So you’ve got a successful Shopify store…now what? Typically, when Shopify store owners reach their own desired level of success, they can feel stuck on how to scale or where to go next, especially without rebranding to launch into new product categories or reach new audiences. That’s when transitioning from Shopify DTC to wholesale often comes into the conversation.
If this sounds like you, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to scaling Shopify stores, with intuitive and innovative DTC wholesale solutions. Here, we’ll explain how you can avoid rebuilding your entire store with Shopify wholesale automation and all the steps you’ll need to take to prepare and execute for the switch. Plus, we’ll preview the top apps for scaling wholesale business on Shopify, too.
Keep reading to learn more about Shopify DTC to wholesale upgrades, to begin transitioning yours for success.
Why You Don’t Have to Rebuild Your Shopify Store to Add Wholesale
One hurdle that often holds back Shopify DTC store owners from scaling to wholesale is the thought of having to rebuild their entire operation. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Today, there’s a variety of DTC wholesale apps that seamlessly allow owners to add wholesale operations without upheaving their regular offerings.
The platform’s infrastructure is flexible enough to easily integrate with Shopify wholesale automation apps, like Wholesale Gorilla, to build wholesale operations directly on top of your existing store. That means, instead of splitting traffic or managing multiple storefronts, you can consolidate everything into one seamless hub.
From your current branding to product catalog, everything stays intact while you layer in wholesale-specific tools and automation behind the scenes.
Before You Start: What to Consider When Adding Wholesale
Of course, like any transition, it helps to be prepared before hand to have the integration launch seamlessly. So, when transitioning from DTC to wholesale, you’ll want to consider factors such as pricing models, customer segments, and fulfillment needs that require preparation. When gathering this information beforehand, you can ensure a smoother transition.
- Pricing structure: Start with deciding product prices for wholesale customers, for your existing DTC collection. Decide whether you’ll use a flat percentage discount, or tiered pricing based on order size, or even custom rates for key customers. Calculating pricing policies ahead of time, better supports optimal margins while incentivizing larger orders.
- Order minimums: Next, consider the bulk quantity rules or order minimums that make most sense for your business’ bottom line. Consider how bulk buying impacts your inventory levels and fulfillment capacity, and ensure these thresholds align with your profit goals.
- Exclusive SKUs: You may also consider offering wholesale-only products or bundles, which will require creating exclusive SKUs for wholesale customers only. The benefit here, is store owners can create value for wholesale buyers while helping move inventory that’s less popular in your DTC channel.
- Customer segmentation: Another factor to consider is how you’ll separate Shopify DTC and wholesale customers, in your backend (spoiler alert: an App can help!). This segmentation works ensures that only approved wholesale customers can access bulk-order features or wholesale specific pricing.
- Payment terms: To implement Shopify wholesale automation, you’ll also need to determine how wholesale buyers will pay – whether upfront, or via invoice when extending net payment terms. In general, establishing clear payment policies protects your cash flow and keeps wholesale transactions predictable, while this step will also help your customer segmentation rules if payment terms will differ per customer.
- Shipping rules: Finally, scaling wholesale business on Shopify will also demand owners to consider their fulfilment workflows for bulk orders. Think about whether or not you’ll offer wholesale-specific shipping rates, freight options, and any lead times ou’ll need to specify to avoid bottlenecks as volume scales.
Key Strategies to Layer Wholesale Functionality
All in all, DTC wholesale addition success is all in the planning of functionality. To help with scaling wholesale business on Shopify, here’s a step-by-step strategy for how to layer wholesale functionality with your current store continually operating:
- Start small: Before opening your wholesale operations to the public, start small and test functionality with trusted partners or internal staff, first. This helps you identify friction points in pricing, order minimums, or fulfillment without overwhelming your operations.
- Roll out gradually: It helps to slowly roll out wholesale functionality in stages to test the waters of inventory, pricing, and fulfilment demands. For example, begin with gated pricing for select accounts, then add features like tiered pricing, payment terms, and bulk shipping as demand grows and workflows stabilize.
