A B2C and B2B implementation on one Shopify platform
We design and deliver Shopify for manufacturers and brands selling to both individual and business customers. We organise catalogues, prices, accounts, orders and integrations so that both channels use shared data while running under their own rules of purchase.
We start by establishing whether B2C and B2B should run in one store, or in two stores connected to the same back end. Only once that decision is closed do we prepare the scope and the estimate of the implementation.
- sales-model analysis
- architecture choice
- both purchase paths
- company accounts and catalogues
- integrations and data
- testing and launch
Two purchase paths
- Individual customerB2C
- Business customerB2B
ShopifyB2C + B2B
products · stock · orders · fulfilment statuses
Shared integrations
- ERP
- PIM
- WMS
- CRM
Shopify B2C + B2B — shared data and two sales models
Shared data should serve two different ways of buying. An individual customer expects an easy product choice, promotions and a fast checkout. A business customer may need an organisation account, an assigned catalogue, their own prices, payment terms and support for several locations.
Trouble starts when the B2B channel is reduced to a discount granted after logging in. Exceptions end up in spreadsheets, sales reps correct orders by hand, and what is agreed in the ERP does not always match what the customer sees.
The implementation organises the differences between the channels. Products, availability and orders can use a shared back end, while the catalogue, price, payment and permissions are matched to the type of buyer.
Shared core
What can be shared
- product data
- stock levels
- orders
- fulfilment statuses
- integrations with the company's systems
B2C
Consumer sales
The scope can cover:
- an open catalogue available without logging in
- standard prices, promotions and discount codes
- buying without contacting a sales rep
- consumer payment and delivery methods
- communication built around a quick decision
B2B
Business sales
The scope can cover:
- companies, users and locations
- assigned catalogues and prices
- quantity rules and reordering
- agreed payment terms
- a purchase process matched to how sales reps work
A Shopify blended store or a separate B2B store?
A Shopify blended store is one store serving B2C or D2C customers and B2B business customers side by side, with terms of sale that differ by the type of customer. The alternative is a separate storefront for the business channel, connected to the same back end.
- 01
A blended store — one store for B2C and B2B
This variant suits companies that share a brand, a large part of the same catalogue and one operational back end. After logging in, a business customer can be given their own offer, prices and terms of purchase.
- 02
A separate B2B store
A separate storefront can be justified when the business channel has a different brand, offer, regulations, markets or service process. Teams can develop the B2B experience independently while still using shared ERP, PIM or WMS systems.
Both variants across six areas
| Area | Blended store | Separate B2B store |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogues | One product base, from which the B2B catalogues carve out part of the offer. A product added once is visible in both channels unless it is excluded from one of them. | The B2B catalogue can be built from scratch, with a different category structure and a different set of products. The price is maintaining the offer in two places, or a shared PIM. |
| Prices | Retail prices are visible to everyone and business prices appear after logging in, through price lists assigned to a catalogue. The same promotion may need to be excluded for B2B. | The business channel has its own price lists and its own promotion calendar, with no risk of a retail discount landing on a wholesale order. |
| Content | One theme and one content structure have to carry both messages, and some sections have to be shown conditionally — depending on who is logged in. | B2B content is written separately and can speak the language of procurement, but material common to both channels has to be updated twice. |
| Company accounts | Companies, locations and users live in the same store as the retail accounts. How the customer is recognised, and what they see once logged in, has to be designed. | Company accounts exist only in the B2B store, so the sign-in and permission paths never mix. A customer who buys in both channels has two accounts. |
| Integrations | One set of connections to the ERP, PIM, WMS and CRM, with the difference between channels carried by the customer type in the order data. | The integrations have to reach two stores, or a shared middle layer. Orders from both channels must land in one system without colliding numbering. |
| Running the store | One admin panel, one team and one release process. Every change affects both channels at once, though, and has to be tested on both sides. | Each channel can grow at its own pace and release changes independently. What grows instead is the cost of upkeep: two themes, two configurations, two sets of tests. |
Catalogues
Blended store
One product base, from which the B2B catalogues carve out part of the offer. A product added once is visible in both channels unless it is excluded from one of them.
Separate B2B store
The B2B catalogue can be built from scratch, with a different category structure and a different set of products. The price is maintaining the offer in two places, or a shared PIM.
Prices
Blended store
Retail prices are visible to everyone and business prices appear after logging in, through price lists assigned to a catalogue. The same promotion may need to be excluded for B2B.
Separate B2B store
The business channel has its own price lists and its own promotion calendar, with no risk of a retail discount landing on a wholesale order.
Content
Blended store
One theme and one content structure have to carry both messages, and some sections have to be shown conditionally — depending on who is logged in.
