Travel gear manufacturers operate in two very different worlds simultaneously. On one side, you have wholesale buyers: outdoor retailers, sporting goods chains, and boutique travel shops placing bulk orders with Net 30 terms and minimum quantity requirements. On the other, you have consumers browsing your site for a specific backpack, comparing hydration ratings on sleeping bags, and expecting a smooth direct purchase experience.
Running both channels from the same Shopify store is not only possible, it's how the most efficient travel gear brands are operating today. Here's how to structure it.
The Two Audiences You're Serving
Understanding what each channel needs helps you configure Shopify correctly.
Wholesale Buyers
Retailers and distributors purchasing your gear have distinct requirements:
- Bulk orders: Purchasing in case quantities or by the dozen, not one at a time
- Tiered pricing: Price-per-unit that changes meaningfully at volume thresholds
- Payment terms: Net 30 or Net 60 rather than card-at-checkout
- Minimum order quantities: Per SKU or per order minimums
- MAP awareness: They need to see your Minimum Advertised Price policies clearly
- Reorder efficiency: Retailers restock often and want fast reorder paths
- Customer PO numbers: Their internal reference number attached to each order
D2C Consumers
Direct customers shop completely differently:
- Single-unit purchases: One backpack, one tent, rarely bulk
- Research-heavy: Reading reviews, comparing specs, watching videos
- Immediate payment: Standard checkout with card or Shop Pay
- Gear discovery: May not know your brand yet, arriving from search or social
- Seasonal intent: Buying for an upcoming trip or camping season
One platform, two completely different experiences. Shopify's B2B suite (Shopify Plus only) lets you serve both without splitting your catalog or your inventory.
Setting Up Your Wholesale Channel
The features covered in this section (companies, catalogs, quantity rules, and payment terms) are all part of Shopify's B2B suite, which requires Shopify Plus. If you're on a standard Shopify plan, third-party apps can cover many of these same functions.
Company Accounts for Retailers
Set up each wholesale buyer as a B2B company account:
- Create the company with their business details
- Add multiple locations if they operate multiple store locations or distribution points
- Assign individual buyers with appropriate purchasing permissions
- Set order approval workflows for larger orders
This gives wholesale buyers a professional login experience and keeps their order history, pricing, and terms organized by account.
For more on structuring approval workflows, see How to Set Up B2B Order Review Workflows in Shopify.
Wholesale Pricing with Catalogs
Assign each wholesale company or segment to a catalog:
- Standard wholesale: 40-50% below MSRP for general retail accounts
- Key account pricing: Better rates for your top volume retailers
- Distributor pricing: Deeper discounts for distributors handling multiple downstream retailers
- Seasonal buys: Pre-season order pricing for early commitments
Wholesale buyers log in and see their catalog rates. D2C visitors see MSRP. The separation happens automatically through catalog assignments.
One important behavior to understand: if a company location is assigned to more than one catalog and both catalogs include the same product, Shopify displays the lowest price. This matters when you're designing tiered or seasonal pricing. If a key account catalog and a seasonal promotion catalog both apply to the same company, the lower price wins on any overlapping product. Design catalog overlap intentionally or you may undercut pricing unintentionally.
For MAP policy enforcement, you can use Shopify's B2B catalogs to ensure wholesale accounts see wholesale pricing only when authenticated, while public-facing prices stay at MSRP or above.
For detailed pricing configuration, see Customer-Specific Pricing on Shopify for B2B.
Minimum Order Quantities
Travel gear often requires MOQs, per colorway or per product. A few ways to handle this on Shopify:
- Quantity rules: Native on Shopify Plus B2B, you can set minimum quantities, maximum quantities, and quantity increments per product in a catalog. Note that the storefront display of these rules (showing the minimum to buyers before they add to cart) depends on theme support. Shopify's free themes support quantity rules, but older or heavily customized themes may need updates to surface them correctly. Test the buyer-facing experience before launching.
- Shopify Functions: Build custom order validation logic that blocks checkout below the minimum
- Third-party apps: Apps like Wholesale Club or Wholesale Gorilla provide MOQ enforcement if you're not on Plus
Display minimum quantities clearly on product pages for wholesale visitors. Retailers appreciate knowing before they build their cart.
