which application they should install, and managing the pricing of their products for various buyers while not impacting their retail store, is an ongoing conundrum.

If those questions sound familiar, this guide is for you.

We have helped over 1,500 Shopify brands scale their operations at WebContrive, Also wholesale setup is one of the most misunderstood areas we work on. In this complete guide, you will learn exactly how to set up Shopify wholesale from scratch, configure pricing tiers that protect your margins, build a B2B portal your buyers will actually use, and choose the right apps based on your plan and budget.

Whether you are on a basic Shopify plan or considering Shopify Plus, there is a path here for you, and working with a certified Shopify development agency can help you choose the right one with confidence.

What Is Shopify Wholesale?

Wholesale Shopify involves modifying your current Shopify site in order to accommodate your wholesalers by ensuring that they can buy your products in large quantities through discounts and other benefits. Examples of the features offered by Wholesale Shopify include volume-based discount pricing, customized cataloging, payment terms, among others.

Wholesale Shopify is not a separate entity or an alternate version of Shopify. Wholesale Shopify can be seen as another layer that can be added to your existing store through B2B features provided by Shopify itself or through external wholesale apps.

Why Add a Wholesale Channel to Your Store?

There are four compelling business reasons to sell wholesale on Shopify:

Higher average order value. A single wholesale order from a retailer can be worth 10x to 50x a standard DTC transaction. You are selling cases, not units.

Predictable recurring revenue. Wholesale buyers reorder regularly — they need stock to keep their shelves full. This creates reliable, forecastable revenue that DTC sales rarely provide.

Lower customer acquisition cost. Instead of spending on ads to acquire individual buyers one at a time, you acquire one business customer who places orders month after month.

Diversified revenue streams. Relying entirely on DTC makes your revenue vulnerable to ad cost spikes, algorithm changes, and seasonal swings. Wholesale balances that risk. If you are curious about why so many Shopify stores hit a growth ceiling, over-dependence on a single channel is one of the most common reasons.

B2B e-commerce has grown to be worth $20.9 trillion in the year 2025, with a CAGR of 14.5%. Shopify is making its presence felt in this market, and those merchants who can position themselves will gain a great competitive advantage.

Shopify Wholesale vs. Retail: Key Differences 

Before you build your wholesale channel, it helps to understand how wholesale buyers behave differently from your retail customers. The experience you design for them needs to reflect those differences.

The most important implication here: your wholesale buyer should never see your retail price, and your retail buyer should never accidentally access wholesale pricing. Getting this separation right is what the rest of this guide is about.

Shopify is one of the strongest platforms for managing both side by side, which is a big part of why it remains the preferred platform for D2C brands looking to expand into B2B without starting over.

Shopify B2B: Native Features vs. Third-Party Apps 

This is the question we get asked most: "Do I need Shopify Plus to do wholesale?"

The honest answer is no — but the full picture is more nuanced.

Shopify Plus Native B2B

Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month and includes a fully integrated wholesale suite built directly into the platform. No apps required for core B2B functionality. Here is what you get natively:

• Company accounts — multi-buyer accounts with location-specific pricing and permissions
  
• Custom price catalogs — assign different product catalogs to different wholesale buyers
  
• Net payment terms — Net 15, Net 30, Net 60 built into checkout
  
• Vaulted credit cards — buyers save payment methods for quick reordering
  
• Volume discounts and quantity rules — automatically applied at checkout
  
• PO numbers at checkout — standard requirement for B2B purchasing
  
• Multi-location support — manage pricing and fulfillment across multiple buyer locations
  
• Draft orders and quote management — handle large or negotiated B2B orders

Shopify Plus is the right choice if your wholesale revenue already exceeds $40,000–$50,000 per month, or if you are managing 50+ wholesale accounts with complex pricing requirements. For a deeper look at what the platform offers at that level, see our breakdown of top Shopify Plus features enterprises actually use.

Standard Shopify Plans + Wholesale Apps

Here is what most merchants do not know: since April 2025, Shopify extended foundational B2B features to all plan levels — Basic, Grow, and Advanced — at no extra cost.

That includes company profiles for wholesale buyers, up to three custom catalogs with tailored pricing, volume discounts, quantity rules, and vaulted credit cards.

