Shopify Wholesale Channel in 2027: What Replaced It
Amir HessabiN° 249 min read
What happened to the Shopify Wholesale Channel?#
There is no wholesale channel to install going into 2027. Shopify's old help page for the Wholesale Channel now opens the Shopify B2B manual instead (checked November 5, 2026), and wholesale on Shopify runs on Shopify B2B: native features inside the normal admin, available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Shopify Plus plans. Most of what a distributor needs is on all four.
That matters because a lot of older guides still describe wholesale on Shopify as a separate, Plus-only storefront with its own price list. If that is the picture in your head, your planning is built on a product that is no longer there. This guide maps what replaced it, which features depend on your plan, how to move an old wholesale setup onto native B2B, and what still is not native on any plan.
Every Shopify fact below comes from Shopify's own Help Center, read on November 5, 2026. Shopify changes plan features, so recheck the pages before you commit to a plan.
What is Shopify B2B, and where does it run?#
Per Shopify's B2B manual, Shopify B2B "is a suite of native features that lets you sell business-to-business (B2B) through the Shopify admin and online store." Two practical points follow from Shopify's own description:
- You choose the store shape. You can run B2B and direct-to-consumer sales from one store, or create a separate B2B-only store.
- Companies are the foundation. To use Shopify B2B, your B2B customers must be set up as companies in the Shopify admin. Pricing, currency, products, payment and shipping methods can then be personalized per B2B customer.
Shopify B2B is not available on the Starter or Retail plans. If your store is on one of those, the first migration step is a plan change, not a setup task.
What does Shopify B2B include on each plan in 2027?#
Shopify's features-by-plan page says most B2B features are available on all plans, "including companies, catalogs, net payment terms, self-serve ordering, and Shopify Flow automations." The differences sit in a short list. Here is that page summarized, read November 5, 2026:
| Feature | Basic | Grow | Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies, company locations, location-level permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Active catalog assignments to active B2B markets | 3 | 3 | 3 | Unlimited |
| Catalogs assigned directly to a company or location | No | No | No | Yes |
| Quantity rules and quantity price breaks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Net terms, payment reminders, vaulted cards, ACH (US only) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deposits, partial payments, payment requests per fulfillment | No | No | No | Yes |
| Draft order to invoice, checkout to draft, easy reorders, PO numbers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sales staff permissions | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contextual checkout and storefront through Shopify Markets | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Trade theme and quick order list | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shopify Flow with B2B objects | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
One detail on the catalog row trips people up. Shopify counts assignments, not catalogs: assigning the same active catalog to two active B2B markets uses two of the three. To free one up, you remove the catalog from a market or set it to Draft. We go deeper on that ceiling in Shopify B2B catalog limits by plan.
The question used to be "do we need Plus to sell wholesale?" In 2027 it is narrower: which of four limits do you actually hit? Those are the catalog cap, direct company catalogs, deposits and partial payments, and contextual experiences through Markets.
How do you move an old wholesale setup onto native Shopify B2B?#
Most legacy wholesale setups had the same three parts: a wholesale price list, a set of approved buyers, and a separate place to order. Each one has a native home now. The mapping below is the order we would work in.
1. Decide the store shape first#
Blended store or dedicated B2B store is the first decision, because it changes everything downstream. A blended store shows retail prices to shoppers and catalog prices to signed-in B2B buyers. A B2B-only store keeps the two businesses apart. Neither is wrong. If you are still checking whether your store qualifies at all, start with Shopify B2B requirements.
2. Buyers become companies with locations#
Each account becomes a company, and each ship-to branch becomes a company location. On every plan, Shopify lists location-level permissions limited to location admin and ordering only. A plumbing wholesaler with a contractor who buys for three job-site trailers sets that up as one company with three locations, not three separate customers.
If you used an application form for the old channel, see how a Shopify wholesale registration form works natively.
3. Price lists become catalogs#
The old wholesale price list becomes a catalog. Below Plus, catalogs reach buyers through B2B markets, with the three-assignment cap above. On Plus you can also assign a catalog directly to a company or location for customer-level pricing.
4. Minimums become quantity rules and price breaks#
Minimums, case packs and volume tiers move into quantity rules (minimum, maximum and increment) and quantity price breaks, on every plan.
