If you sell both wholesale and retail through the same WooCommerce store, you may have product variations, such as a specific size, color, or pack size, that should only be available to your wholesale customers. Regular customers should not see these variations at all, let alone be able to buy them.
This article covers how to restrict individual product variations to one or more wholesale roles using WooCommerce Wholesale Prices Premium, so those variations are hidden from anyone outside the roles you choose.
This setting applies per variation, so you can leave some variations open to everyone while restricting others to your wholesale customers on the same product.
Requirements
- WooCommerce Wholesale Prices Premium installed and activated.
- A variable product with at least one variation already created in WooCommerce.
- Wholesale roles configured at Wholesale → Roles.
Restricting a variation to specific wholesale roles
Configure this setting on the variation itself, not on the parent product.
- Edit the product and go to Product data → Variations. The product must be set to Variable product for this tab to appear.
- Click the variation you want to restrict to expand it.
- Locate the Wholesale Exclusive Variation field.
- Select one or more wholesale roles from the dropdown. Leave it empty to keep the variation available to everyone.
- Click Save changes, then Update the product.
How wholesale exclusive variations are enforced
Restricting a variation to one or more wholesale roles hides it and makes it unpurchasable for everyone else. Only accounts holding one of the selected roles can see or buy that variation. Customers with a different wholesale role, non-wholesale customers, and guests cannot see it or select it. Administrator and shop manager accounts always see and can buy every variation, regardless of this setting.
Restricting a variation vs. restricting a whole product
Wholesale Exclusive Variation applies to a single variation, not the parent product. If you need to hide or restrict an entire product to specific wholesale roles instead of one variation, use the Restrict To Wholesale Roles field in the product’s Publish box instead.
Troubleshooting
Why does an administrator or shop manager account still see a restricted variation?
Administrator and shop manager accounts bypass exclusive variation restrictions entirely, so they always see and can buy every variation regardless of the roles selected. Test with an account that is assigned only a wholesale role, not with an administrator account.
I didn’t select any wholesale role. Why is the variation still visible to everyone?
Leaving Wholesale Exclusive Variation empty applies the default value of “available to all”, so the variation behaves as if it isn’t restricted. To hide a variation from anyone outside a set of roles, select that role, or roles, in the field.
Why isn’t the whole product hidden, only one variation?
This setting is applied per variation, not to the parent product. Other variations on the same product, along with the product’s own listing, remain visible unless you restrict them individually or use the separate Restrict To Wholesale Roles setting on the product itself.
Frequently asked questions
Can I select more than one wholesale role for a single variation?
Yes. Wholesale Exclusive Variation is a multi-select field, so you can choose several wholesale roles at once. Any customer holding one of the selected roles can see and buy that variation.
Do guest customers or logged-out visitors see a restricted variation?
No. Only logged-in customers holding one of the selected wholesale roles can see or buy a restricted variation. Guests and customers without a matching wholesale role cannot.
Do I need WooCommerce Wholesale Prices Premium, or does this work with the free plugin?
This feature requires WooCommerce Wholesale Prices Premium. It is not available in the free WooCommerce Wholesale Prices plugin.
If a customer is assigned more than one wholesale role, which one is checked against the restriction?
Only the customer’s primary wholesale role is checked against the roles selected in Wholesale Exclusive Variation. If they need access based on a secondary role, assign that role as their primary role instead.
Does this work with wholesale roles created through a vendor marketplace plugin like WC Vendors?
Yes. Wholesale Exclusive Variation integrates with wholesale roles used in a WC Vendors marketplace setup.
If I change the selected roles later, does the change apply immediately?
Yes. Variation availability is evaluated against your current settings each time the page loads, so an updated role selection applies as soon as you save it.
Can I restrict variations on a simple product?
No. Wholesale Exclusive Variation is available only for variations on a variable product, since simple products have no variations to restrict. To restrict a simple product itself, use the Restrict To Wholesale Roles setting on the product.
Help & support
We have a dedicated support team for Wholesale Suite who knows our products, WooCommerce, and the industry very well. You’re welcome to make use of their expertise at any time, worldwide.
If you are an existing customer please go to the support ticket request form and send us a message.
If you are a free plugin user, please send us a support request on the forum. We actively monitor the WordPress.org support forums for the free plugin and help our users there as best as we can.