For everything beyond that — advanced net terms, registration forms, custom portals, and deep order management — you add a wholesale app from the Shopify App Store. The result is a setup that delivers 80–85% of Shopify Plus's B2B functionality at a fraction of the cost.

Which Path Is Right for You?

Understanding this decision is critical before spending money in the wrong direction. If you are weighing the plans, our comparison of Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced walks through exactly when the upgrade makes financial sense.

How to Set Up Wholesale on Shopify: Step-by-Step 

This section covers the practical setup — what to click, where to go, and what to configure first.

Step 1: Choose Your Setup Method

You have three main options for how to structure your wholesale on Shopify:

Option A — Shopify Plus Native B2B: Full control via Shopify Admin → Settings → B2B. No apps needed for core functionality.

Option B — Standard Plan + Wholesale App: Install an app like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B or Wholesale Gorilla to add pricing, access control, registration, and order forms.

Option C — Blended Store: Run DTC and B2B from the same storefront. Wholesale buyers log in to see their pricing; retail buyers see standard pricing. This is the most efficient model for most growing brands.

We recommend Option C for most merchants — it eliminates the complexity of managing two stores and reduces inventory confusion. More on this in the wholesale and retail one-store section below.

Step 2: Create Wholesale Customer Accounts and Tags

Customer tags are the backbone of Shopify wholesale on standard plans. They tell your store which pricing rules and catalog access to apply to each buyer.

Here is how to set them up:

• Go to Customers in your Shopify Admin
  
• Open an existing customer record or click Add Customer
  
• Scroll to the Tags field and add a tag such as wholesale, b2b, or wholesale-gold
  
• Save the record
  

Now, when you configure pricing rules in your wholesale app, you will apply them to customers carrying these tags. You can create multiple tag tiers — for example, wholesale-silver, wholesale-gold, wholesale-platinum — each with different pricing rules and minimum order requirements.

For B2B customer groups and tiered account management at scale, Shopify's company accounts feature (available on all plans since early 2025) gives you multi-buyer support with location-based permissions.

Step 3: Set Up Your Wholesale Registration Form

Wholesale buyers need to apply to access your B2B pricing. You do not want just anyone to see your trade prices — that would undercut your retail channel and upset existing wholesale partners.

A registration form should collect:

• Business name and legal entity
  
• Tax ID or resale certificate number
  
• Expected monthly order volume
  
• Business type (retailer, distributor, reseller)

Most wholesale apps (Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B, Wholesale Gorilla, SparkLayer) include a built-in registration form you can customize. Once you approve an applicant, the app automatically assigns the correct customer tag, which immediately unlocks wholesale pricing on their next login.

This is also where you add a link in your main navigation under Online Store → Navigation — something like "Wholesale / Trade" that routes buyers to the registration or login page.

Step 4: Configure Your Wholesale Pricing

Detailed pricing configuration is covered in the next section. The short version: set your pricing rules per customer tag, per product, or per order volume — then your wholesale app handles the display and application automatically at checkout.

Step 5: Build Your B2B Buyer Portal

Rather than building a complex B2B portal, focus on creating a seamless and efficient buying experience for your wholesale customers. 

Here’s what to prioritize:

• Ensure logged-in wholesale customers see the correct pricing instantly
  
• Simplify navigation so buyers can quickly access relevant collections
  
• Highlight bulk discounts, MOQ requirements, and tiered pricing clearly
  
• Enable quick reordering features for repeat buyers
  
• Optimize page speed and mobile usability for business users on the go
  

Step 6: Add a Wholesale Order Form

Standard Shopify product pages are not built for bulk ordering. A buyer who wants to order 200 units across 15 product variants should not have to click through 15 individual product pages.

A quick order form — available in apps like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B and WSH Order Form & Reorder — gives buyers a single-page grid view where they can search products, enter quantities across all variants, and add everything to cart in one action. This meaningfully reduces friction for repeat wholesale buyers and is one of the highest-impact UX improvements you can make to your B2B channel.

Step 7: Set Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ)

Minimum order quantities protect your wholesale margins. Without them, retail buyers will use your wholesale pricing on small orders, which destroys the economics of the channel.

