Treat Your Wholesale Customers Like DTC Shoppers — Or Risk Losing Them
The landscape of wholesale commerce is unfolding right before our eyes. As retailers and brands embrace digital-first operations, the expectations around wholesale buying have shifted dramatically. Today, 90% of retailers prefer an online experience, and brands are taking notice, as 80% are expanding their online wholesale channel, and 67% say that B2B ecommerce is now critical to their growth.
With the modernization of B2B ecommerce, it’s no longer just enough for a brand to launch a B2B platform and expect sales to skyrocket. Just like on the DTC (direct-to-consumer) side, where a Shopify site alone won’t drive growth, without custom tailored layered marketing efforts like email and personalization, a B2B portal without thoughtful customer engagement is a missed opportunity. Brands that fail to treat their wholesale customers with the same care and intentionality as DTC buyers are leaving serious money on the table.
Wholesale Is No Longer "Set It and Forget It"
Let’s dig into what today’s brands that sell through wholesale channels are focusing on. The data alone tells us a compelling story:
57% of brands want to expand retail partnerships and strengthen existing relationships
44% are focused on increasing customer retention and loyalty
28% are looking to drive efficiency through digital transformation and automation
These are not just aspirations; they are indicators of a massive shift in mindset for brands selling through wholesale channels. Wholesale is no longer just about collecting bulk orders on outdated systems. It’s about building long-term relationships, reducing friction, and driving repeat purchases with the same level of finesse that DTC brands apply to individual consumers.
The Problem: Friction in the B2B Buying Process
Even if a brand offers a B2B ordering platform (via the likes of Shopify or Shopify Plus), that doesn't mean retailers are thrilled about using it. And your B2B platform alone isn’t going to solve your retention and loyalty challenges.
To set the stage here, let’s walk through what a typical reorder process looks like for a busy retail buyer who may be buying 10+ brands:
Run an inventory report to check stock levels (or in some cases, the retailer may realize that they are out of stock of a particular item)
Login to the B2B platform—a process that might be repeated across 10+ other vendors, each with a unique login
Build and place an order manually
What might appear as a simple, straightforward task is full of friction. Retailers juggle dozens of platforms and responsibilities, making it easy for your brand to fall off their radar. And if you’re relying on buyers to remember to login to your platform to reorder, or worse, sending impersonal, one-size-fits-all blast emails, you’re making it even harder for them to say yes to you.
There’s no denying that leveraging a B2B wholesale platform is a great first step, brands that don’t layer in the tailored marketing support to go along with the platform are missing a big opportunity.
The Solution: Personalized, Shoppable Emails for B2B Buyers
Just like how DTC marketers use segmentation, automation, and personalization to drive conversions, wholesale sellers need to adopt similar strategies. Instead of generic reminders, send personalized, shoppable emails that make reordering as easy as a few clicks. These emails can:
Show what’s low in stock based on past orders
Feature curated product suggestions
Include embedded “Buy Now” or “Reorder” buttons
Remove the need to log in to a platform at all
The impact? Massive. Brands leveraging Vanik to send personalized, timely emails to their retailers that allow them to seamlessly reorder have seen conversion rates increase by over 30x compared to even the best traditional email campaigns.
If you aren’t familiar with Vanik, we plug directly into Shopify stores (if you don’t sell on Shopify, you can also upload your wholesale data into Vanik via a CSV import and soon Quickbooks) to become the brain of your wholesale operation. Once integrated, we know when retailers are placing orders based on their previous order history and send out appropriately timed notifications when it’s time for the retailer to order. If the retailer wants an order, they click through on the email where they are taken to a landing page and they can add/subtract products and checkout on their own. If the brand is connected to Shopify, the order is sent directly to Shopify for fulfillment. For brands not on Shopify, you can connect Vanik to shipping platforms (like Shippo or Shipstation) for fulfillment.
Brands like Onesto Foods (that sell on Shopify) are seeing reorder 2x faster than they previously were since they started using Vanik.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
In the new era of commerce, wholesale is no longer the sleepy back-office function it once was. It’s a vibrant, data-driven channel that demands the same tools, attention, and optimization as DTC. Brands that fail to recognize this shift risk falling behind.
On the flip side, brands that invest in creating delightful, low-friction experiences for their wholesale customers will unlock:
Increased reorder frequency
Build stronger customer loyalty
Gain greater operational efficiency
The digital transformation of wholesale commerce is not just a trend, it’s the future. And in that future, your wholesale customers expect and deserve the same thoughtful experience you provide your DTC shoppers.
If you're still relying on outdated systems, generic emails, and manual processes, it's time to upgrade your process. Set-up time to chat with us to learn more about how Vanik can help to supplement and augment your existing wholesale data to help you generate more wholesale reorders.