- Refine workflows: Use early orders to stress-test your fulfillment, inventory management, and customer communication. Over time, identify any bottlenecks or inefficiencies, then adjust your systems before onboarding more wholesale buyers.
- Gather feedback: Treat your first wholesale buyers as beta testers. Their feedback on pricing, order process, and communication is invaluable for refining the program into something that’s both scalable and customer-friendly.
- Maintain DTC stability: Throughout the rollout, ensure that your DTC store remains unaffected. To do so, keep wholesale features behind gated access and monitor performance metrics to make sure both sides of your business stay balanced.
Top Shopify Apps That Make Wholesale Easier
One of the top apps that makes wholesale seamless for Shopify DTC to wholesale businesses is Wholesale Gorilla. Wholesale Gorilla stands out with its use directly in the Shopify admin and with its ability to work with the latest Shopify themes. Beyond, the app has garnered over 250 ratings on the platform, with an over 4.8/5 rating amongst its users.
Wholesale Gorilla expertly layers functionality and features for supporting Shopify DTC to wholesale upgrades, allowing owners to scale their businesses better. In fact, the app was built by store owners when they couldn’t find an existing solution or app for their own stores’ scaling. That means it operates seamlessly for the mind of Shopify business owners, making the transition that much smoother.
A Real-World Example: Adding Wholesale Without a Store Rebuild
Globally, Shopify store owners have successfully transitioned from DTC to wholesale, without rebuilding their entire platform. By using Wholesale Gorilla to seamlessly layer functionality, these existing stores are now scaling wholesale business on Shopify in a wide range of product categories. Here are just a few real-world examples from real customer testimonials.
Keychains & Gifts, an Australian company, transitioned to wholesale just two months ago and found the process refreshingly simple, sharing, “Love Wholesale Gorilla. I have no experience and found it very user-friendly and easy to install.”
For Bella and Bear, a growing beauty brand, adding wholesale was equally seamless – “We’ve been using Wholesale Gorilla for a while now and have had absolutely no problems at all. It’s easy to use, and as we’ve grown, upgrading to their premium plan for the extra features just made sense. Our customer support rep was super helpful and got us updated straight away. We love Wholesale Gorilla!”
House of VXN had tested nearly every B2B app available before landing on their solution, Wholesale Gorilla, and had this to say about their experience, “Loving the ease of this program–it’s user-friendly, there’s additional info available when you get stuck (because even the most user-friendly apps can get beginners tripped up), and the team is super responsive and clear with direction. I’ve pretty much tried every B2B app available in the Shopify store, to include using dev programs to create rules, and this has been the one our team has been able to get into flow with on the front end. 10/10 recommend!”
And for Ting Goods, running both retail and wholesale under one roof became stress-free, with Wholesale Gorilla leaving a review that states, “Very helpful tool for handling wholesale customers in a mixed environment with wholesale AND retail. Great (as in really great) fast and helpful support.”
These real-world examples show that adding wholesale doesn’t need to be complicated. With the right app and support, you can layer in wholesale functionality while keeping your existing storefront and customer experience fully intact.
Ready to Seamlessly Scale Your Shopify Store to Wholesale?
Ready to begin scaling wholesale business on Shopify? Then it’s time to upgrade your store with the best Shopify DTC to wholesale solution…none other than Wholesale Gorilla. Wholesale Gorilla was built by Shopify DTC store owners for Shopify owners, meaning it’s built with intuitive features and controls that store owners need, and can easily navigate.
From direct order forms to custom payment terms, shipping rules, and beyond, Wholesale Gorilla has the strength for scaling Shopify stores into powerful wholesale businesses, with minimal work or rebuilding required. Add Shopify wholesale automation to your site today, with Wholesale Gorilla, by signing up for a free 21-day trial now.
