For years, selling wholesale online often meant making a difficult choice.

Businesses either had to invest in a separate B2B platform, install multiple third-party apps, or upgrade to an enterprise-level ecommerce plan to access native wholesale functionality.

That is now changing.

Shopify has expanded its native B2B capabilities to merchants on its standard Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans, with no additional cost for the core B2B functionality.

The update represents a significant shift for brands, wholesalers, manufacturers, and retailers looking to sell to both consumers and businesses without managing multiple ecommerce systems.

B2B Is No Longer Reserved for Enterprise Merchants

Historically, many of Shopify’s most advanced native B2B features were closely associated with Shopify Plus.

Now, merchants on Basic, Grow, and Advanced can access foundational B2B tools directly within Shopify.

This means smaller and growing businesses can begin building a wholesale operation without immediately investing in a separate B2B platform or an enterprise ecommerce plan.

The new capabilities available on standard plans include:

·      Company profiles for B2B customers

·      Company locations and multiple buyers

·      Up to three active B2B catalogs

·      Custom pricing and product availability

·      Quantity rules

·      Volume pricing and price breaks

·      Net payment terms

·      Payment reminders

·      Vaulted credit cards

·      Self-service purchasing

·      Purchase order numbers

·      Quick order lists

·      Shopify Flow automation

For many businesses, these are the core building blocks needed to run a modern B2B ecommerce operation.

One Shopify Store for Both B2C and B2B

Perhaps the biggest opportunity is the ability to bring B2C and B2B commerce closer together.

Instead of maintaining one ecommerce platform for retail customers and another for wholesale buyers, merchants can manage both within the Shopify ecosystem.

A brand can sell directly to consumers while also giving approved wholesale customers access to a tailored B2B purchasing experience.

That could mean:

·      Retail customers see standard pricing

·      Wholesale customers log into company accounts

·      B2B buyers access different products or pricing

·      Customers purchase according to quantity rules

·      Larger orders unlock volume discounts

·      Business buyers use negotiated payment terms

The result is a more connected commerce operation, with products, orders, customers, and workflows managed through a central platform.

Custom Catalogs Bring More Control to Wholesale Selling

One of the most important elements of B2B commerce is pricing.

Wholesale businesses rarely offer exactly the same products and prices to every customer.

A distributor might receive different pricing from a retailer. A high-volume customer may receive additional discounts. Certain products may only be available to selected accounts.

Shopify’s B2B catalogs help merchants manage these differences.

Merchants on Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans can use up to three active B2B catalogs across their B2B markets.

These catalogs can be used to control:

·      Which products B2B customers can purchase

·      Product availability for specific B2B markets

·      Wholesale pricing

·      Customer-facing product assortments

For many small and mid-sized wholesale businesses, three catalogs may be enough to support major customer segments, such as retailers, distributors, and premium wholesale accounts.

Quantity Rules and Volume Pricing Are Built In

Wholesale purchasing is fundamentally different from consumer purchasing.

A consumer might buy one item.

A business customer might need to purchase 12, 50, or 500 units.

Shopify’s native B2B features now make it easier to manage these purchasing patterns through quantity rules and volume pricing.

Merchants can set requirements such as:

·      Minimum order quantities

·      Maximum order quantities

·      Purchase increments

·      Volume-based price breaks

For example, a merchant could require a product to be purchased in quantities of 12 and offer lower pricing when a customer reaches higher order volumes.

This functionality helps businesses create a more traditional wholesale experience without relying on separate pricing apps or custom development.

Built for How Businesses Actually Pay

B2B payments are often more complicated than standard ecommerce transactions.

Many business customers do not pay immediately at checkout. Instead, they may operate under agreed payment terms.

Shopify’s B2B features support net payment terms, allowing merchants to offer arrangements such as Net 7, Net 15, Net 30, or longer payment periods.

Merchants can also use payment reminders and vaulted credit cards to support their B2B payment workflows.

For businesses moving from manual invoicing and email-based ordering toward self-service ecommerce, this could significantly reduce administrative work.

A Better Self-Service Experience for Wholesale Customers

Today’s B2B buyers increasingly expect the same convenience they experience when shopping as consumers.

