B2Bridge has rolled out a significant update to its B2B Ecommerce solution with the new Lock/Hide feature, designed to give Shopify merchants granular control over who can view prices and access specific store content. This feature is particularly valuable for wholesale businesses, private sales, and stores managing both retail and B2B operations.
Key Capabilities of the Lock/Hide Feature
Comprehensive content locking: Merchants can lock the entire store, specific products, collections, or even custom pages. This ensures that sensitive information – such as wholesale pricing or exclusive products – is only visible to authorized users.
Flexible access controls: Access to locked content can be restricted based on customer groups, individual customer selection, or password protection. Merchants can also allow only logged-in customers or those with specific tags to view prices and make purchases.
Customizable exclusions: While locking the store, merchants can choose to exclude the homepage, login/registration page, or other specific pages, allowing for a seamless onboarding experience for new or returning customers.
Personalized messaging: When a user encounters restricted content, merchants can display a custom message prompting them to log in, register, or contact the store for access. This helps guide potential wholesale clients or VIP customers through the proper channels.
Hide prices and add-to-cart buttons: For guests or unauthorized users, product prices and the add-to-cart button can be hidden, encouraging account creation or login for access to wholesale pricing.
Advanced rules and security: B2Bridge supports advanced conditions such as IP address, location, customer tags, and more, allowing for highly targeted access control. This ensures only the right customers see sensitive information.
>> Try App Free Now: B2Bridge – B2B All-in-One
How It Works
The Lock/Hide feature of B2Bridge.io is managed through a simple admin interface:
1. Merchants define a “lock” with a custom name (not visible to customers).
2. Select what to lock/hide (entire store, specific products, collections, product’s price).
3. Choose pages to exclude from being locked (homepage, log-in/registration page or other pages).
4. Set access rules – by customer group, individual customers, or password.
5. Customize the message shown to restricted users, such as prompting login or account creation.
Once saved, the rules are applied instantly, and unauthorized users will see the custom message instead of prices or purchase options.
Why This Matters for B2B and Wholesale Stores
- Protects Sensitive Pricing: Wholesale pricing is often confidential and should only be visible to approved customers. This feature ensures retail visitors or competitors can’t access these details.
- Streamlines Account Management: By integrating access control with customer groups and tags, merchants can easily manage multiple pricing tiers and customer segments from a single platform.
- Improves User Experience: Custom messaging and flexible exclusions mean visitors are guided smoothly toward registration or login, reducing confusion and increasing conversion rates for wholesale accounts.
- Reduces App Overload: B2Bridge consolidates multiple B2B features – locking, price hiding, custom pricing, and more – into one solution, reducing the need for multiple apps and streamlining store management.
Comparison to Other Solutions
B2Bridge stands out by offering all-in-one B2B functionality, including price hiding, content locking, customer tag restrictions, and more, directly within Shopify. Competing apps like Samita B2B Lock or B: B2B Lock, Login & Password offer similar features but may require multiple apps or lack the same level of integration and flexibility.
Conclusion
B2Bridge’s new Lock/Hide feature is a robust tool for Shopify merchants running B2B or hybrid stores. It provides essential controls for protecting sensitive information, managing customer access, and optimizing the wholesale buying experience – all from a unified platform.
This update positions B2Bridge as a leading choice for merchants seeking a professional, scalable, and secure B2B ecommerce solution on Shopify.