FAQ for wholesale channel to B2B migration

Review these frequently asked questions to learn more about migrating from the Plus wholesale channel to B2B on Shopify.

General

Why is Shopify deprecating the Plus wholesale channel and introducing B2B on Shopify?

The Plus wholesale channel will no longer be available on April 30, 2024, due to a change in Google Chrome’s third party cookies support. All merchants using the wholesale channel must migrate to B2B on Shopify before this date.

Does B2B on Shopify have all the same features as the Plus wholesale channel?

B2B on Shopify offers new features and benefits for selling to B2B customers, but it also includes many popular features of the wholesale channel, including checkout to draft and customer-specific product publishing through catalogs.

Currently, there are a few differences between the Plus wholesale channel and B2B on Shopify:

Table of the differences between Plus wholesale channel and B2B on Shopify features
Plus wholesale channel feature	Current B2B on Shopify offering
Additional price list types	In B2B on Shopify, catalogs are the equivalent of price lists. Learn more about B2B catalogs and the current differences between catalogs and Plus wholesale channel price lists.
Minimum order totals	In the Plus wholesale channel, you can set a minimum dollar value that a customer must purchase. Although this feature isn't currently available on B2B on Shopify, you can implement minimum order totals using metafields and checkout validation Functions, or a third-party app. Contact Shopify Support to learn more.
Product-level quantity rules and volume pricing	In the Plus wholesale channel, you can create product-level quantity rules and price breaks for product purchasing that allows customers to mix and match different variants to meet the minimum purchase amount. Although this feature isn't available on B2B on Shopify, quantity rules and volume pricing can be set at the variant level.

One difference between the Plus wholesale channel and B2B on Shopify is that B2B on Shopify allows for access to the customizable features of the Online Store, such as Functions (which is replacing Scripts), discounts, themes, API access, and Markets. B2B on Shopify also includes a more intuitive interface for both merchants and B2B customers. This streamlines many common tasks, such as importing and exporting price lists or creating reorders.

As an app, the Plus wholesale channel does not connect to other apps for additional customization and features, direct integration with your enterprise resource planning software (ERP), or make branding and design customizations.

Does it cost more to use B2B on Shopify?

No. B2B on Shopify features are included as part of your Plus subscription.

Who can I speak with if I have questions about migrating to B2B from the Plus wholesale channel?

If you have questions about migrating to B2B on Shopify, then contact Shopify Support.

How long does migrating take? Is there any downtime?

DTC customers won't experience any downtime during the migration process. B2B customers shouldn't experience any downtime, though some downtime might be created by existing integrations and customizations that you've added to your store.

How to transition your existing customers during the migration is up to you. You can migrate your customers in small batches, or all at one time. After customers are migrated, they can log in to B2B on Shopify immediately and continue to make purchases.

It's recommended to have a brief period of downtime to prevent B2B customers from placing orders in the Plus wholesale channel after they've been migrated, but it's not required. One approach to achieve this is to remove access to the Plus wholesale channel a few days before launching B2B on Shopify.

What are the benefits and differences between having a blended or dedicated store setup?

If you have separate inventory, separate legal entities for DTC and B2B, or different teams managing each business, then a dedicated store might be a better choice for your needs. A dedicated store allows for a fully separate online store experience, ensuring clear separation between your DTC and B2B operations.

However, in a blended store, you have the option to customize the online store experience for your B2B customers. Additionally, you can have products that are only visible to B2B customers.

Learn more about the differences between a blended and dedicated store to determine which option best suits your needs.

Orders

Can customers order from the Plus wholesale channel and B2B on Shopify at the same time?

Yes, you can have both the wholesale channel and B2B on Shopify active at the same time. However, the Plus wholesale channel will be removed on April 30, 2024, at which time customers will be able to order only through B2B on Shopify.

Keep in mind that after you use the company set up tool to create a B2B company and location, any orders a customer places through the Plus wholesale channel won't be associated with their B2B company profile.

Can I add fees after an order is submitted, such as shipping or processing fees?

Yes. Many merchants have shipping costs or other additional fees that vary based on product, so you can still require your B2B customers to submit their orders as draft orders. After the draft is submitted, you can add any additional costs.

Customers

Can I choose which products are displayed to a B2B customer?

Yes. When you create or update a catalog, select the products that use the catalog's prices. To display these products to a customer when they log in to B2B on Shopify, assign the catalog to the corresponding company or company location that the customer is associated with.

If you sell a product that you want to be hidden from your direct to consumer (DTC) customers but accesible to your B2B customers, then remove the product from the online store sales channel. If you have multiple products to hide, then you can do so by using a bulk action.

Are discounts available for B2B customers?

By default, B2B discounts aren't activated. If you want to use discounts for your B2B customers, then contact Shopify Plus Support. When discounts are activated, both discount codes and automatic discounts apply to both B2B and DTC customers.

If you activate discounts in your store, then you can create discount codes that are differentiated between B2B and DTC customers by using customer segments.

Steps:

In your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Segments.
Do both of the following:
- Create a segment for your B2B customers by using the filter companies IS NOT NULL.
- Create a segment for your DTC customers by using the filter companies IS NULL.
In your Shopify admin, go to Discounts, and then select a discount code.
In the Customer eligibility section, select the segment that you want the discount code to apply to. Repeat this step for every discount code that you need to restrict to either B2B or DTC customers.
Click Save.

