As a wholesaler, having an ecommerce for wholesale business can feel overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time. You might already know wholesale, but with wholesale ecommerce, you also need to build your brand, take product photos, write descriptions, and more, which are all done online. It can be a lot to handle when you’re just starting out.
However, in today’s digital world, setting up and understanding wholesale ecommerce platform ins and outs are becoming essential. Luckily, with just a few easy steps, you can start reaching a bigger audience and making more money from online sales. By using WooCommerce along with our Wholesale Prices plugin, you’ll have everything you need to get started.
Are you ready to take your business online and create a website for your retail customers? Let us guide you through the basic steps how ecommerce for wholesale is done.
Let’s get to it!
Ecommerce For Wholesale Overview
Starting a wholesale ecommerce store or adding wholesale to your current website can be very profitable. While you’ll be offering products at discounted rates, you’ll also see a big increase in your average order size.
Furthermore, with the right incentives and support, you can count on repeat orders, which will help you maintain a steady income. Wholesale ecommerce also allows you to expand your customer base by supplying retailers with products they can resell to end-users online.
Additionally, B2B sales let you reach new markets by tapping into established audiences that would otherwise be out of your reach. This is especially helpful if you’re selling your own branded products.
Finally, moving all your wholesale activities online can reduce administrative work since many processes can be automated with digital tools. By managing everything on a single WordPress site, you can simplify order fulfillment and streamline your operations.
Website Builder For Wholesale
When it comes to building a wholesale ecommerce platform, there are a lot website builders out there in the market that you can choose from. These platforms make it easy to create a wholesale website without need any technical skills.
In this case, we recommend using WordPress with WooCommerce. Here’s why:
1. Free to use, and you keep all the profits!
Both WordPress and WooCommerce are completely free to use. While you’ll need to cover the costs of a domain name, web hosting, and a WooCommerce wholesale plugin, it’s still much more affordable than using an enterprise solution where you have to give up a share of your profits on every sale.
2. Full control over your data
Unlike proprietary platforms, WordPress allows you to own your data. This gives you complete control over your site and all the information it contains.
3. Customizable
With a WordPress wholesale website, you have incredible flexibility, allowing you to fully control its design and functionality. You can choose from a wide range of themes and plugins to create a site that perfectly represents your brand and offers an excellent experience for your wholesale customers.
4. Wide range of professional wholesale plugins
When using WooCommerce, you have access to a great selection of wholesale plugins that can add all the essential features you need, such as wholesale pricing, user registration, bulk order forms, minimum order requirements, and tiered pricing.
How To Start A Wholesale Ecommerce Website (4 Easy Steps)
Starting an ecommerce for wholesale store is pretty simple. You just need the right WooCommerce extension to add the necessary features to your site. If you haven’t done it yet, you’ll need to set up a WordPress website with a domain name. After that, make sure to install the WooCommerce plugin on your site.
For this tutorial, let’s assume you already have a WooCommerce site set up and running, with some products added to it.
Step 1: Install and activate the WooCommerce Wholesale Prices plugin
A great tool for setting up a wholesale e-commerce website is our WooCommerce Wholesale Prices free plugin. It’s a free WooCommerce add-on that easily lets you apply discounts for bulk purchases and control which customers can see your lower prices.
To get started, you can find and install the plugin right from your WordPress dashboard in the Plugin Directory.
Once you activate it, WooCommerce Wholesale Prices automatically creates a special user role just for your wholesale customers. This way, you can set different prices for your wholesale and retail customers.
Step 2: Set your wholesale prices
Next, you can begin setting wholesale prices for each of your products. To start, open any product in the editor and navigate to Product data > Wholesale Prices.
Here, enter the product’s discounted wholesale price:
This wholesale price will be visible only to those who are logged into accounts assigned the Wholesale Customer role:
💡Note that you’ll have to set your wholesale pricing carefully. You want to ensure your margins remain high enough to be profitable. To know how this works, read about how wholesale pricing works in Wholesale Suite.
Step 3: Assign buyers to wholesale customer accounts
This step is to assign your wholesale customers to accounts with the proper user role so that they can see your discounted prices. The first way to do this is to create each account yourself.
This will require you to have prospective buyers’ email addresses beforehand. You can collect these via a form. Then, navigate to Users > Add New.
Enter the required details, including a username, email address, and password. Then, scroll down and select Wholesale Customer from the Role dropdown:
Step 4: Send customer login credentials
The final step is to send the customer their login credentials so that they can access their account.
This method gives you control over who has access to your wholesale prices, but can become time-consuming.
A second option is to make the Wholesale Customer role the default for all new accounts.
This saves you some effort in the long run. To do this, navigate to Settings > General and set the New User Default Role dropdown to Wholesale Customer:
Make sure to save your changes.
The biggest drawback to this option is that you won’t be able to screen customers before granting them access to your wholesale prices. This is a common practice in wholesaling that can help you avoid over discounting.
Pros And Cons Of Ecommerce For Wholesale
When done right, a wholesale website can offer several advantages over other methods of managing wholesale orders. Here’s a closer look at the pros and cons, along with some examples to help you decide if it’s the right move for your business.
