Having nailed its DTC offering, ecommerce platform Shopify has launched Shopify B2B – what it describes as “the best of Shopify, now available for wholesale – a suite of first-party features integrated right in the Shopify admin.”
But what does that actually mean, what are the benefits of Shopify B2B and how is it implemented? Read on to find out…
Rather than using a third-party app or sales channel, Shopify B2B allows Shopify Plus merchants to choose between one online store for both DTC and wholesale or a dedicated B2B store.
Whichever format they choose, Shopify Plus merchants can benefit from the following five main features:
Merchants can create wholesale company profiles with multiple locations and associated buyers. Fields include contact permissions, payment terms, price lists, tax ID and more.
Products and prices can be curated uniquely for each B2B customer, including set prices off retail items or percentage-based discounts.
Merchants can create automated payment terms, draft orders, vaulted credit cards and invoicing to streamline the order process.
Buyers can add a vaulted card at checkout and view their assigned payment terms, payment methods, and wholesale discounts at the time of purchase.
Customers can access wholesale products and pricing, manage their account, select the company location they’re buying on behalf of and more.
Other features include product segmentation, quantity purchasing rules, payment and shipping customisations, branding customisations, payment reminders and due on fulfilment payment options.
From this month merchants will also be able to customise discounts by specifically targeting B2B buyers within a blended store.
See the full list of current and upcoming features here.
Shopify Plus merchants can choose between two store formats: blended and dedicated.
The blended format features one storefront that accepts orders for both DTC and B2B orders. The experience remains mostly the same for DTC customers, whilst B2B customers must “log in” to gain access to B2B products and pricing.
There are numerous pros to the blended format, including having only one storefront to manage and maintain as well as shared data between the two. You’ll also save money on certain apps that are priced based on the number of store instances.
On the downside, it can be tricky to separate your DTC and B2B data in Google Analytics. Customers will also see the same store theme, notification templates, payment gateways and shipping methods across both stores, whilst merchants are unable to segment inventory by order type.
The dedicated format is an entirely separate store for B2B orders only. Access is granted via an authentication process.
Merchants who opt for the dedicated format can completely customise the B2B buying experience with B2B-specific themes, discounts, notification templates, payment gateways and more. There is also a separate inventory flow for B2B and DTC customers.
There are cons though of course – merchants who choose the dedicated format will need to maintain two storefronts and data isn’t shared between those two stores.
Shopify B2B is built into the core Shopify admin and merchants can operate a blended store for both B2B and DTC customers. You can also connect your wholesale store to your ERP, CRM, or other systems you rely on.
Even better, features are turned on by default for Plus merchants at no extra cost – just look below Customers in the Plus admin.
One of the main benefits of Shopify B2B to merchants is the reduced costs and use of time associated with managing B2B and DTC from multiple platforms.
Shopify B2B allows merchants to save time and money as well as streamline their processes by utilising automated workflows. The fact you can customise the platform is an added bonus.
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