As a Shopify store owner, you can add more ways to make money by selling your goods in large quantities at a lower price. And this is called wholesaling.
If you let retailers promote your products for less money, there is nothing wrong with that because they have more room to promote your business. They help you build brand recognition and make more money by focusing attention on your business to go further and more expansive.
Drips claims that over one million Shopify users are currently in 175 countries, generating $319 billion in global activity. But it may make you wonder how to do wholesale business without a Shopify Plus account because Shopify doesn’t offer a pre-installed solution for wholesale sales, and it is a hot topic now.
There are other ways to do wholesale business in Shopify without having a Shopify Plus account. The wholesale technique you choose may differ depending on the things you offer and how you sell them, but it should match your company’s strategy. The most common options are setting up a password-protected store, offering discounts through a wholesale app, and using a handshake marketplace.
In this article, we will talk about how to do wholesale business without a Shopify Plus account.
What is the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus in wholesaling?
Distributing goods in large quantities to other businesses (B2B) or consumers is known as wholesale distribution (B2C).
Having a Shopify store that can handle wholesale sales is essential for your business, enhancing the company’s growth in size and scope.
A notable difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus is the ability to sell wholesale products. You can utilize discount coupons or a wholesale invoice app to wholesale your products on the Shopify Plus platform.
With a Shopify Plus subscription, wholesale purchasers can get the same products at a lower price than B2C buyers, or you can sell a limited number of items at a discount.
You can also use the wholesale channel to keep track of all your wholesale customers and orders. The wholesale channel of Shopify Plus has three essential features that are not available to business owners who do not have a Shopify Plus subscription:
Separate storefront
A separate storefront is a feature of the Shopify wholesale channel. In Shopify Plus, a store owner can open a wholesale channel. He can construct a specialized wholesale storefront protected by a password using the Shopify wholesale channel.
This functions as an expansion of your existing online business and enables you to sell your products to wholesale customers at pricing customized to each customer’s needs.
You can also add products only available for wholesale, which means that your regular customers will need help seeing them. Your main dashboard will let you view any orders that have been placed.
There is a distinct difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus, a “Separate Storefront.” A B2C buyer can only purchase something from a B2B store in a separate storefront.
In your wholesale business, B2C customers can only see price lists and order products from them if they can access them. Before selling an item from that storefront, you need to make a price list.
But, a negative aspect of having a separate storefront is that search engines need to index the pages and products in your wholesale store, so your customers cannot see them in internet searches.
Customized pricing
With Shopify Plus, you can offer customized price options for your customers, but with Shopify, you cannot (with a third-party application, it’s possible).
When setting prices for wholesale customers, you should attempt to cover your costs, lure wholesale customers with competitive rates, and keep a profit margin that you are content with. Wholesale prices are frequently set at approximately 50% of retail rates to ensure that wholesale clients have an equal opportunity to make a respectable profit.
One benefit of the wholesale features that come with Shopify Plus is that you can design different pages to show the most frequently asked questions, policies, and terms related to wholesale. This allows your customers to find the information they need without going to a different website.
There are four ways in which you can customize the wholesale prices that you can offer, and they are:
- Percentage-based discounts can be applied to your entire store or individual collections.
- Set flat pricing for products and variants in price lists
- Determine the smallest and largest quantity increments
- Set products according to variants
- It provides wholesale customers with varying prices
- Decide on product and variant pricing based on volume
As you can see, selling wholesale through Shopify Plus is a suitable option. According to Fundera, the number of merchants using Shopify Plus has increased by 126% compared to the previous year.
But, Shopify Plus contributes 25% of Shopify’s monthly recurring revenue. That means 75% of revenue comes from users, not on Shopify Plus. There are a lot of business owners who are looking for a solution to sell wholesale without Shopify Plus.
Why Do Businessmen Want to Do Wholesale Without Shopify Plus?
Businessmen want to do wholesale without Shopify Plus, and the possible reasons are:
- Their sales volume is not very high
- Their business is not very large
- Shopify Plus subscription is expensive
- Their maximum customer is B2C-centric, and they prefer a password-protected wholesale channel without Shopify Plus so that they can still appear in search engines
- Moreover, another problem with the Wholesale Channel is that you need help connecting to other third-party tools via API. This severely limits what wholesalers can do with Shopify Plus
ways of doing wholesale business without a Shopify Plus account
Way 1- Separate Password-Protected Storefront
Create a password-protected storefront as an extension of your online store by adding the wholesale sales channel to your Shopify admin. Your wholesale customers can benefit from personalized pricing, and your wholesale orders can be processed within the Shopify admin of your present store.
This is a good option if you have many wholesale customers but need a Shopify Plus subscription. Creating a storefront that draws attention to the most critical aspects of your business for wholesale customers is possible. Instead of focusing on product characteristics, you might consider turnover rates and discount offers.
You can import items from your main store when you set up a second shop on Shopify. Your wholesale store no longer requires manual entry of every single thing, and here, password-protecting your wholesale storefront is also an option.
Here is an example of a Separate password-protected storefront. With this storefront, a store owner can add discounts and offers for his B2B customer, and his B2C customer can not see or find those products without login information.
Way 2- Using A Third-Party Wholesale App
Without Shopify Plus, a store owner can sell products wholesale with third-party app integration. To receive discounts, wholesale customers are encouraged to purchase large quantities of a product using a third-party wholesale app.
As Shopify Plus already has many wholesale features, a Plus user is less critical in using this third-party application. Third-party apps are most helpful for general Shopify users.
There are a bunch of wholesale bulk order applications available on Shopify. According to the true list, it is estimated that more than 85% of Shopify businesses use apps from the App Store.
Way 3- Handshake Marketplace
Shopify retailers may use Handshake to communicate with distributors and manufacturers. Kendall Denosky and Sarah Kauss, two former Shopify workers, came up with the idea and debuted the app in October 2021.
Shopify Handshake streamlines the process of finding and connecting with wholesalers and manufacturers for merchants. Product inventory management, including several useful tools for order fulfillment, is also included in the program.
Additional support is provided by a team of professionals who can help retailers navigate the program and locate partners that fit their needs. This is part of Shopify’s goal to simplify trade and keep it accessible for anybody to establish or develop a wholesale business.
You don’t have to pay anything to create a Shopify Handshake profile or list your products on the marketplace, so you may try selling your goods wholesale.
Selling on the handshake marketplace: Manual Wholesale Channel
Handshake is a wholesale marketplace that allows Shopify merchants to connect with retailers looking to buy their products wholesale. If you are a wholesaler, you can apply to sell on Handshake by applying. If you become eligible, you can use the Handshake sales channel so that your company’s wholesale products can be listed on the marketplace.
The wholesale platform Handshake provides wholesaling simply for retailers to locate your business and the products it offers. Retailers that are already registered with your company have the ability to communicate with it to place an order or obtain additional information. After they have been received, Handshake orders can be processed in the administrative section of your Shopify store. At this time, the Handshake marketplace does not require sellers or buyers to pay any commission fees.
Bottom Line
So, with Shopify, nothing is impossible; there are options available on Shopify Plus, so you can use them to increase your sales.