MOQ rules define the minimum number of units or minimum cart value required before wholesale pricing applies. Setting these correctly — by product, collection, or account tier — is critical to running a profitable B2B operation. We cover MOQ strategy in depth in our Minimum Order Quantity Playbook for B2B Wholesale Success.

Step 8: Test Your Wholesale Flow

Before going live, create a test wholesale customer account and walk through the entire buyer journey:

• Register as a wholesale buyer and confirm the approval workflow
  
• Log in and verify that wholesale pricing is displaying correctly
  
• Confirm that retail pricing is hidden or showing as a separate price
  
• Place a test order and verify that MOQ rules trigger correctly
  
• Check that payment terms (if configured) appear at checkout
  

This step catches 90% of configuration issues before your buyers encounter them.

Shopify Wholesale Pricing: Tiers, Discounts & Strategies 

Shopify wholesale pricing is not one-size-fits-all. The right structure depends on your margins, your buyer mix, and how many different customer segments you serve.

Types of Wholesale Pricing Available on Shopify

Cost-plus pricing is the simplest model. You add a fixed markup percentage on top of your production cost — for example, cost + 40% = wholesale price. It guarantees a minimum margin on every order but does not account for competitive dynamics or buyer relationships.

Tiered pricing rewards buyers for ordering more. For example:

• 10–49 units: 10% off retail
  
• 50–99 units: 18% off retail
  
• 100+ units: 25% off retail
  

This is the most widely used model in Shopify B2B wholesale because it incentivises larger orders while protecting margin on small ones. Shopify wholesale pricing tiers like this display directly on the product page for logged-in B2B buyers, removing any ambiguity about what they will be charged.

Customer-group pricing assigns a fixed price list to specific buyer segments rather than tying discounts to volume. For example, a Gold-tier wholesale customer always pays $12.00 for a product regardless of quantity, while a Silver-tier buyer pays $14.00. This works well when you have different buyer types with different long-term value — major retail chains versus small boutique stores, for example.

Volume discounts apply automatically when a buyer's cart reaches a quantity threshold. Unlike tiered pricing which is set per product, volume discounts typically apply cart-wide or collection-wide. They are a good complement to tiered pricing for clearing slow-moving inventory.

How to Set Up Wholesale Pricing on Shopify

On Shopify Plus: Go to Sales Channels → B2B and create a custom price list. Assign it to a company account. The price list defines the exact price or discount percentage for every product in that buyer's catalog.

On standard plans with apps: Apps like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B, Wholesale Gorilla, or Bold Custom Pricing let you create pricing rules tied to customer tags. The rules apply automatically when a tagged customer logs in and views products or checks out.

Pricing Strategy Tips to Protect Your Margins

A few principles that experienced Shopify B2B merchants use consistently:

Set your floor price clearly before publishing anything. Your wholesale price should maintain at least a 30–40% gross margin after cost of goods. If it cannot, the wholesale model is not viable for that product.

Avoid offering wholesale pricing on your hero products at launch. Test with a subset of your catalog first. Once you have validated the demand and the margin math, expand.

Use customer tags to create pricing segments that reward loyalty. A buyer who has been ordering for 12 months should get a better rate than a new account. This also gives you a tool for retaining accounts without having to renegotiate every contract manually.

Keep your B2B pricing out of public view. Never display wholesale prices on public product pages. Use your app's visibility settings to ensure B2B pricing only shows after login.

For a broader view of how B2B pricing fits into your overall growth strategy, our guide on leveraging Shopify for B2B ecommerce strategies covers the full commercial picture.

Setting Up Your Shopify B2B Portal

A Shopify B2B portal is the logged-in experience your wholesale buyers use to access their custom pricing, manage their account, view order history, and place repeat orders. It is the storefront equivalent of a trade desk — and it needs to be friction-free.

