Give trade customers approved accounts that show their prices, minimums and invoice terms after login, while retail shoppers see one clear store with retail prices and nothing that suggests a second price list.

Two kinds of customer, one checkout

A restaurant supply store sells pots, knives and kitchen tools to home cooks online. It also sells to restaurants and caterers at trade prices, by the case, through email, phone calls and a spreadsheet only one person understands.

The same pattern runs through paint suppliers, electrical wholesalers, fabric stores and landscaping supply yards: the public pays one price, trade customers another, and the website only knows about one of them.

Some businesses give trade customers a discount code. Others show both prices to everybody. Both create problems, and neither handles minimum orders or invoices.

A store can serve both kinds of customer properly, provided each sees only what applies to them.

What goes wrong when they share a store

The third is how many stores start, and how many find out it does not work. A discount code is a password with no account behind it, and sooner or later it turns up on a coupon site.

Trade accounts

The fix is a separate type of customer account for trade. A business applies through a form on the site, somebody at your end approves it, and from then on the store treats that login differently.

Prices, visible products, minimums and payment options all attach to the account type rather than to a code. A customer who stops trading with you can be switched back to retail in a minute.

Most ecommerce platforms can do this, some built in and some with an extension. The setup is where the care goes, because a small mistake shows the wrong price to the wrong person.

Pricing that stays out of sight

Trade prices should appear only after a trade customer logs in. A retail shopper should see a complete store at retail prices, with no hint that a second list exists.

That rules out labels such as trade price available on login beside retail products, which tell every retail customer they are paying more.

A small link in the footer for trade accounts is enough for businesses looking for one. They know to look.

Products sold only to trade, such as bulk sizes, can stay invisible to retail visitors entirely: out of the menus, the search results, and any product feed sent to Google or Facebook.

Minimums and pack sizes

Trade orders usually come with a minimum, by value or by quantity, and products sold in cases rather than singles.

The store should enforce both at the cart, with a plain message saying what is needed, such as add two more cases to reach the minimum, rather than an error that leaves the customer guessing.

Retail customers should never meet these rules. If a retail shopper is told about a minimum order, the account types have been mixed up somewhere.

Invoices and payment terms

Many trade customers do not pay by card at checkout. They expect to order on account, quote a purchase order number, and pay an invoice within thirty days.

A store can offer that as a payment option to approved trade accounts only, with a credit limit if you want one, and pass the order to your accounting software as an invoice.

Card payment can stay available for trade customers who prefer it. The point is that the store fits how they already buy, so ordering online is easier than phoning, not harder.

A worked example

The restaurant supply store's trade customers emailed orders every week, and somebody keyed each one into the store by hand so stock levels stayed right.

A trade discount code given to one caterer had also found its way onto a coupon site. Retail customers had been using it for months before anybody noticed the margins.

The code was retired and trade accounts replaced it. Restaurants and caterers apply through a short form, and once approved they see case quantities, trade prices, a minimum order and an option to pay on account.

Retail customers see the same store as before, with a single trade accounts link in the footer. The weekly emails turned into online orders, and the hand keying stopped.

Caching and other leaks

One technical detail deserves particular care. Many stores use page caching, which saves a copy of each page and serves it to the next visitor to save time.

If caching is not set to skip logged-in customers, a page viewed by a trade account can be saved with trade prices on it and served to the next retail visitor.

Order confirmations, abandoned cart emails and product feeds need the same check, since each can carry a price from the wrong list.

Test the whole thing as each kind of customer, logged in and logged out, on more than one device, before trade accounts go live.

The counter-case

A business with a handful of trade customers ordering the same thing every month may be better served by invoices from its accounting software and a phone call. Trade accounts earn their setup when trade orders are frequent and varied.

At the other end, a business where trade is most of the revenue may need a separate wholesale system rather than accounts added to a retail store.

Between those two, one store with proper trade accounts is usually the simplest arrangement that works.

Approved accounts with their own prices and terms, and a retail store that shows none of it.

Building it in order

  1. Retire any shared trade discount code.
  2. Create an application form for trade accounts.
  3. Approve each account by hand.
  4. Attach prices and products to the account type.
  5. Set minimums and pack sizes for trade.
  6. Offer invoice terms to approved accounts.
  7. Exclude logged-in customers from page caching.

Step seven is the one nobody sees until it goes wrong. Everything else can be set up perfectly and still show a trade price to the public if the cache was built for a retail-only store.

Telling customers plainly what an order placed on a closed day will mean is covered in Easter weekend orders and the closed days.

Frequently asked questions

Why not give trade customers a discount code?

A code is a password with no account behind it. It travels beyond the customers it was meant for, often onto coupon sites, and it cannot handle minimums or invoices.

How do trade accounts work?

A business applies through a form, you approve it, and the store attaches trade prices, visible products, minimums and payment options to that login rather than to a code.

Should retail shoppers know trade prices exist?

They do not need to. Labels such as trade price on login tell every retail shopper they are paying more. A small footer link for trade accounts is enough for businesses.

How should minimum orders be handled?

Enforce them at the cart for trade accounts only, with a plain message saying what is needed. Retail customers should never meet a minimum meant for trade.

Can trade customers pay by invoice online?

Yes. Approved accounts can be offered an on-account option with a purchase order number and terms such as thirty days, with the order passed to your accounting software.

How can trade prices leak to the public?

Through page caching that saves a page viewed by a trade account and serves it to the next visitor, and through emails or product feeds drawing on the wrong price list.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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