Pros of wholesale website
1. Simplified ordering process
One of the biggest advantages of having a wholesale website is that it simplifies the ordering process for store owners. Instead of dealing with emails, phone calls, or paper orders, retailers can easily browse your products and place orders online.
For example, a small boutique owner can quickly order new inventory directly from your site, without the need for back-and-forth communication.
2. Easy updates and changes
With a wholesale website, you can update products, descriptions, and pricing with just a few clicks. This is much easier than revising and distributing a new line sheet every time something changes.
For instance, if you add a new product or adjust prices, you can make the changes on your website instantly, ensuring that all your wholesale customers have access to the latest information.
3. Consistent branding across platforms
A wholesale website helps you maintain consistent branding across your retail website, wholesale website, and other online platforms. This is important for creating a strong, unified brand image.
As an example, if your retail website has a specific color scheme and style, you can carry that same branding over to your wholesale site, making your brand easily recognizable to customers.
Cons of a wholesale website
1. Costs and time investment
Building a wholesale website can be costly and time-consuming, especially if you want it to be on-brand and fully functional. For example, you might need to hire a web developer, purchase a domain, and invest in plugins or custom features to create the ideal site. This can add up quickly in both time and money.
2. Risk of a generic feel
If you don’t carefully incorporate your brand’s story and personality into the website, it could end up feeling generic. For instance, a wholesale site that looks like every other website out there might not capture the unique essence of your brand and make it less appealing to your target audience.
When To Consider Creating A Wholesale Website
You should think about creating a wholesale website if:
1. Your current ordering system is inefficient
If your current method for taking wholesale orders is outdated or cumbersome, a wholesale website could streamline the process. For example, if you’re managing orders through spreadsheets or manual invoices, a website could make it much easier for you and your customers.
2. You’re targeting independent stores
If independent stores are a key part of your growth strategy, having a wholesale website can make it easier for these businesses to place orders. For instance, a boutique owner browsing your website can quickly see what’s available and place an order without needing to contact you directly.
3. Updating a line sheet is time-consuming
If you find it difficult to keep your product line sheets up-to-date, a wholesale website offers a more flexible and manageable alternative. For example, instead of sending out updated PDFs or printed sheets, you can simply update your website and know that all your customers are seeing the most current information.
Enhance Your Wholesale Ecommerce Website With Wholesale Suite
Although the free version of WooCommerce Wholesale Prices is enough for a basic e-commerce website, as your business grows, you might need some more advanced functionality. Our premium Wholesale Suite plugins can help.
These tools build upon WooCommerce Wholesale Prices’ features and give you complete control over pricing, the ordering process, and customer registration. They include:
- WooCommerce Wholesale Prices Premium: This version of the plugin lets you set global discounts, as well as override pricing for certain categories and users. You can also create membership tiers and other more complex pricing systems to expand your wholesale operations.
- WooCommerce Wholesale Order Form: This plugin enables you to create an order form where customers can quickly and easily choose items from a product catalog.
- WooCommerce Wholesale Lead Capture: The third Wholesale Suite plugin creates a customer registration page solely for wholesale buyers, enables you to build custom signup forms, and more. This saves you from having to manually assign wholesale customer roles or enable free registration for bulk purchasing accounts.
- WooCommerce Wholesale Payments: This plugin enables you to offer exclusive payment gateways and terms to your wholesale customers. By customizing payment methods, you make it easier for bulk buyers to complete transactions, improve customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business.
Using these plugins can lessen the time spent on administrative tasks. You also have better control over pricing and can set up a more efficient ordering system for your wholesale customers, making for a more pleasant buying experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is wholesale ecommerce?
Wholesale ecommerce is the process of selling products in bulk, usually at a discounted price, to other businesses online. Instead of selling directly to individual customers, you sell to retailers or other companies who then resell the products to their customers. In other words, it’s a business-to-business (B2B) model conducted over the internet.
Which platform is best for wholesale business?
The best platform for a wholesale business depends on your needs, but generally speaking, WooCommerce is a popular choice. For example, it’s flexible, easy to use, and offers a variety of plugins that make managing a wholesale business simple.
Which website is best for wholesale business?
The best website for a wholesale business is one that meets your specific needs. For instance, WordPress with WooCommerce is often recommended because it allows for customization and control over your site. WordPress is a popular platform that gives you the flexibility to design your site exactly how you want it. With WooCommerce, you can add powerful ecommerce features that are perfect for wholesale, like bulk pricing, special discounts, and easy product management.
Conclusion
Having an ecommerce platform for wholesale is becoming essential for businesses looking to grow and reach a wider audience. At first, it can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to it, but the process is manageable with the right tools. For instance, platforms like WordPress with WooCommerce, combined with the right plugins, offer a powerful and flexible solution for creating a successful wholesale website.
In this article, we discussed how you can build your ecommerce platform for wholesale:
- Ecommerce for wholesale overview
- Website builder for wholesale
- How to start a wholesale ecommerce website (4 easy steps)
- Pros and cons of ecommerce for wholesale
- When to consider creating a wholesale website
If you’re ready to take the leap, starting with Wholesale Prices free plugin is a great way to begin. As your business grows, you can enhance your site with additional tools like the Wholesale Suite to better serve your wholesale customers. In the end, well-executed wholesale ecommerce businesses site can significantly boost sales and expand market reach.
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