Shopify Wholesale Channel: What Replaced It & How to Set Up Shopify B2B

Shopify enables merchants to run wholesale and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales from a single store. With Shopify B2B, approved business customers receive account-specific pricing, order in bulk, and purchase on supported payment terms.

Previously, Shopify Plus merchants managed wholesale through a standalone storefront known as the Shopify Wholesale Channel.

In 2024, Shopify retired that legacy channel and integrated wholesale into the core platform through native B2B functionality. Since April 2, 2026, the essential B2B features have extended to the Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans, although a few capabilities remain exclusive to Plus.

What Was the Shopify Wholesale Channel and Why Did Shopify Retire It?

The legacy Wholesale Channel gave Shopify Plus merchants a separate, password-protected storefront for wholesale customers. However, its limited customization and integration capabilities made it less flexible than Shopify’s newer native B2B functionality.

According to Shopify’s transition notice to Plus merchants, the channel closed on June 28, 2024. It used third-party cookies to sign accounts into the admin. Google had planned to end support for those cookies, and the channel could not work without them. Shopify Plus merchants had to move their wholesale data to Shopify B2B before that date.

Today, every wholesale setup on Shopify starts on that native feature set, whether a store needs a single price list or complete B2B eCommerce development services.

Is the Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel a Different Product?

The Shopify Plus Wholesale Channel and the Shopify Wholesale Channel are the same retired product, and both names circulate because Shopify only offered it with the Plus tier.

Knowing what the old channel lacked explains why Shopify built its replacement inside the core platform.

What Replaced the Shopify Wholesale Channel? Shopify B2B Explained

Shopify B2B, a set of wholesale tools built into the standard Shopify admin, took the old channel’s place. It adds company accounts, catalogs, quantity rules, and payment terms to the store you already run. Wholesale orders land in the same admin as retail orders, and tools like Shopify Flow and Shopify Payments work for both.

Factor	Legacy Shopify Wholesale Channel	Shopify B2B
Status	Discontinued in 2024	Available on supported Shopify plans
Where it runs	Separate password-protected wholesale storefront	Integrated into Shopify’s B2B functionality
Plan access	Shopify Plus only	Core B2B features available on Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus
Pricing setup	Price lists	Catalogs with percentage adjustments, fixed prices, and volume pricing
Themes and apps	Very limited	Native theme and API support, with third-party app compatibility varying by developer

The bigger change for smaller merchants came in 2026, when these tools stopped being a Plus-only benefit.

Is Shopify B2B Available Without Shopify Plus?

Shopify introduced core B2B functionality to Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans on April 2, 2026, expanding wholesale selling beyond Shopify Plus.

These plans support features such as company profiles, payment terms, quantity rules, and volume pricing. However, catalog management has important limitations: merchants on these plans can have up to three active B2B catalogs across their B2B markets.

Shopify Plus supports unlimited B2B catalogs and direct catalog assignment to companies and company locations. Check Shopify’s current B2B plan comparison to confirm the availability of other features before choosing a plan.

Shopify B2B Features That Run Day-to-Day Wholesale Operations

Five Shopify B2B features handle most wholesale work, and each one replaces a task that used to happen over email or phone.

Company Profiles and Buyer Permissions

Shopify stores each wholesale customer as a company. A company can have more than one location, and every location has its own billing address, payment terms, tax exemptions, and catalog.

Each buyer is added as a contact on a location. The contact’s permission controls whether that person only places orders or also manages the location. For a restaurant group with five branches, that means one company record with five locations.

Wholesale Catalogs and Custom Pricing

Shopify wholesale pricing is managed inside catalogs. A catalog controls which products a B2B buyer sees and what that buyer pays.

You can apply an overall adjustment, for example, 40% off retail, and then set fixed prices on specific products. Products you exclude from a catalog stay hidden from its buyers.

Quantity Limits and Bulk Discounts

A B2B catalog can add these settings to each variant.

• A minimum order quantity.
• A maximum order quantity.
• An order increment that matches the case size.
• Volume pricing, with up to 10 price breaks per product.

Shopify evaluates quantity rules at the variant level, which means units ordered across different variants do not combine toward a single minimum. Volume pricing also takes precedence within a catalog. Once a product carries volume pricing, its price becomes fixed, and the catalog-level percentage adjustment no longer applies. 

For that reason, review how volume pricing interacts with fixed prices and percentage adjustments before publishing a catalog. Shopify’s quantity rules and volume pricing guide details both constraints. 

