Quick Answer: To create a wholesale store in WooCommerce, install WooCommerce and a wholesale plugin such as Whols, create wholesale customer roles, set up a wholesaler registration and approval process, configure wholesale pricing and minimum order quantities, control product or price visibility, and test the store using a wholesale customer account before launch.
If you want to learn how to create a wholesale store in WooCommerce, you don’t need to build a separate ecommerce website from scratch.
With WooCommerce and a wholesale plugin such as Whols, you can add wholesale registration, customer roles, role-based pricing, minimum order quantities, and product visibility rules to your existing store.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up a WooCommerce wholesale store step by step, whether you want to run a wholesale-only business or serve retail and wholesale customers from the same website.
Follow the simple steps in this article, and you will be up and running in no time.
Table of Contents
What Is a WooCommerce Wholesale Store?
A WooCommerce wholesale store is an online store that lets approved business customers purchase products under B2B-specific rules such as wholesale pricing, minimum order quantities, customer roles, restricted products, or separate pricing visibility. A store can operate as wholesale-only or serve retail and wholesale customers from the same WooCommerce installation.
What You Need Before Creating a WooCommerce Wholesale Store
Before configuring pricing rules, make sure the following are in place:
- A WordPress website with WooCommerce installed and configured
- Products already added to your WooCommerce catalog
- The Whols plugin installed (free version or premium)
- A basic wholesale pricing strategy (flat discount, tiered, or role-based)
- A decision on whether your store will be wholesale-only or a hybrid retail + wholesale setup (see next section)
Should You Create a Wholesale-Only or Retail + Wholesale Store?
This decision shapes almost every setting you configure later, so decide it before touching plugin settings.
| Store type | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale-only | Only qualified wholesale customers can access wholesale products or pricing; retail browsing may be restricted entirely | Manufacturers, distributors, and B2B-only brands |
| Hybrid B2B + B2C | Retail and wholesale customers share the same WooCommerce installation but see different prices or catalogs based on role | Brands that sell direct-to-consumer and to resellers from one site |
Whols supports both models through guest access restriction, wholesaler-only product visibility, and role-based pricing. If you want a deeper walkthrough of the hybrid setup specifically, see our guide on building a B2B + B2C hybrid WooCommerce store.
Benefits of Creating a WooCommerce Wholesale Store
- Separate retail and wholesale pricing without duplicating products.
- Sell to multiple buyer types (resellers, distributors, VIP wholesalers) from one store.
- Reduce manual back-and-forth on B2B price negotiation.
- Enforce minimum purchase quantities for wholesale orders.
- Control which products or prices are visible to which customer roles.
- Centralize retail and wholesale operations in a single WooCommerce backend, including B2B order management.
- Build repeat-purchasing workflows for regular B2B buyers.
See our minimum order quantity strategies guide for practical approaches.
What Features Do You Need for a WooCommerce Wholesale Store?
Rather than a generic feature list, match each requirement to why it matters for running a wholesale operation:
| Wholesale requirement | Why it matters | Whols feature |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale registration | Separates B2B applicants from retail buyers | Wholesaler Registration form |
| Customer roles | Supports different buyer groups (reseller, distributor, VIP) | Default Wholesaler Role, multiple roles |
| Role-based pricing | Gives different customer types different wholesale prices | Role-based product pricing |
| Minimum quantities | Controls eligibility for wholesale purchases | Minimum quantity per product/variation |
| Product visibility | Creates wholesale-only or retail-only catalogs | Product visibility settings |
| Approval workflow | Lets you review and vet wholesale applicants | Wholesaler Request Management |
| Guest access control | Hides pricing or the store entirely from non-logged-in visitors | Website/Guest Access Restriction |
How to Create a Wholesale Store in WooCommerce Using Whols
Follow some simple procedures below to create a professional-looking wholesale store in WooCommerce with the use of the Whols plugin.
Step 1: Install and Activate Whols
From the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New,
The ‘Add Plugins’ page will appear. Search for the plugin “Whols” in the “Search Plugins” field.
Click Install, then Activate once installation finishes.
Alternatively, download the plugin from the WordPress.org repository and upload it manually via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
After activation, a new Whols menu appears in your dashboard. To use premium features, upload the Whols Pro zip file the same way under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
Step 2: Registration form setup
Once you have installed and activated the Whols plugin, the next step is to show the wholesaler registration form on a particular page.
Go to Whols → Settings → Registration and Login, then find the “Set up the registration page” field. Either select an existing page or place the shortcode [whols_registration_form] on your desired page to display the wholesaler registration form.
For a more detailed walkthrough, see our guide on setting up a WooCommerce wholesale registration form.
Step 3: Manage Wholesaler Request
When someone submits the registration form, the request appears under Whols → Wholesaler Requests. Click a request to approve or reject it, and assign the applicant a specific wholesaler role.
Step 4: Choose a Pricing Model
Go to Whols → Settings → General Settings → Pricing Model and choose one of two models:
- Single role-based: Use this if all wholesalers get the same price.
- Multiple role-based: Use this if different wholesaler types (for example, resellers vs. distributors) need different prices.
