Wholesale E-Commerce: What Is It And How To Start?

Wholesale e-commerce refers to selling products to another business, in bulk and at a discount, online. This market is massive, totalling $13.09 trillion dollars in 2021 alone. Not to mention, B2B or wholesale e-commerce grew 1.17 times faster than the growth in all U.S. manufacturing and distribution sales, with 15.2% year-over-year growth (Digital Commerce 360). The benefits are clear: higher order volume, and less time spent on manual entry and admin tasks. Becoming a wholesaler helps you expand into this huge market and find new revenue streams for your business. So, how can you take advantage of the action? This guide will walk you through how wholesale e-commerce works, how to find an e-commerce platform and tips for creating your B2B online store.

How wholesale e-commerce works: The most common type of wholesale is between producers (you) and retailers. However, there are wholesalers who sell to other wholesalers, and wholesalers—like Costco, for example—who sell directly to consumers. The most significant advantage of selling wholesale is that it lowers the cost of doing business. By selling items in bulk, you get to take advantage of larger orders and less marketing spend, which generally leads to making more money per unit. It also adds another channel to your sales mix.

The first thought that comes to mind about wholesale e-commerce is mega-sites like Alibaba. Wholesale is often thought of as a traditional sales channel with a less-than-ideal buying experience. But technology and changing B2B buyer behaviour have driven a change in wholesale e-commerce. Today, retail e-commerce businesses are selling wholesale to drive growth, without enormous capital investment or high risk. With the right B2B e-commerce platform, merchants considering going into wholesale on a large or small scale can automate the process from signup to checkout, offer wholesale-specific pricing, and more.

How B2B e-commerce helps Wholesalers It’s long been thought that B2B customers shunned digital channels. It’s true. Traditional wisdom held that buying wholesale was too complex to be conducted online, which is why so many suppliers haven’t made an investment in e-commerce just yet. However, recent research from McKinsey reveals that the B2B buyer has changed. The availability of information through digital channels has made it easier for them to collect information independently. This means wholesalers have fewer opportunities to influence buyers’ decisions in person. Technology like B2B e-commerce platforms has made it easier for wholesalers to sell online and to take advantage of the following benefits:

It simplifies the buying process. Wholesalers often feel e-commerce is not suitable for them because of the complex buying process. Concerns over contract pricing, product exclusivity, and customers with special terms and conditions discourage the adoption of e-commerce. While these are valid concerns, the right wholesale e-commerce platform can help overcome these challenges and drive business growth. You can easily create a private B2B e-commerce website with all the information a client needs, rather than have them reach out for basic information.

It helps automates wholesale processes E-commerce automation is one of the biggest advantages of selling wholesale today. From signup to checkout, you’ll spend less time managing orders over the phone and email and more time on the strategic needs of your business. Without a doubt, the biggest myth in wholesale is that the self-service ordering model used in retail won’t work in a B2B setting. As in retail, business customers benefit greatly from the time and effort savings of online ordering, in their own time, with full visibility of the status of their order.

E-commerce technology today, like DueTrade's B2B wholesale app, can help you: - Create custom pricing and percentage discounts for specific customers or groups - Automate and review customer signups - Let customers purchase, track, and reorder products - Review orders before invoicing - Streamline inventory and order management It improves the buyer experience B2B buyers have come to expect the same service as their B2C counterparts. Buyers today are armed with information and don’t need to speak to a representative before purchasing. They prefer simple onboarding and ordering experiences. It's why Due Trade Wholesale offers features like a 24/7 customer accounts portal that customers can access without assistance. Research from Demand Gen Report found that 67% of B2B buyers want easy access to whole pricing. Another 64% of respondents required easy access to content without registration forms, while a striking 66% of buyers were influenced by websites that spoke to specific industry needs. "Don’t think that your website should cater to all audiences. When you know your audience, tailor the experience to them to maximize profits for wholesale. This means understanding what features your customers really care about. Do they need the bells and whistles that the average consumer needs? Do they need interactive guides and tools to help them find the products, or do they just want a clean interface, straightforward pricing, and support when they need it?" —Jesse Teske, VP of Performance Marketing at ThinkWarwick Ecommerce can help wholesalers anticipate buyers’ needs. It can aid the buyers’ research process and guarantee they can easily access content throughout the buying process.

It increases sales while lowering spend Selling wholesale online is the fastest way to speed up business growth. If you’re a manufacturer, selling in bulk can help raise product volume and lower cost-per-unit, which in turn helps your profit margin. Shipping in bulk to fewer customers can also lower fulfilment costs.

It helps enter new markets Moving into a new country or territory comes with its own set of logistical challenges. You’ll also be marketing to a new audience that’s never heard of you. When an established retailer teams up with your business, you can leverage its supply chain to reduce risk and lower setup costs. Wholesalers also save money on marketing by getting access to the retailer’s existing customer base.

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