What a B2B Portal Includes

At minimum, a functional B2B buyer portal on Shopify should provide:

• Login-protected access — B2B buyers log in with their approved account credentials
  
• Custom pricing visibility — they immediately see their negotiated or tier-based pricing on all products
  
• Custom catalog — only products relevant to their account appear, not your full retail range
  
• Net payment terms — ability to check out with Net 30 or Net 60 terms and receive an invoice
  
• Order history and reordering — buyers can see past orders and reorder with one click
  
• Draft order access — for high-value or negotiated orders that require review before confirmation

Setting Up B2B Login on Shopify

On Shopify Plus, the B2B login experience is built into company accounts. Navigate to Customers → Companies, create a company record, assign locations and buyers, and set their catalog and payment terms. When those buyers visit your store and log in, they automatically see their B2B experience.

On standard plans, apps like SparkLayer, BSS B2B Solution, or Wholesale Gorilla create a password-protected portal layer over your existing store. Buyers access a custom login page (you link to it from your navigation), log in with their approved credentials, and see their pricing and catalog.

Enabling Net Payment Terms

Net payment terms are a standard expectation in B2B commerce. Most wholesale buyers will not work with a supplier who requires immediate card payment on large orders — they need to reconcile against purchase orders and pay on invoice cycles.

To enable net terms on Shopify Plus: Go to the company account settings and set payment terms (Net 15, Net 30, Net 60). The buyer selects their terms at checkout and receives an invoice. Shopify sends automated reminders for overdue invoices.

On standard plans: Apps like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B include net terms functionality. Orders placed on net terms are recorded as unpaid, and you manage collections outside of Shopify's standard payment flow or through an accounting integration.

Key Portal Features to Enable

Do not overlook these elements when configuring your B2B portal:

PO number field at checkout. Nearly every business buyer needs to attach a purchase order number to their Shopify wholesale order. This is required for their internal accounts payable process. Shopify Plus includes this natively; for standard plans, a simple checkout customisation or app handles it.

Quick reorder. If a buyer placed a similar order last month, they should be able to reorder it in seconds. WSH Order Form & Reorder and several other apps add a reorder button to the order history page.

Account-specific catalogs. Not every wholesale buyer should see every product. A regional distributor may only carry certain SKUs. Use Shopify's catalog feature (available on all plans now) to show each buyer only what is relevant to them.

For a practical look at what B2B setups actually perform on Shopify and which common mistakes cost merchants accounts, we recommend reading B2B on Shopify: What Works and What Doesn't.

Best Shopify Wholesale Apps in 2026 

You do not need to spend $2,300/month on Shopify Plus to run a professional wholesale operation. The right wholesale app gives you most of what you need for $20–$50/month. Here are the top options, based on features, reviews, and real-world use.

1. Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B

Best for: All-in-one wholesale setup on any Shopify plan

This is the most complete wholesale pricing app for Shopify merchants who are not on Plus. It handles tiered pricing, customer-group pricing, a wholesale registration form, net payment terms, advanced shipping rules, quick order forms, and multi-currency support — all from a single app.

• Key features: Custom pricing by tag, volume discounts, MOQ rules, net terms, wholesale sign-up form, quick order form
  
• Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans from ~$19/month
  
• Rating: ⭐ 4.8/5
  
• Best for: Merchants who want one app to handle 90% of their B2B needs

2. Wholesale Gorilla

Best for: Clean B2B customer experience and easy setup

Wholesale Gorilla focuses on the buyer-facing experience. It is well-reviewed for its intuitive setup and the quality of the wholesale registration and pricing flow it creates. If you have a relatively straightforward pricing structure and want something your team can manage without developer involvement, this is a strong choice.

• Key features: Custom pricing, customer groups, bulk ordering, registration flow, quick order form
  
• Pricing: Free trial; paid plans from ~$39/month
  
• Rating: ⭐ 4.7/5
  
• Best for: Non-technical merchants setting up wholesale for the first time

3. SparkLayer B2B & Wholesale

Best for: Structured B2B with account-specific price lists and sales rep features

SparkLayer is the most feature-rich wholesale app for standard Shopify plans. It creates a fully branded B2B ordering experience layered on top of your existing store, with account-specific pricing, customer-specific catalogs, ordering rules, and a dedicated sales rep portal.