Step 5: Set Wholesale Prices
You can set wholesale prices at the individual product level or globally.
In WooCommerce, you can set wholesale prices for two types of products, which are simple products and variable products.
Simple Product:
Go to Products → All Products, click Edit on the product, then set the wholesale price and minimum quantity in the General tab.
Variable Product:
Open the product’s Variations tab, expand the specific variation, and set its wholesale price and minimum quantity there.
Global pricing: Go to Whols → Settings → General Settings and enable “This Pricing.” This lets you configure price type, price value, and minimum quantity across your whole catalog at once, rather than product by product.
If you’re still deciding how wholesale prices should compare to retail prices, our guide on wholesale price vs. retail price covers common markup approaches.
Step 6: Configure Guest Access and Product Visibility
Restrict guest access: Go to Whols → Settings → Guest Access Restriction and set “Hide Price for Guest Users” to Yes if only logged-in customers should see prices.
Hide wholesaler-only products: Go to Whols → Settings → Product Settings to hide wholesaler-only products from general customers, and general products from wholesalers. A “general product” is any product not explicitly marked as wholesaler-only.
Step 7: Choose the Wholesale Pricing Mode and Test Your Store
Once you are done customizing all the settings, don’t forget to test the functionalities. There are three modes in which you can test if everything is working perfectly in your Wholesale store.
Go to Whols → Settings → General Settings → Wholesale Pricing Mode and pick one of three modes:
- Test Mode: Only admins and wholesalers can see wholesale pricing, useful for QA before launch.
- Make pricing available to everyone: By choosing “Make pricing available to everyone,” you allow access to pricing to everyone visiting your store.
- Make pricing available to wholesalers only: Only approved wholesale customers see wholesale pricing.
A Practical Pricing Example
Suppose you sell a product with the following role-based pricing:
- Retail customer: $30 per unit, minimum quantity 1
- Wholesale reseller: $20 per unit, minimum quantity 20
- Distributor: $17 per unit, minimum quantity 50
With Whols’ multiple role-based pricing model, you can assign each of these three customer types its own price and minimum order quantity on the same product, without creating duplicate listings.
WooCommerce Wholesale Store Testing Checklist
Before going live, verify each of the following:
- Wholesale registration form submits successfully
- New applications appear in Whols → Wholesaler Requests
- Approved wholesalers receive the correct role
- Retail customers see retail prices only
- Wholesalers see the correct role-based wholesale prices
- Minimum order quantities are enforced at checkout
- Variable-product wholesale pricing displays correctly per variation
- Restricted or wholesaler-only products stay hidden from unintended users
- Guest pricing behaves as configured (hidden or visible)
- Cart and checkout totals calculate the expected wholesale prices
Common WooCommerce Wholesale Store Setup Mistakes
- Giving wholesale pricing to every visitor instead of restricting it to approved roles
- Not defining wholesale customer roles before configuring pricing — review the wholesale business model first if you’re new to B2B selling
- Setting discounts without checking against product margins
- Forgetting to set minimum order quantities, which undermines wholesale economics
- Skipping product visibility settings, exposing wholesale-only items to retail shoppers
- Auto-approving every wholesale registration when manual verification is actually needed
- Testing only as an administrator instead of as a real wholesaler and guest account
- Testing simple products but skipping variable-product pricing checks
How the Whols Plugin Works (Complete Guideline)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I create a wholesale store in WooCommerce?
Install WooCommerce and a wholesale plugin such as Whols, set up wholesaler registration and approval, configure role-based pricing and minimum quantities, control product visibility, and test the setup with a wholesale account before launch.
Can WooCommerce support retail and wholesale customers together?
Yes. A hybrid B2B + B2C setup lets retail and wholesale customers use the same WooCommerce installation while seeing different prices and catalogs based on their assigned role.
How do I set different prices for wholesale customers?
Use a wholesale plugin’s role-based pricing feature to assign different price points to different wholesaler roles, either per product or globally across your catalog.
Can I require a minimum quantity for wholesale orders?
Yes. Whols lets you set a minimum order quantity per product and per variation, so wholesale customers must order a set amount before checkout is allowed.
Can I create multiple wholesale customer roles?
Yes. Whols supports multiple role-based pricing, so you can define separate roles like reseller, distributor, or VIP wholesaler, each with its own pricing and minimum quantity.
How much does the Whols plugin cost?
Whols offers a free version plus premium annual and lifetime plans; check the current Whols pricing page for up-to-date plan details, since pricing can change.
Conclusion
WooCommerce provides an excellent foundation for building a successful wholesale store. One of the biggest advantages is that WooCommerce is a very popular platform with a large community of users.
This means that there are a lot of wholesale store owners who are able to offer support and advice.
Whols is a wholesale store plugin for WooCommerce that helps you sell products to wholesale customers.
The plugin comes with a number of features that make it easy to manage wholesale orders, including the ability to set minimum order quantities, offer discounts, and track inventory.
Whols also makes it easy to create a wholesale customer account and manage wholesale prices.
Overall, the Whols plugin is a great option if you’re looking for an easy way to create a wholesale store in WooCommerce.