Payment Terms and Customer PO Numbers
Wholesale buyers expect terms, not a credit card field at checkout:
- Assign Net 30, Net 60, or custom terms per company location from the company settings in Shopify Plus B2B
- Shopify Plus B2B checkout includes a PO number field so buyers can attach their internal reference number to an order. This is the customer's purchase order number (their internal reference), which is separate from Shopify's inventory purchase orders feature (used for buying from your own suppliers). If you need more control over how customer PO numbers are captured or displayed, checkout customization or a draft order workflow may be needed.
- Set credit limits per account to cap outstanding balances
- Use draft orders for custom wholesale orders your sales team builds manually
For payment terms configuration, see Best Payment Options for B2B Customers on Shopify.
Reorder Efficiency for Retail Buyers
Retailers restocking for peak season need speed. Make reorders frictionless:
- Order history is accessible from their account portal, with one-click reorder
- Quick order forms let buyers enter SKUs and quantities directly
- Saved product lists group their regular items for fast access
- CSV upload works well for buyers managing large assortments in spreadsheets
Setting Up Your D2C Channel
Your consumer store runs alongside wholesale, sharing the same catalog and inventory.
Product Pages That Convert Gear Buyers
Travel gear is spec-driven. Consumers are comparing materials, weights, and technical ratings before purchasing. Product pages should surface:
- Materials: Shell fabric, lining, insulation type (for sleeping bags, jackets)
- Weight and packability: Critical for backpackers and travelers
- Capacity: Liters for packs, temperature ratings for sleeping bags
- Dimensions: Packed size, extended size, fit guidance
- Certifications: Waterproof ratings (IP rating, mm H2O), down fill power, etc.
- Compatibility: Works with specific frame sizes, tent poles, hydration systems
Use Shopify metafields to store and display structured technical data cleanly. This keeps specs consistent across your catalog and makes them filterable in your storefront search.
Consumer Segmentation for Targeted Experiences
Not all D2C buyers are the same. A serious mountaineer buying a 4-season tent shops differently than someone buying a packable day bag for weekend travel. Customer segmentation lets you tailor communications and product recommendations.
Use customer tags based on:
- Purchase history (tent buyer, pack buyer, accessories buyer)
- Gear category affinity
- Geographic region (relevant for regional weather-specific gear)
- Loyalty status
For segmentation strategy, see How to Use Customer Segmentation in Shopify for B2B Success.
Gear Finders and Guided Shopping
Consumers often need help selecting the right product. A few useful approaches:
- Size guides: For backpacks (torso length, hip belt sizing), sleeping bags (mummy vs. semi-rec for different body types)
- Compatibility guides: Which sleeping pad fits which tent, which liner works with which bag
- Use-case filtering: Filter by "3-season," "ultralight," "travel carry-on compliant"
Apps like Limespot or native Shopify search filters can support guided discovery without significant custom development.
Managing One Catalog for Both Channels
A unified catalog means your inventory and product data is maintained in one place. Here's how to handle the nuances.
Product Variants and Gear Complexity
Travel gear has significant variant depth:
- Backpacks: Size (XS/S, M/L), color, version (men's/women's fit)
- Tents: Configuration (1-person, 2-person, 3-person), season rating, color
- Sleeping bags: Temperature rating, cut (regular/long), gender-specific fit, color
Shopify natively supports up to 100 variants per product with up to 3 options. For gear with more complexity, apps like Infinite Options or Kickflip handle additional option layers with dynamic pricing logic.
Product Visibility by Channel
Some SKUs are wholesale-only (large-case quantities, special retail bundles). Others are D2C only. Manage this with:
- B2B catalogs: Wholesale-specific products are added only to wholesale catalogs, invisible to retail visitors
- Product tags: Use tags to control visibility logic in your theme
- Locksmith app: Granular access rules based on customer tags or login status, if needed
Technical Documentation
For wholesale buyers, include spec sheets, carton dimensions, UPC barcodes, and packaging details, downloadable from the product page. These details matter for buyers placing purchase orders and managing retail floor space.
