TL;DR
- Customer-group pricing: define groups (wholesale, distributor, VIP), assign customer accounts, configure per-group pricing rules.
- Logged-in customers see the price relevant to their group; non-logged-in customers see the default retail price.
- Pricing rules stack — customer-group pricing combines with quantity-tier discounts to give compound B2B pricing.
- OPTIONS_HIDDEN_PRODUCT pattern still applies — group-priced add-ons add hidden products that need cleanup if migrating.
- For Plus stores, evaluate Shopify's native B2B features first — they may cover the need without an options app. Verify current Bold capabilities on the listing.
What customer-group pricing actually does
The standard Shopify product page shows one price for all customers. Customer-group pricing changes that: define groups (wholesale, distributor, VIP, employee), assign customer accounts to groups, and configure per-group pricing rules. A logged-in customer sees the price relevant to their group; a non-logged-in or non-grouped customer sees the default retail price. For B2B/wholesale Shopify stores this is the core mechanism that makes the same product offerable to retail and wholesale customers at different prices on the same store. Bold (now SC) Product Options has historically been one of the most-considered options apps with this capability. See Bold (SC) for Wholesale & B2B for the broader B2B use case and PIMW vs Bold (SC) for app-level comparison.
Setup decisions that matter
- Group structure: how many groups, what differentiates them, how customer accounts are assigned (manual, automatic based on customer tags, sign-up form). Document the group rules clearly before configuration.
- Per-group pricing rules: percentage off retail (10%/20%/30% for distributor tiers), fixed price per group per product, or per-option add-on price adjustments per group.
- Public vs hidden products: some wholesale catalogs are visible only to logged-in wholesale customers (B2B-only SKUs). Customer-group pricing combined with product visibility rules makes this work.
- Default behavior for non-grouped customers: do they see retail price (most common) or get an 'apply for wholesale account' prompt (some B2B-only stores)?
- Logged-out behavior: customers not logged in see retail price; ensure your messaging guides B2B customers to log in.
Pricing rule stacking
Customer-group pricing combines with quantity-tier discounts and option add-on pricing for compound B2B pricing structures. Typical pattern: a wholesale customer (customer-group: wholesale) buys 50 units of a product. They get the wholesale base price (group rule), the 50+ unit quantity-tier discount (tier rule), and any option add-on prices for selected options (option pricing). The total is computed cleanly.
Verify stacking behavior with test orders in each customer-group scenario before scaling. Stacking edge cases are where pricing bugs hide — wholesale-group customer with 11-50 unit tier and 'premium fabric' add-on should produce the right total, not a confused combination of rules. Bold's pricing-rule engine has historically handled stacking; specifics evolve, so verify on the current Shopify App Store listing.
OPTIONS_HIDDEN_PRODUCT pattern still applies
Bold's add-on pricing mechanism — OPTIONS_HIDDEN_PRODUCT — still applies to option add-ons under customer-group pricing. When a wholesale customer selects an upcharged option, Bold adds a hidden product to the cart whose price equals the group-priced upcharge. For most B2B flows this works; the things to know:
- The hidden products live in your Shopify catalog and don't disappear when you uninstall — see Migrate from Bold Product Options for cleanup if you ever leave Bold.
- The cart and order display include the hidden products, which can look slightly messier in B2B order summaries than a single clean line item with itemized add-ons.
- For very large wholesale orders with many add-ons, the multiple-hidden-products display can compound. For most B2B flows this is fine; for high-add-on-volume orders it's worth verifying display clarity with your wholesale customers.
When Shopify native B2B fits better
If you're on Shopify Plus, Shopify's native B2B features (B2B catalogs, customer-account-tied pricing, net-terms, PO workflows) are first-class and may cover much of what you'd use Bold's customer-group pricing for. The decision framework:
- Plus + simple wholesale tiers: native B2B is cleaner.
- Plus + complex options with B2B pricing: native B2B for base prices + Bold (or another options app) for the options layer.
- Non-Plus store: Bold or an alternative options app fills the customer-group-pricing gap that native infrastructure doesn't offer outside Plus.
