Estimated 5 min read

Before You Begin

Most Shopify merchants dream of expanding their product catalog without taking on more inventory risks or warehouse space. Enter Shopify Collective, the game-changer that lets you grow your business without the typical growing pains.

What is Shopify Collective?

Shopify Collective is a revolutionary platform that empowers merchants to sell each other’s products and reach new customers—without the burden of buying extra inventory. As a supplier, you can showcase your best-selling products across a network of online stores, set competitive wholesale prices, and ship orders directly to customers. Conversely, as a retailer, you have the unique opportunity to expand your product offerings by adding items from other merchants to your store, earning commissions on every sale, all while eliminating the hassle of stocking or shipping those items yourself.

Shopify Collective streamlines your operations by automatically updating inventory, processing orders, and tracking commissions—all from your Shopify admin interface. To check if your store is eligible, review the Shopify Collective requirements.

Shopify Collective Benefits

• Established Merchants Only: All suppliers in the Collective are existing Shopify merchants with proven track records.

• Brand Control: Suppliers have the autonomy to choose which products to share and at what price points.

• Seamless Integration: Effortlessly import products, manage order processing, and handle payments directly within your Shopify admin.

Use Case

Consider the swimwear retailer who frequently receives customer requests for beach accessories. Traditionally, expanding into this new category would require significant investment in inventory and storage. However, by leveraging Shopify Collective, this swimwear merchant can connect with beach accessory suppliers, offering a curated beach day package that includes stylish swimsuits, matching towels, and trendy totes. The best part? They earn a commission on every accessory sold while the supplier manages inventory, storage, and shipping directly to the customer. More products, more revenue, zero additional warehouse space.

Supplier Experience

What is a Supplier?

A supplier is an established Shopify merchant who makes their products available for other merchants to sell, thereby expanding their distribution without incurring additional advertising costs or operational complexities.

Who Should Become a Supplier?

Merchants with proven product lines who are looking to increase brand reach and revenue through new retail channels should consider becoming a supplier.

Steps to Start, Run, and Grow as a Supplier

• Connect with retailers by approving requests or sending invitations.

• Create price lists with commission rates and shipping policies.

• Add a referral page to your website to attract new retailers.

• Fulfill orders directly from your Shopify admin.

• Get paid automatically upon order fulfillment.

• Manage all retailer relationships within Shopify.

• Monitor performance through built-in analytics.

• Expand growth with qualified retailers.

• Regularly update price lists with new products.

• Utilize analytics to optimize product offerings and identify top-performing retailers.

Retailer Experience

What is a Retailer?

A retailer is a merchant who expands their catalog by collaborating with complementary suppliers to offer curated products without the need for inventory investment.

Who Should Become a Retailer?

Retailers looking to test new product categories, increase their product selection, or offer complementary items to enhance average order values should consider becoming a retailer.

Steps to Start, Run, and Grow as a Retailer

• Discover and connect with suppliers whose products align with your brand.

• Import supplier products into your catalog with synchronized inventory.

• Merchandise new products alongside your existing catalog.

• Utilize automated policies for consistent shipping, returns, and product management.

• Promote and market supplier products through your store.

• Monitor sales performance and customer response.

• Maintain control over the customer experience.

• Optimize catalog expansion based on performance data.

• Use apps like Shopify Bundles or metafields to enhance merchandising.

• Search for new suppliers to broaden product offerings.

• Scale successful product categories.

Shopify Collective Features

All Shopify Collective features are integrated directly into your Shopify admin, allowing you to manage connections, products, and orders from the same dashboard you already use to run your business.

• Product Integration: Suppliers can share products with retailers, including all product details, inventory levels, and pricing. Retailers maintain control over which products to import and how to display them in their online store.

• Intelligent Order Management: Orders are automatically routed to the supplier for fulfillment, with tracking information flowing back to the retailer to ensure customers receive consistent order updates.

• Commission Management: Shopify Payments handles all transactions automatically, allowing suppliers to set retailer margins. When orders are fulfilled, both merchants receive their payouts seamlessly.

• Discovery Tool: Browse or search for brands and products to expand your catalog. Find suppliers whose products align with your brand and customer needs.

• Performance Analytics: Built-in Shopify reporting offers insights into supplier performance, sales trends, commission earnings, and customer behavior to facilitate informed business decisions.

Wrap Up and Next Steps

Now that you understand how Shopify Collective connects merchants, eliminates inventory risks, and expands product offerings, it’s time to take action. Start by reviewing the articles on becoming a Collective Supplier and a Collective Retailer. From there, you can determine the best path for your business and begin evaluating your product catalog.

Go further

• How to become a supplier on Shopify Collective

• Shopify Integrations Explained: stratégies et outils détaillés

• Learn to create Shopify draft orders

• Inventory management in Shopify Admin

• Mastering the setup of sales channels for social media in Shopify

• Discover our guide to Shopify Admin gift cards

• Methods to accelerate sales as a partner in Shopify

• Add a new product to your Shopify store

• Partner strategies for managing Shopify pipelines

• Improve customer experience with a store finder