October Marketing updates
Shopify just opened up wholesale to everyone (and it's free)
If you sell to other businesses as well as everyday customers, this one’s for you.
Shopify has rolled its B2B (business-to-business) features out to its Basic, Grow and Advanced plans. Until now they were locked behind Shopify Plus, the enterprise plan most small NZ businesses never touch. They’re now included at no extra cost.
What you get
- Company profiles so your wholesale buyers have their own accounts
- Up to three custom catalogues with their own pricing, so stockists see trade prices and everyone else sees retail
- Volume discounts and quantity rules for minimum orders and bulk pricing
- Saved credit cards so repeat buyers can check out faster
- Payment terms like “net 30” for trusted trade customers
Plus still has a few extras, like unlimited catalogues, partial payments and deposits. For most small and mid-sized businesses, though, the new features cover what you need.
You need this if
- You sell your products wholesale (or want to start)
- Your list of stockists keeps growing
- You’re juggling separate retail and trade price lists
- You’re tired of taking wholesale orders by email
- Ordering from you takes more back-and-forth than it should
Why it matters
Plenty of Kiwi businesses run wholesale on email chains, PDF price lists and a lot of “can you send me an invoice?” It works, but it eats your time.
Shopify says merchants using its B2B tools have seen up to a 33% jump in self-serve orders within six months, and reorders up to 20% more often. One business, Snyder Performance Engineering, cut its back-office admin by 25% and grew average customer spend by 40%.
Self-serve ordering means your trade customers can reorder at 10pm on a Sunday without texting you. You get your evenings back and they order more often. Everyone wins.
Who should look at this
- Makers and producers who supply cafés, shops or gift stores
- Retailers with a growing list of stockists
- Anyone juggling separate retail and trade price lists
- Businesses that want to stop taking orders by email
Want a hand setting it up?
It’s a big update, but getting catalogues, pricing and customer accounts set up properly takes some planning. If you’re on Shopify and wondering whether B2B makes sense for your business, get in touch with the Rushton Marketing team. We’ll help you work out the best setup and get it running.
More info or to read the full article from Shopify.
Published on 1 October 2026 by Ashleigh Rushton