They want to log in, see the right products and prices, place an order, and complete purchases without waiting for a sales representative to process every request.

Shopify’s native B2B functionality supports this self-service approach through company accounts and customer accounts.

Depending on the merchant’s configuration, B2B buyers can:

·      Access their company purchasing account

·      View the products available to them

·      Receive appropriate pricing

·      Place orders independently

·      Add purchase order numbers

·      Reorder products

·      Manage purchases within their account

For merchants, this creates an opportunity to scale wholesale sales without scaling administrative work at the same rate.

Why This Matters for Growing Businesses

The biggest impact of this announcement may be felt by businesses that have been too small for Shopify Plus but too complex for basic wholesale apps.

These merchants have often faced an awkward middle ground.

They needed more than a discount code to manage wholesale pricing, but they did not necessarily need—or want to pay for—an enterprise platform.

Native B2B functionality on standard Shopify plans gives these businesses another option.

A growing brand can now begin developing a structured B2B operation earlier in its growth journey.

That could be particularly valuable for:

·      Manufacturers

·      Wholesalers

·      Consumer brands selling to retailers

·      Brands expanding from D2C into wholesale

·      Distributors

·      Suppliers

·      Businesses managing multiple customer types

Instead of rebuilding their technology stack when wholesale becomes a bigger part of the business, merchants can start with native tools already connected to their Shopify store.

Shopify Plus Still Offers Advanced B2B Capabilities

The expansion of B2B to standard plans does not mean every B2B feature is now identical across Shopify.

Shopify Plus continues to offer additional functionality for businesses with more complex requirements.

Plus merchants have access to features including:

·      Unlimited B2B catalogs

·      Direct catalog assignment to individual companies and company locations

·      More granular customer-specific catalog management

·      Deposit requirements

·      Partial payments

·      Payment requests per fulfillment

These features are particularly relevant to larger wholesalers, manufacturers, and enterprise businesses with complex customer relationships and payment workflows.

Advanced and Plus plans also provide additional contextual B2B experiences through Shopify Markets, including contextual storefront capabilities, while Basic and Grow have a more limited experience in this area.

The important change is that businesses no longer need to move to Plus simply to access the foundational elements of native B2B commerce.

A Major Step Towards Unified Commerce

This update reflects a broader shift in ecommerce.

The line between B2C and B2B technology is becoming less rigid.

Businesses increasingly want a single platform that can support multiple customer types, sales channels, and purchasing behaviours.

A brand may sell directly to consumers through its online store while simultaneously supplying retailers, distributors, corporate customers, and other businesses.

Managing all of those relationships through separate systems can create unnecessary complexity.

Native B2B functionality allows merchants to bring more of those workflows together.

The potential benefits include:

·      Fewer disconnected systems

·      More consistent product and inventory management

·      Centralised customer and order data

·      Reduced dependence on multiple wholesale apps

·      Easier automation

·      A more consistent customer experience

For growing businesses, that simplicity can be just as valuable as the B2B features themselves.

What This Means for Shopify Merchants

Shopify’s decision to include foundational B2B capabilities on Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans at no additional cost lowers the barrier to entry for wholesale ecommerce.

Businesses that previously considered B2B functionality too expensive or technically complex can now explore a more integrated approach.

The key question for merchants is no longer simply whether they are large enough for enterprise B2B software.

Instead, they can ask:

Could our existing Shopify store support both our retail and wholesale customers?

For many businesses, the answer may now be yes.

The Bottom Line

Shopify’s expansion of native B2B features to Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans is a significant development for wholesale ecommerce.

Businesses can now access core capabilities such as company profiles, custom catalogs, volume pricing, quantity rules, payment terms, and self-service purchasing without paying an additional fee for those B2B features.

Shopify Plus remains the solution for more sophisticated B2B requirements, particularly for merchants that need unlimited catalogs, direct company-level catalog assignment, deposits, or partial payments.

But for many small and growing businesses, the barrier to entering the world of modern B2B ecommerce has just become significantly lower.

For brands considering wholesale, this could be the right time to rethink how B2B fits into their ecommerce strategy.

The future of wholesale may no longer require a separate platform.

It may already be built into the store you are using today.