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Picture this: You’re running a successful online store selling premium kitchen equipment. Your retail customers love browsing your catalog and making purchases at full price. But you also have a growing wholesale business with restaurant owners and commercial buyers who expect to see different pricing entirely.
The challenge? How do you show both audiences exactly what they need to see without confusing anyone or accidentally revealing wholesale pricing to retail customers?
If you’re nodding along, you’re not alone. This is one of the most common requests we get from our WooCommerce clients at Built Mighty. The good news? There are several smart ways to set up wholesale catalogs that keep your pricing strategy intact while providing an excellent experience for both customer types.
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Before we dive into the technical solutions, let’s talk about when wholesale catalogs make sense for your business:
You’re selling B2B and B2C simultaneously – Maybe you started selling direct to consumers but now restaurants or retailers want to buy in bulk. Different customer types, different expectations.
Volume-based pricing is essential – Your cost structure allows for better pricing when someone buys 50 units instead of 5, but you don’t want retail customers expecting those prices.
Product catalogs differ between audiences – Perhaps you have certain products that are wholesale-only, or different variations available to different customer types.
Maintaining brand positioning – You want to protect your retail pricing structure while still being competitive in the wholesale market.
The tricky part? WooCommerce doesn’t have robust wholesale functionality built-in. Out of the box, everyone sees the same products at the same prices. That’s where custom solutions come into play.
Let’s walk through the most effective methods we use to create wholesale catalogs, starting with the simplest approach and building up to more complex solutions.
This is the most straightforward approach and works well if you have a manageable number of wholesale customers.
How it works: Create a custom user role called “Wholesale Customer” and use plugins or custom code to show different pricing based on user roles.
Popular plugins for this approach:
Pros:
Cons:
When to use this: Perfect for businesses with established wholesale relationships and a manageable customer base. This is the simplest form of a wholesale/retail setup.
This approach creates distinct sections of your website for wholesale customers, almost like having two stores in one.
How it works: Create password-protected pages or sections that only wholesale customers can access. These areas display products with wholesale pricing and may include different product catalogs entirely.
Technical implementation options:
Pros:
Cons:
When to use this: Great when your wholesale and retail catalogs are significantly different, or when you want to create a premium wholesale experience.
This is the most sophisticated approach and what we typically recommend for larger operations.
How it works: The system automatically detects customer type through login and displays appropriate pricing in real-time. It brings up the catalog that you’ve assigned to them.
Technical components:
Advanced features you can include:
When to use this: Best for businesses with complex pricing structures, multiple wholesale tiers, or high-volume operations. This is past the two simple catalogs (retail vs wholesale).
Now let’s get into some of the technical considerations you’ll want to think about when implementing any of these approaches.
Depending on your approach, you might need to store additional data:
Wholesale catalogs can impact your site’s performance if not implemented carefully:
Protecting wholesale pricing is crucial:
After implementing dozens of wholesale catalog solutions, here are the mistakes we see most often:
Forgetting about mobile experience – Wholesale customers increasingly shop on mobile devices. Make sure your solution works seamlessly across all devices.
Overcomplicating the approval process – If it’s too difficult to become a wholesale customer, you’ll lose potential business. Strike a balance between verification and user experience. Utilize an email marketing drip campaign to help keep wholesale customers informed and engaged.
Ignoring inventory management – Different customer types might have different inventory allocations. Plan for this from the start. Are you managing inventory the same across the board? Or differently?
Not planning for growth – Choose a solution that can scale with your business. Starting simple is fine, but make sure you can add complexity later.
Forgetting about taxes – Wholesale customers often have different tax requirements (like tax-exempt status). Make sure your solution can handle this.
Shipping – Do wholesale customers need a special shipping class or different shipping options? Make sure those are set up for their needs.
Your wholesale catalog won’t exist in isolation. Consider how it integrates with:
Your existing systems:
Shipping and fulfillment:
As an official WooCommerce agency partner, we’ve seen wholesale catalog projects succeed and fail. The difference usually comes down to:
Whether you’re just exploring wholesale opportunities or ready to overhaul your existing system, the key is choosing an approach that fits your current needs while leaving room for growth.
Implementing a wholesale catalog system touches every part of your WooCommerce store – from user management and pricing logic to inventory control and checkout processes. While there are DIY options available, most businesses find that custom development provides the flexibility and scalability they need.
At Built Mighty, we specialize in creating wholesale solutions that grow with your business. From simple role-based pricing to complex multi-tier systems integrated with your existing business tools, we’ve helped businesses of all sizes create wholesale catalogs that actually drive results.
Ready to explore what a wholesale catalog could do for your business? Let’s talk about your specific needs and create a solution that works for both your wholesale and retail customers.
About Built Mighty We’re a WooCommerce agency partner specializing in custom plugin development, integrations, and solutions that help online businesses grow. Based on Bainbridge Island, WA, we work with businesses nationwide to create WooCommerce stores that don’t just look good—they perform.
Whether you're kicking off a new project or looking to improve your current site, we're here to make it happen. Let’s build something that not only works for your business but helps it grow.
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