B2B and DTC on Shopify: one store or two?

We get asked this on nearly every wholesale call. A brand sells to consumers on Shopify and wants to open a trade channel. Or it already runs two stores and wonders whether the second one is earning its keep.

For most businesses we work with, one store is now the right starting point. Shopify's B2B tools, Markets and catalogues can keep trade and consumer customers apart inside one admin. Two stores still make sense when the trade side has a different brand, a different team or a very different catalogue. The decision comes down to five things: brand, catalogue, pricing, team and systems.

What has changed?

A few years ago, two stores was the safe default. Trade pricing, gated catalogues and separate checkouts were easier to handle apart. That's no longer the case.

Several changes this year have moved the line.

• B2B without Plus. Since April, Basic, Grow and Advanced plans include company profiles, payment terms, volume pricing and up to three active B2B catalogues.
• Multiple legal entities. Eligible merchants can now run separate B2B and DTC entities through one store, with Shopify Payments accounts per entity.
• Discounts by market. A wholesale offer can reach only your B2B buyers.
• Checkout by market. Advanced and Plus merchants can change checkout settings, branding and blocks for B2B buyers specifically.

Each of those removes a reason for running a second store.

When does one store work best?

One store suits a business where trade and consumer customers buy broadly the same products under one brand. The difference is price, terms and the buying experience, not what's for sale.

The benefits are practical.

• One catalogue to maintain. Product data, images and stock live in one place.
• One theme. Improvements to navigation or product pages help both audiences.
• One set of apps and one integration. Your ERP talks to one store.
• One view of the customer. A café that also buys retail gifts is one relationship, not two.

Trade buyers still get their own experience. Company accounts show each buyer their prices and catalogue. Quick order lists and reorder tools speed up repeat buying. Payment terms replace card payments where you allow it.

When do two stores still make sense?

Two stores are still the right answer in some cases. We'd recommend them when one or more of these is true.

• The trade side trades under a different brand, with its own look and voice.
• The ranges barely overlap. A wholesale catalogue of bulk packs and a consumer range of gift sets don't share much.
• Different teams run each channel, and neither wants the other's changes in their admin.
• An ERP or warehouse system is built around one store per business line, and changing that isn't worth it.
• You need more than three B2B catalogues on a non-Plus plan, and Plus doesn't suit the rest of the business.

Separate legal entities used to be on this list. For eligible merchants, they're now a reason to look again rather than an automatic split.

What does a one-store setup need to get right?

The risk with one store is leakage. Trade prices showing to the public, wholesale products appearing in consumer search, or a consumer discount landing on a trade order. Each of these has a fix.

1. Visibility. Wholesale-only products need hiding from consumer discovery. Our guide to hiding products from the Shop app safely covers the method we use.
2. Pricing. Catalogues set trade prices by company or market. Test them logged in as a real buyer, not as an admin.
3. Discounts. Limit consumer promotions to consumer markets so they don't reach trade orders.
4. Checkout. Decide which payment methods, terms and fields each audience sees.
5. Navigation. Trade buyers want speed. A quick order list or saved favourites often matters more than the homepage.

Fáilte Foods shows how far the trade experience can go on Shopify Plus. We connected the store to Business Central, built date-based pricing and a favourites list so buyers could save and reorder. Customer onboarding rose by over 500%, and conversion sits above 30%. Our guide to Scottish food and drink wholesale on Shopify covers that build in more detail.

How do you decide?

Answer these five questions honestly. They'll usually point one way.

1. Brand. Do trade and consumer customers see the same brand?
2. Catalogue. Do most products sell to both audiences?
3. Pricing. Can your trade pricing fit into catalogues and volume rules?
4. Team. Will one team run the store, or at least share the admin comfortably?
5. Systems. Can your ERP and apps handle both audiences from one store?

Mostly yes points to one store. Two or more firm noes point to two. If Plus is part of the question, our note on whether Shopify Plus is worth it covers that decision.

Where parallel helps

We design and build B2B commerce on Shopify for businesses that sell to trade and consumers. That includes merging two stores into one, and setting up a trade channel alongside an existing DTC store. We look at the catalogue and the ERP before we talk about the storefront.

If you're weighing up one store or two, book a call and we'll talk it through with your setup in front of us.