If you activate discounts in your store, then any automatic discounts that you create in your Shopify admin apply to both B2B and DTC customers. To create seperate automatic discounts for B2B and DTC customers, you can use a third-party app from the Shopify App Store. Alternatively, you can use Shopify Functions to create a discount function that segments for B2B customers, based on whether a purchasingCompany is present in the BuyerIdentity.

How do I make my store accessible only to B2B customers?

There are multiple options to make your store accessible only to B2B customers:

If you have a blended store, then the logged-out experience for a B2B customer will be the same as a DTC customer. Then, when the B2B customer logs in, their assigned catalogs and pricing are displayed.
If you have a dedicated store, then you can restrict the access to the site for B2B customers. To activate this in your Shopify admin, go in your Shopify admin to Online store > Preferences, and then select Restrict access to B2B customers only. When activated, your store visitors are directed to the login page, and only those with B2B accounts can log in to access your store.
You can use a third-party app to restrict access to specific pages in your store.
You can use Liquid to create custom coding that hides or displays specific sections of your store for DTC or B2B customers.

I have a dedicated B2B store, but I want to combine it with my DTC store. How can I migrate my B2B customers from the B2B store to the DTC store?

To migrate your B2B customers from the B2B store to the DTC store, you can use a third-party app. When the migration is complete, you can convert these customers into companies within the DTC store.

Learn more about the differences between a blended and dedicated store.

Storefront and customization

How can I display different messaging in my email notifications to DTC and B2B customers?

To modify email content for your DTC and B2B customers, you can add Liquid code to your notifications by using the customer.b2b? condition to distinguish between B2B and DTC customers. Each notification must be edited individually.

Is storefront contextualization compatible with all themes?

No. Storefront contextualization is compatible only with an Online Store 2.0 theme or a theme built with JSON templates.

Can I customize my B2B online store experience when I don’t use an Online Store 2.0 theme or a theme built with JSON templates?

Yes, although doing so requires that you add custom code to your theme. You can use the customer.b2b liquid variable to edit your theme’s code.

How do I set up my dedicated B2B store's landing page as an information hub and ensure that pricing and checkout options are only visible to logged-in customers?

If you use an Online Store 2.0 theme or a theme built with JSON templates, then you can do this by using the online store editor. Go to the products page in the editor, and then hide the Buy buttons section from the Default context. Then, select the B2B context and make Buy buttons visible.

If you don't use an Online Store 2.0 theme or a theme built with JSON templates, then you can do this by using custom code. Go to the products page in the online store editor and find the Price section. Then, add an IF statement using the custom code customer.b2b. This hides the section unless the customer is logged in. You can also use this method to hide the Buy buttons section. In addition, you can add the new customer account URL to the Products page to prompt customers to log in.

If you sell a product that you want to be hidden from your DTC customers but accesible to your B2B customers, then remove the product from the online store sales channel. If you have multiple products to hide, then you can do so by using a bulk action.

Can I create line sheets with B2B on Shopify?

Line sheets aren't currently available. However, quick order lists are available that let your customers add multiple variants to their cart by using a list of all variant options on the product description page.

In a blended store, how do I display different shipping rates for DTC and B2B customers?

To display specific shipping rates, you can build a Delivery Customization Function. To hide shipping options from only B2B customers, use the PurchasingCompany hook in BuyerIdentity to determine whether the customer interacting with the checkout is B2B or DTC. Then, use the hide operation to hide the shipping options that aren't applicable to the customer.

You can also offer different shipping rates by using a third-party app.

In a blended store, how do I hide payment options from B2B customers such as Afterpay or Klarna?

To hide payment options, you can build a Payment Customization Function. Use the PurchasingCompany hook in BuyerIdentity to determine whether the customer interacting with checkout is B2B or DTC. Then, use the hide operation to hide the payment options that aren't applicable to the customer.

You can also offer different payent methods by using a third-party app.

I don’t want my B2B customers to go to the DTC landing page to login. How do I create a separate B2B landing page?

To create a B2B landing page, create a new page in the online store editor. Then, set up a subdomain for your B2B customers to be directed to, such as b2b.merchants.com.

Can specific third-party apps be restricted for B2B customers in a blended store?

Whether apps can be restricted to B2B customers in a blended store depends on the app. If you're not sure whether your app offers this functionality, then contact the app’s developer.

B2B on Shopify doesn't use the same login page as the Plus wholesale channel. Instead, wholesale customers log in through the new customer accounts URL. You can share this URL with your wholesale customers in several ways, depending on whether you have a blended store or a dedicated store

I have a custom domain for the Plus wholesale channel (examplemerchant.com). Can I use my custom domain for my new dedicated B2B store?

Yes, you can use the same custom domain for your new dedicated B2B store. Before you make this change, make sure that your new B2B store is ready to go live, and then complete the following steps:

Remove the domain from the Plus wholesale channel on the original store.
Add the domain to the new store.

You can also connect a custom subdomain, such as wholesale.merchant.com.

The new customer account URL that is used to login to B2B on Shopify references ‘shopify’ in the URL. Can I change this URL to a custom subdomain?

Yes, you can connect a subdomain to the new customer account page.