For D2C, focus on gear-oriented photography, lifestyle imagery, and comparison charts.
Automating Wholesale and D2C Operations
Shopify Flow for Order Workflows
Use Shopify Flow to automate routine tasks across both channels:
- Tag wholesale orders automatically when placed by a B2B company account
- Send internal alerts when large orders come in for review
- Trigger follow-up emails after D2C gear purchases (gear care tips, compatible accessories)
- Notify the warehouse team when seasonal inventory drops below threshold
- Auto-cancel abandoned draft orders after a set period
n8n for ERP and System Integration
If you're syncing with an ERP system (for inventory, order processing, or accounting), n8n is a strong choice for building those integration workflows:
- Sync Shopify orders into your ERP as sales orders
- Push ERP inventory levels back to Shopify in real time
- Sync customer and account data between systems
- Trigger reorder workflows when ERP signals low stock
n8n's self-hosted option gives you full control over data flow without relying on third-party connectors for sensitive business data.
Inventory and Fulfillment
Accurate Inventory Across Both Channels
Wholesale and D2C draw from the same inventory pool, so accuracy matters:
- Show real-time stock levels on D2C product pages
- Give wholesale buyers visibility into what's available to order vs. what requires lead time
- Use Shopify's multi-location inventory if you operate multiple warehouses or use a 3PL
For wholesale accounts near your facilities, in-store or warehouse pickup is an option worth configuring.
For pickup setup, see How to Offer In-Store Pickup for B2B Customers on Shopify.
Fulfillment by Channel
D2C orders typically ship parcel (small package, one unit). Wholesale orders often ship palletized or in case quantities by freight. Configure Shopify's shipping rates separately:
- D2C: Standard carrier rates (UPS, FedEx, USPS), possibly free above a threshold
- Wholesale: Freight or LTL rates based on order weight and dimensions, or flat-rate freight by region
Apps like Eniture's LTL Freight Quotes handle real-time freight rating at checkout for wholesale buyers.
Expanding to Marketplaces
Many travel gear brands sell on Amazon, REI's marketplace, or other outdoor-focused channels alongside their Shopify store. Keeping inventory and pricing consistent across channels is manageable from Shopify.
For syncing your catalog across marketplaces, see Marketplace Connector for Manufacturers: How to Sync Inventory Across Channels.
Measuring Performance by Channel
Track wholesale and D2C separately to understand where your business is growing and where it needs attention.
Wholesale metrics to watch:
- Number of active retail accounts
- Order frequency per account
- Average wholesale order value
- Reorder rate by account
- Days to payment on Net terms
D2C metrics to watch:
- Conversion rate by product category
- Average order value
- Customer acquisition cost by channel (organic, paid, email)
- Return rate by product type
- Repeat purchase rate
Shopify's built-in reports give you a foundation. For manufacturing-specific reporting needs, see Best Shopify Reports for Manufacturing Businesses.
Key Considerations Before You Build
A few things worth addressing before you configure your wholesale and D2C setup:
- MAP policy: Define your Minimum Advertised Price policy and communicate it clearly to wholesale accounts. Document it in your wholesale account portal or as a downloadable policy in their account section.
- Channel conflict: If your wholesale accounts are concerned about competing with your D2C store, address pricing transparently. Your D2C prices should reflect MSRP. Your wholesale accounts are buying at wholesale. The price gap is their margin.
- Wholesale application process: New retailers requesting an account should go through an approval step before accessing wholesale pricing. Shopify's B2B customer account requests or third-party gating apps can handle this.
- Seasonal buys: If you run pre-season order campaigns with special pricing, set up a separate catalog or discount structure with an expiration date.
Travel gear manufacturers already on Shopify have most of the infrastructure they need to run both channels effectively. The native B2B features handle wholesale account management, pricing, and terms. The D2C side benefits from a well-organized catalog with solid technical content. The bigger lift is making sure those two experiences are cleanly separated so each audience sees exactly what's relevant to them.
.png)
.png)