• Key features: Price lists per account, ordering rules, sales rep portal, advanced catalog control, B2B checkout customisation
  
• Pricing: From $49/month
  
• Rating: ⭐ 4.8/5
  
• Best for: Merchants with complex pricing structures or sales rep teams

4. BSS B2B Wholesale Solution

Best for: Complete B2B feature pack with public API for custom integrations

BSS gives you the most extensible B2B setup outside of Shopify Plus. It includes custom pricing, a quick order form, a B2B customer management dashboard, VAT exemption handling, tax display rules, and a public API for connecting to external systems like ERPs and CRMs.

• Key features: Custom pricing, order form, customer management, VAT and tax rules, public API, draft orders
  
• Pricing: Free plan + paid from ~$25/month
  
• Rating: ⭐ 4.8/5
  
• Best for: Merchants who need ERP/CRM integration or custom workflows

5. B2B Wholesale Hub

Best for: Seamlessly running B2B and retail from the same storefront

B2B Wholesale Hub is designed specifically for blended stores — where you serve both retail and wholesale customers on one Shopify storefront. It handles the pricing separation, catalog control, and wholesale registration cleanly, without the complexity of managing two stores.

• Key features: Volume discounts, tiered pricing, wholesale registration, blended store support, customer tag pricing
  
• Pricing: Free trial; paid from ~$29/month
  
• Rating: ⭐ 4.7/5
  
• Best for: DTC merchants adding a wholesale channel for the first time

6. Bold Custom Pricing

Best for: Unlimited pricing tiers and membership-based pricing structures

Bold Custom Pricing excels at complex, multi-tier pricing scenarios. If you have many customer segments with different pricing rules across a large catalog, Bold handles it cleanly. It also integrates well with Shopify Plus for merchants who want more flexibility than native B2B price lists allow.

• Key features: Unlimited pricing tiers, quantity breaks, customer group pricing, fixed or percentage-based rules
  
• Pricing: From ~$20/month
  
• Rating: ⭐ 4.6/5
  
• Best for: Merchants with 5+ customer segments or complex catalog-wide pricing rules

Wholesale App Comparison

For a broader look at how wholesale apps fit into a full Shopify tech stack, our guide on 12 essential Shopify apps every store needs covers what the rest of your store should be running alongside your B2B tools.

Running Wholesale and Retail From One Store 

The blended store model — serving both DTC and wholesale customers from one Shopify storefront — is the most operationally efficient approach for most merchants. You manage one inventory, one product catalog, and one admin panel. Your buyers just experience different things depending on who they are.

How the Blended Store Works

When a wholesale buyer visits your store and logs in with their approved account, they see:

• Their custom wholesale pricing on all eligible products
  
• Only the products in their assigned catalog (if you have catalog restrictions)
  
• Net payment terms at checkout instead of standard payment options
  
• A quick order form for bulk purchasing
  

When a retail customer visits (not logged in, or logged in as a standard retail account), they see your standard retail pricing, the full public catalog, and a standard checkout experience.

The separation is handled entirely by customer tags and pricing rules in your wholesale app — or by company accounts if you are on Shopify Plus.

How to Keep Wholesale and Retail Cleanly Separated

Use naming conventions for wholesale-only products. If you have products that are exclusively for wholesale (case packs, trade sizes, bundle configurations), name them clearly: [WHOLESALE] Product Name – Case of 24. This keeps your admin organised and prevents accidental retail publication.

Hide wholesale-only products from your retail catalog. In Shopify Admin → Products, remove wholesale-specific items from the Online Store sales channel. They become invisible to retail shoppers while remaining accessible to logged-in wholesale buyers through your app's access control.

Tag every wholesale customer profile. The moment a buyer is approved, their account should carry the correct wholesale tag. Use your app's auto-tagging on registration approval to automate this — do not rely on manual tagging for every new account.

Use Shopify Analytics to track wholesale vs. retail performance separately. Tag your wholesale orders and create filtered views in your analytics dashboard to see channel performance side by side. If you have not set up proper analytics tracking yet, our Shopify Analytics Setup Guide walks through exactly how to do that.

Common Mistakes in Blended Store Setups

The most damaging mistake is letting wholesale pricing leak to retail visitors. This happens when app visibility settings are misconfigured or when a discount code gets shared publicly. Test your store regularly from an incognito browser window to confirm retail visitors are seeing retail prices only.