Payment Terms and B2B Checkout

With payment terms, a buyer places the order now and pays the invoice later. Net 30, for example, means the invoice is due 30 days after the order. Shopify offers net 7, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 terms, along with payment due on fulfillment, and you set them on each company location.

At checkout, buyers can add a PO number, pay with a vaulted card, or use ACH in the US. A location set to submit orders for review sends each order in as a draft for your team to approve. Staff can also send a draft order as an invoice, which covers most B2B invoicing without a separate tool.

Shopify does not capture payment automatically when terms expire. Your team still has to charge the saved card or record the payment.

Customer Accounts and Repeat Ordering

B2B buyers sign in through Shopify’s customer accounts to view order history, reorder a past order in one step, and pay open orders before the due date. A quick order list lets them add many variants at once, which suits buyers who restock the same items every month.

These features matter most when you look at what they change in daily operations.

How Shopify Wholesale Helps Merchants Grow B2B Revenue

The International Trade Administration expects the global B2B eCommerce market to reach $36 trillion in 2026, and native Shopify B2B eCommerce tools help merchants compete for that demand.

• Retailers order online at their own prices, which cuts the calls and emails your sales team would otherwise process. Shopify reports up to 33% more self-serve orders within six months for merchants that adopt its B2B tools.
• A regional distributor and a small boutique can see different prices for the same product, without discount codes that anyone can share.
• Retail and wholesale share one admin and one inventory count, which removes the double entry of running wholesale on spreadsheets.
• Checkout enforces minimums and case sizes. Volume pricing lowers the unit price automatically on bigger orders, which means your team doesn’t have to quote each one.
• Shopify Flow can send payment reminders, while Shopify integrations with ERP or accounting software push orders out without retyping.
• Buyers reorder past purchases from their accounts in a few clicks.
• A Shopify wholesaler can start on Basic with three catalogs and move to Plus later for unlimited catalogs and deposits, without rebuilding the store.

Native features cover a lot, but some wholesale models need more than the built-in tools provide.

Shopify Wholesale Channel Alternatives: Native B2B, Wholesale Apps, or Custom Development

Merchants replacing the old channel have three routes for Shopify B2B wholesale, and the right one depends on the complexity of the ordering process.

Native Shopify B2B

Shopify’s native B2B functionality is included in eligible Shopify plans, making it a suitable starting point for merchants who want to manage wholesale and retail sales within the same platform. Whether the native features are sufficient depends on the merchant’s pricing structure, catalog requirements, and ordering workflows.

Adding a Shopify Wholesale App

If native B2B doesn’t cover what you need, you can add a wholesale app from the Shopify App Store and stay on your current plan. The most common reason to add one is to get more than three price tiers. Apps can also set different shipping rates for each customer. On Basic and Grow, an app can hide prices from visitors who haven’t logged in. Each app has its own monthly fee, and two apps that both change prices can cause errors at checkout.

Shopify B2B With Custom Development

Custom Shopify development may be appropriate when a business needs a wholesale portal, complex ordering workflows, specialized integrations, or pricing rules that native features and available apps cannot adequately support.

• A branded portal with CSV ordering, account dashboards, and approval steps, built through eCommerce portal development.
• Two-way ERP sync for inventory and contract pricing.
• Payment terms that change by cart value, built as custom apps on Shopify Functions, which requires Plus.

Brands that want several suppliers selling to B2B buyers on one site need a different architecture, and BrainSpate’s eCommerce marketplace development is built for that model.

Factor	Native Shopify B2B	Third-Party Apps	Custom Development
Initial setup	Configure built-in features	Install and configure the app	Requires development planning
Customization	Limited to plan features	Limited to the app	Built around business rules
Additional costs	Included in the plan	Subscription or usage fees	Development and maintenance
Complex workflows	Native capabilities only	Depends on the app	Supports bespoke processes
Maintenance	Shopify manages the platform	Shared with the app provider	Depends on the support arrangement

Whichever route you pick, you also need to decide whether wholesale lives in your retail store or in its own store.

Blended Store vs. Dedicated B2B Store: Which One Fits Your Wholesale Model?

Shopify’s store type guidance warns that switching between these setups later means redoing companies, catalogs, and store customizations.

Selling Retail and Wholesale Through One Store

In a blended store, B2B and DTC (direct-to-consumer) sales run from one admin and draw from the same inventory. Shoppers who are not logged in see retail prices. Company contacts see their B2B prices after they sign in.

The store cannot be gated, because retail shoppers still need access. Apps and integrations are paid for once, which suits brands with similar products for both audiences and one team managing both.