Separate B2B store
B2B content is written separately and can speak the language of procurement, but material common to both channels has to be updated twice.
Company accounts
Blended store
Companies, locations and users live in the same store as the retail accounts. How the customer is recognised, and what they see once logged in, has to be designed.
Separate B2B store
Company accounts exist only in the B2B store, so the sign-in and permission paths never mix. A customer who buys in both channels has two accounts.
Integrations
Blended store
One set of connections to the ERP, PIM, WMS and CRM, with the difference between channels carried by the customer type in the order data.
Separate B2B store
The integrations have to reach two stores, or a shared middle layer. Orders from both channels must land in one system without colliding numbering.
Running the store
Blended store
One admin panel, one team and one release process. Every change affects both channels at once, though, and has to be tested on both sides.
Separate B2B store
Each channel can grow at its own pace and release changes independently. What grows instead is the cost of upkeep: two themes, two configurations, two sets of tests.
The choice depends on how far the brands, assortment, stock, prices, teams and purchase processes differ. We take the decision before configuration, because changing the model later means setting up the companies, the catalogues and part of the store again.
Architectural decisions are taken before the store is configured
The order of work limits the number of changes discovered only during development. Every stage ends with material that can be reviewed and accepted.
- 01
Diagnosis
We collect the business goals, the customer structure, the purchase process, the systems and the growth plan for both channels.
Resulta process map and a list of decisions.
- 02
Architecture
We settle the store variant, the Shopify plan, the data sources, the apps, the integrations and the limits of customisation.
Resulta solution diagram and a description of the scope.
- 03
UX and prototype
We design the individual and the business customer path. The team can review the most important scenarios before implementation.
Resultaccepted wireframes or a prototype.
- 04
Configuration and development
The storefront, the B2B configuration, the integrations and the features agreed in the scope are built.
Resulta test environment with working processes.
- 05
QA and acceptance testing
We check B2C and B2B scenarios, integrations, data, permissions, payments, taxes and the handling of exceptions.
Resulta list of tests, issues and a readiness decision.
- 06
Launch and growth
We move the production data, switch sales on and watch how the most important processes behave. Further changes go into an agreed backlog.
Resulta live store and a plan for the next round of work.
What a B2C + B2B implementation on Shopify can cover
The final scope depends on the architecture variant, the Shopify plan, the current systems, the quality of the data and how far the B2B processes are customised.
Let's discuss the scope- 01
Sales-model analysis
A map of customers, teams, catalogues, prices, payments, deliveries and order handling. The outcome should be the decisions needed to prepare the architecture and the estimate.
- 02
Shopify architecture
Choosing a blended or a separate B2B store, the Shopify plan, the apps needed and the scope of features built individually.
- 03
UX and interface for both channels
We design the B2C and B2B paths, navigation, product pages, sign-in, the company account, cart, checkout and post-purchase service.
- 04
B2B sales configuration
The scope can cover companies, locations, users, catalogues, prices, quantity rules and the payment terms available in the chosen plan and configuration.
- 05
Data and integrations
We connect Shopify with the systems responsible for products, prices, stock, customers, orders and fulfilment. The flows are described before development starts.
- 06
Data migration
When the project replaces an existing store, products, customers, companies, orders, addresses, content and SEO redirects need a plan of their own. The scope is described on the migration to Shopify page.
- 07
Testing and launch
We test both customer types, catalogues, prices, taxes, payments, deliveries, integrations and error scenarios. The client's team should also run acceptance tests.
- 08
Growth after launch
Ongoing support, fixes and the further growth of a running store belong to a separate service, Shopify maintenance.
How much does a B2C + B2B implementation on Shopify cost, and how long does it take?
We do not give a single price for this service, because two projects under the same name can differ several times over in scope. Below are the eight things that move the estimate and the schedule most — each one written so you can look for it in your own company.
What moves the estimate and the schedule
- The Shopify plan
- B2B features differ between plans in scope and in limits — the number of catalogues, price lists, companies and locations. We choose the plan after the requirements are settled, not the other way round.
- The number of catalogues
- One wholesale price list for everyone is different work from dozens of catalogues assigned to companies and locations. It is not only the configuration that grows, but the number of test scenarios too.
- Individual prices
- Prices either map onto price lists or they need logic of their own — threshold discounts, contract prices, unit conversions. The second case is development, not configuration.
- Integrations
- The number of systems, the directions of synchronisation, the frequency and the quality of the data on the ERP, PIM, WMS or CRM side. Every extra flow means error handling and reprocessing.
- The number of markets
- Languages, currencies, taxes, shipping and per-market prices multiply both the configuration and the content, and business sales add local document requirements on top.