Another common Shopify development mistake is failing to separate inventory and reporting between channels. When wholesale orders look the same as retail orders in your reports, you lose visibility into which channel is actually performing. Using Shopify Analytics properly with order tagging eliminates this problem.

D2C brands scaling into wholesale often hit operational friction — not because the wholesale setup is wrong, but because the backend systems (inventory, accounting, fulfillment) were not built to handle B2B order volumes. Our guide on how D2C brands use Shopify Plus to scale revenue covers the operational changes that go alongside adding a wholesale channel.

Conclusion

Setting up Shopify wholesale is one of the highest-leverage moves a growing Shopify merchant can make. Higher order values, predictable recurring revenue, and a more diversified business — these are outcomes that are genuinely available to brands of all sizes, not just Shopify Plus enterprises.

The path is clear:

• Start with the right setup method for your plan and budget
  
• Use customer tags and a wholesale app to create clean price separation
  
• Build a B2B portal that makes ordering fast and frictionless
  
• Set MOQ rules that protect your margins from day one
  
• Track wholesale and retail performance separately so you know what is working
  

You do not need to spend thousands on Shopify Plus to get started. A well-configured standard plan with the right wholesale app delivers most of what your buyers need — and gives you room to grow into native B2B features when the revenue justifies it.

If you want expert help designing or building your Shopify wholesale setup, WebContrive has been working with B2B and D2C brands on Shopify for over 13 years. Get in touch and we will help you build a wholesale channel that actually performs.

FAQ: Shopify Wholesale Questions Answered

Do I need Shopify Plus to sell wholesale on Shopify?

No. Since April 2025, Shopify extended basic B2B features — including company profiles, custom catalogs, volume discounts, and quantity rules — to all plan levels at no additional cost. For advanced features like native net payment terms, multi-location company accounts, and full B2B checkout customisation, Shopify Plus is required. For most merchants doing under $40K/month in wholesale, a standard plan combined with a wholesale app delivers everything you need.

What is the Shopify wholesale channel?

The Shopify wholesale channel is a built-in B2B feature on Shopify Plus that allows merchants to run a dedicated wholesale storefront alongside their DTC store. It provides buyer-specific catalogs, company account management, and a B2B checkout experience — all within one Shopify admin.

How do wholesale customers log in on Shopify?

Wholesale buyers use a dedicated B2B login page — either through Shopify Plus company accounts (where buyers receive a direct login link) or through a password-protected registration and login page created by your wholesale app. The login page is typically linked in your store navigation under a "Wholesale" or "Trade" menu item.

What is the best Shopify wholesale app?

For most merchants, Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B is the most complete all-in-one option. For merchants who want a cleaner buyer experience out of the box, Wholesale Gorilla is a strong choice. For complex, structured B2B operations with sales rep management, SparkLayer B2B leads the category.

Can I run wholesale and retail from the same Shopify store?

Yes — this is called the blended store model and it is the most efficient approach for most merchants. Wholesale and retail buyers share the same storefront but see completely different pricing, catalogs, and checkout options based on their login status and customer tags.

How do I set up pricing tiers for wholesale buyers?

Pricing tiers on Shopify are set by customer tag or order volume using a wholesale app. For example, you create a rule that gives buyers tagged wholesale-gold a 25% discount on all products, or that reduces the per-unit price when order quantity exceeds 50 units. On Shopify Plus, you set price lists directly in the B2B admin and assign them to company accounts.

What is the minimum order quantity and how do I set it on Shopify?

A minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest number of units a wholesale buyer must order to qualify for wholesale pricing or to complete a checkout. MOQs protect your margins and keep small-order retail buyers from using B2B pricing. Most wholesale apps include MOQ rules. You can set them globally, per product, per collection, or per customer tag. 

About the Author

Jay Raval

SEO & Content Marketing Specialist at WebContrive

Jay Raval is an SEO & Content Marketing Specialist at WebContrive, a Certified Shopify Plus Partner agency. He writes about Shopify SEO, eCommerce growth, CRO, AI commerce, and Shopify apps based on real-world experience working with Shopify brands.

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