Running a Dedicated Wholesale Store

A dedicated store is a separate Shopify store with its own admin, inventory, theme, and a login page that keeps the whole B2B storefront private.

The trade-off is overhead. Apps must be purchased again, integrations need reconfiguring, and Shopify’s buyer application form cannot run on a gated store. Dedicated B2B stores make sense for merchants with separate wholesale inventory or a separate B2B team.

Once the structure is clear, the setup follows a predictable order.

How to Set Up Wholesale Selling on Shopify Step by Step

Follow these six steps to configure your Shopify wholesale store, from planning your pricing structure to testing the buyer experience.

Step 1: Map Your Buyer Groups and Price Tiers

Write these details down before you open the admin.

• Each buyer group and the price it pays.
• Minimum quantities and case sizes.
• Payment terms per account.
• Buyers who are tax-exempt.
• A pricing app, if a store below Plus needs more than three tiers.

Step 2: Pick a Blended or Dedicated Store

Make this choice before entering any data, since every later step is configured inside the store you choose.

Step 3: Add Companies and Buyer Accounts

Go to Customers > Companies and create a company for each wholesale account, with at least one location and one contact.

New buyers can apply through the free Shopify Forms app, which creates a company record for your review. Form answers can be saved as company metafields, and Shopify Flow can act on metafields to automate parts of the approval.

Step 4: Load Prices Into Catalogs

Open Markets > Catalogs in the admin and repeat these steps for each price tier.

• Create a catalog and assign it to a B2B market.
• Enter a percentage off retail, fixed prices, or both.
• Add quantity rules and volume breaks.
• Import a CSV file if the price list is long.

Step 5: Finish Checkout Settings

Each company location needs its own payment terms and payment methods. For shipping, a blended store charges B2B orders the retail rates, and wholesale rates need an app.

For resellers, add tax exemptions to the company or location profile and keep resale certificates on file. Many states accept the Streamlined Sales Tax exemption certificate for this purpose.

Step 6: Place a Test Order as a Buyer

Set up a test company and log in as its contact. Place one complete order and check the price, quantity rules, payment terms, tax, and order emails before you invite real buyers.

Stores that used the old channel need some additional work before these steps.

How to Rebuild a Legacy Shopify Wholesale Channel Setup

Stores that never finished the 2024 transition, or inherited a broken wholesale setup, should treat the move as a rebuild.

• Audit customer exports, old price files, wholesale customer tags, and any ordering still handled by email. Past orders and invoices will not carry over on their own, and you should decide early whether buyers need them imported.
• Map each old price list to a catalog. Flat percentage lists convert directly, while product-level overrides become fixed catalog prices.
• Recreate each wholesale account as a company, then set every contact’s ordering permissions.
• Older order flows into accounting or inventory systems may need rework through Shopify ERP integration services to keep B2B orders in sync.
• Redirect old wholesale URLs to your new wholesale login page, which keeps saved bookmarks and line-sheet links working.
• Run a test order with one trusted buyer, then brief all buyers on the new login and terms before switching them over.

Budget comes next, and the cost depends on your plan and how far beyond native features you plan to go.

How Much Does Selling Wholesale on Shopify Cost?

Shopify B2B carries no separate charge, which makes your plan fee the core cost of selling wholesale on Shopify.

Basic starts at $29 per month on annual billing, and the table shows Shopify’s current US pricing for every B2B-ready plan.

Plan	Monthly billing	Annual billing (per month)	B2B catalogs	Third-party payment provider fee
Basic	$39	$29	Up to 3	2%
Grow	$105	$79	Up to 3	1%
Advanced	$399	$299	Up to 3	0.6%
Plus	From $2,300 (three-year term)	Not offered	Unlimited	0.2%

Beyond the plan, wholesale apps add monthly subscriptions, and custom portals or ERP connections add development and maintenance costs that depend on scope.

Conclusion: Choosing the Right Shopify Wholesale Setup

Shopify discontinued its legacy Wholesale Channel in 2024 and replaced it with native B2B functionality. Merchants can now manage wholesale customers, pricing, and orders through Shopify’s B2B features, although available capabilities depend on the plan.

For businesses with straightforward wholesale requirements, native B2B may provide the functionality they need. Wholesale apps can fill specific gaps, while custom development may be appropriate for complex ordering workflows, dedicated portals, or ERP integrations.

Choosing the right setup depends on your pricing structure, customer requirements, and operational processes. If you need help evaluating your options or planning a tailored wholesale solution, explore our Shopify consulting services.

Frequently Asked Questions