- A blended or a dedicated model
- One storefront costs less than two, but it needs conditional views and tests covering both channels. A separate B2B store means a second theme, a second configuration and a second set of content.
- Migration
- A project replacing a running store covers products, customers, companies, orders, content and redirects. That is a scope of work in its own right, not an add-on to the implementation.
- The scope of UX
- Anywhere from adapting an off-the-shelf theme to designing both purchase paths from scratch — with the company account, the wholesale cart and the views a sales rep works in.
The estimate and the schedule are produced after the sales-model analysis and once the architecture decision is closed — without that, a date is a guess that gets corrected mid-project. If the implementation replaces a running store, the other half of the estimate is described by migration to Shopify.
FAQ — B2C and B2B on Shopify
The answers depend on the company's processes, not on general declarations about what the platform can do.
Let's discuss a B2C + B2B implementationA Shopify blended store is one store serving B2C or D2C customers and B2B business customers side by side, with terms of sale that differ by the type of customer. The retail catalogue stays open, and once logged in a business customer sees their assigned catalogue, their own prices and the agreed payment terms. The second model is a dedicated B2B store (opens in a new tab) — the two are compared in the section on architecture.
Yes. Shopify provides for a blended store and a dedicated B2B store (opens in a new tab). In the blended model you have to design how the customer is recognised, access to catalogues, prices, payment terms and the content visible after logging in.
Yes, and that is what most of these projects look like — the business channel joins a store that already sells at retail. The scope depends on whether the current plan covers the B2B features needed, what the catalogue and price structure looks like today, and how many exceptions the team handles by hand. We also check the theme and the content: after the change, the same storefront has to serve two purchase paths.
A separate store is worth considering when the catalogue, brand, team, purchase process or expansion plan differ significantly. The decision should also account for the cost of maintaining two storefronts and their integrations.
We do not give a single price for this service — the scope of two projects under the same name can differ several times over. The estimate is driven by the Shopify plan, the number of catalogues, how individual prices are set, the number of integrations and markets, the architecture model chosen, any migration and the scope of UX. All eight factors are set out in the section on cost and time.
We do not give a date before the architecture and the scope are settled — that is what decides whether the project covers one storefront or two, how many catalogues have to be configured and how many integrations have to run. The schedule is produced after the sales-model analysis, and every stage ends with material to accept, so progress is visible without waiting for the end of the project.
Yes, and that is usually the point of one store: products, descriptions and media are shared, and the differences are about who sees which catalogue and at what price. If business sales need different units, bulk packaging or extra technical attributes, variants and fields are added — and then it is worth checking whether the source of the product data should become Pimcore.
Yes. Shopify holds stock in locations, so both channels can sell from a shared pool or from separate ones. The decision is operational rather than technical: it is about which channel wins when stock runs low, and whether a single wholesale order may exhaust the stock meant for individual customers. We settle it together with the ERP or WMS integration, since that is usually where the stock level comes from.
Shopify uses catalogues and price lists to determine the offer available to B2B customers. How catalogues are assigned and how many configurations are available depend on the plan. Before implementation we check whether the existing discount model can be reproduced without excessive customisation.
Yes. The Shopify B2B model covers companies, locations and assigned users (opens in a new tab). It still has to be settled who may buy, which location an order is placed for and which terms apply.
Not always. B2B features are available on several Shopify plans, but their scope and limits differ (opens in a new tab). We pick the plan after establishing the number of catalogues, how prices are assigned, the payment requirements and the needs around companies and locations. Plus comes into play with a more elaborate architecture — a large number of catalogues and price lists, a separate storefront for the business channel, deeper changes to the purchase process and custom pricing logic. Which limits apply to a specific project is something we check in the plan documentation before quoting.
Yes, as long as the systems expose the right interfaces or a proven connector is available. Before an estimate we describe the data scope, the direction of synchronisation, the frequency and the handling of errors. Knowing that an API exists is not enough to determine the effort.
Migration can be part of a larger project, but it needs a separate scope for data, customers, companies, orders, SEO and redirects. The details are on the migration to Shopify page.
After launch a backlog of fixes, optimisations and further features usually appears. Ongoing support for a running store is described on the Shopify maintenance page.
If the project is about moving a running store, start with migration to Shopify. If the store already sells and needs ongoing support, the right scope is Shopify maintenance.
Let's start by organising the sales model and the dependencies between systems
In the conversation we go through the customers, catalogues, prices, integrations and the order process. On that basis we can point to the right architecture variant and the information needed to prepare the scope.
You don't need a finished specification. A description of how you sell today, which systems you run and which exceptions the team handles is enough.
Prepare before the conversation
- the name of your current platform,
- a description of the B2C and B2B channels,
- the list of systems to integrate,
- the number of markets,
- the most important exceptions in serving business customers.
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