5. Terms move into Shopify's payment settings#
Net terms, payment reminders, vaulted cards and US ACH are on every plan. Deposits, partial payments and payment requests per fulfillment are Plus only, so a distributor who takes a deposit on special-order items should price that into the plan decision.
6. The order form becomes the quick order list#
The trade theme, the quick order list, easy reorders and PO numbers cover the reorder habit that kept buyers on the phone. If sales reps work accounts in the admin, note that Shopify lists sales staff permissions only on Grow and up.
A worked example: a bearing distributor's move#
Take a bearing and power-transmission distributor on Grow that used the old channel with one wholesale price list. A typical line is a 6205-2RS deep groove ball bearing sold in boxes of 10.
- Accounts: each maintenance shop becomes a company. A mill with two plants becomes one company with two locations.
- Pricing: two tiers, standard wholesale and a contractor tier, become two catalogs. Assigned to one active B2B market each, they use two of the three assignments, leaving one spare.
- Pack rules: the box of 10 becomes a quantity rule with an increment of 10, and the 50-box break becomes a quantity price break.
- Terms: Net 30 is set for the accounts that have it.
What does not map is the mill's habit of emailing a request for 400 bearings at a price better than the contractor tier, with two rounds of back and forth before a buyer's manager signs off. Shopify's draft orders page lists selling at custom prices, including negotiated wholesale rates (read November 5, 2026), so the final price can land in Shopify. The request, each round and the sign-off still live in email.
What still is not native on any Shopify plan?#
Read the features-by-plan page line by line and three things a distributor usually needs are not on it (read November 5, 2026):
- An RFQ object and a versioned quote record. Shopify lists draft order to invoice and checkout to draft on every plan, and a draft order can carry a negotiated price. It does not list a record that keeps the request, each negotiation round and a margin check together.
- A buyer-side approval chain with spend limits. Location-level permissions decide who can order. They are not listed as routing an order to a manager for approval above a set amount.
- A credit limit checked against open exposure at submit. Net terms and payment reminders are listed. A credit limit that counts unpaid orders before a new one goes through is not.
None of these is a flaw in Shopify B2B. They are the parts of distribution that happen between the buyer asking and the order being placed, and they are where most wholesale apps sit.
Where does Copiara fit?#
Copiara is ours. It is a Shopify app in early access, coming to the Shopify App Store, and it is not yet installable. It is built as the wholesale layer for Shopify stores: it sits on native Shopify B2B, and Shopify keeps the companies, catalogs, payment terms and checkout.
What it adds is aimed at that middle. The quoting desk keeps the request, every negotiation round and a margin floor the server enforces on one record, then places the accepted quote in Shopify with the agreed prices locked, and quotes follow the quantity rules already set in Shopify. Buyer approvals add spend limits and approval rules for the buying company, cleared before the order is placed in Shopify. Credit adds credit limits with live exposure on top of the payment terms Copiara reads from Shopify, with a store-wide choice to warn or deny at submission. You can read more about the quoting desk and buyer approvals.
Shopify Wholesale Channel FAQ#
Can I still install the Shopify Wholesale Channel? No. Shopify's old help page for it now opens the Shopify B2B manual (checked November 5, 2026). Wholesale runs on Shopify B2B's native features.
Do I need Shopify Plus for wholesale in 2027? Not for most features. Per Shopify's features-by-plan page, Plus is required for direct company catalogs, unlimited catalog assignments, deposits, partial payments and payment requests per fulfillment.
Is Shopify B2B available on the Starter plan? No. Shopify lists B2B on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus, and not on Starter or Retail.
Can one Shopify store sell both B2B and DTC? Yes. Shopify's B2B manual says you can use one store for both, or create a separate B2B-only store.
Which plans include sales staff permissions? Shopify lists sales staff permissions on Grow, Advanced and Plus, not Basic.
The short version#
The channel is gone and the replacement is better: Shopify B2B, built into the admin, on four plans. Map your accounts to companies, your price lists to catalogs and your minimums to quantity rules, then check the four plan limits against how you actually sell. If quotes, approvals and credit are what still live in your inbox, ask for early access.