- Mixed retail + wholesale on one store: customer-group pricing apps like Bold are the standard mechanism. Native B2B is more oriented to B2B-only or strongly-segmented stores.
B2B customers personalize bulk orders too?
Bold handles customer-group pricing for B2B configuration. For custom logo printing on bulk apparel, packaging personalization, or any flow where buyers add custom artwork or text with a preview, layer in a personalizer. Print It My Way runs free, no per-item fees, vendor-agnostic.
Install Print It My Way — Free Read Bold (SC) for Wholesale & B2B →Frequently asked questions
How does Bold's customer-group pricing work?
Define groups (wholesale, distributor, VIP, employee), assign customer accounts to groups (manually, via customer tags, or via sign-up form), and configure per-group pricing rules (percentage off retail, fixed price per group, per-option add-on adjustments). Logged-in customers see the price for their group; non-logged-in or non-grouped customers see the default retail price. Customer-group pricing combines with quantity-tier discounts and option add-on pricing for compound B2B pricing structures. The mechanism has been a Bold strength historically; verify exact current implementation on the Shopify App Store listing as feature details evolve.
How are customer accounts assigned to groups?
Multiple patterns are typically supported. Manual assignment (assign each customer to a group from admin) for small B2B catalogs with curated buyer relationships. Tag-based automation (customers tagged 'wholesale' join the wholesale group) for self-service signups with admin review. Sign-up form integration (B2B sign-up form creates an account in the appropriate group). The right pattern depends on whether your wholesale relationships are curated (manual is fine) or self-service-scale (automation is needed). Document your group-assignment rules clearly before configuration.
Can pricing rules stack?
Yes — customer-group pricing combines with quantity-tier discounts and option add-on pricing. A wholesale customer buying 50 units with premium-fabric add-on gets: wholesale base price (group rule) + 50+ unit quantity-tier discount (tier rule) + wholesale-priced premium-fabric add-on (option pricing × group adjustment). The total computes cleanly. Verify stacking behavior with test orders in each customer-group scenario before scaling — stacking edge cases are where pricing bugs hide. Bold's pricing-rule engine has historically handled stacking; specifics evolve, so verify on the current listing.
Does OPTIONS_HIDDEN_PRODUCT apply to customer-group pricing?
Yes — Bold's add-on pricing mechanism (OPTIONS_HIDDEN_PRODUCT) applies to option add-ons under customer-group pricing. When a wholesale customer selects an upcharged option, Bold adds a hidden product to the cart at the group-priced upcharge. For most B2B flows this works fine; the things to know are that the hidden products live in your Shopify catalog and need cleanup if you uninstall Bold (see Migrate from Bold Product Options), and that cart/order display includes the hidden products. For very high-add-on-volume B2B orders, the multi-hidden-product display can compound — verify display clarity with your wholesale customers.
Bold's customer-group pricing or Shopify Plus native B2B?
If you're on Shopify Plus, evaluate Shopify's native B2B features first — they're first-class and may cover much of what you'd use Bold's customer-group pricing for, especially for simple wholesale tier structures. For Plus stores with complex option-driven B2B pricing, native B2B for base prices plus Bold (or another options app) for the options layer is a common pattern. For non-Plus stores, customer-group pricing apps like Bold fill the gap that native infrastructure doesn't offer outside Plus. Mixed retail + wholesale on one Shopify (non-Plus) store typically uses Bold or an alternative options app for the customer-group mechanism.
Can wholesale customers personalize products with group pricing?
If your B2B flow involves personalization (custom logo on bulk apparel, packaging personalization, name imprint on giveaways), Bold's customer-group pricing handles the wholesale pricing layer but doesn't show a live design preview — wholesale buyers commit to a bulk order without seeing the finished personalization. The cleaner setup is Bold for customer-group pricing + tiered discounts on the configuration layer, layered with a personalizer (like Print It My Way) on products where buyers genuinely upload logos or configure designs. The personalizer's live preview reduces 'this isn't what we approved' bulk-order disputes — meaningful for high-AOV B2B orders.