Where wholesale is heading next

Expansion is becoming more intentional

Wholesale growth used to be closely associated with adding more doors, but the direction of travel is changing.

We’ve seen 52% of wholesale leaders say strengthening existing retail partnerships is an expansion priority, while 47% are focused on entering new geographic markets. New product categories follow at 44%. 

That combination says something about where brands see opportunity: not simply in finding more retailers, but in making more of the relationships and markets that fit their business.
Geographic expansion is also becoming more diversified. Europe, in particular, is seeing increased attention as brands look beyond their existing markets.

For brands, that raises a practical question: can the infrastructure supporting wholesale keep pace with a business that is becoming more international and more deliberate about where it grows?

B2B eCommerce has become part of the infrastructure

B2B eCommerce is becoming less of a standalone channel and more of the infrastructure behind wholesale itself. If you’re using NuORDER with even one retailer, you’re already part of that infrastructure—the question is how much of it you’re actually using

Nearly 80% of wholesale leaders say their B2B eCommerce solution plays a significant or critical role in operations. Another 33% say their solution exceeds expectations. Brands rely on these systems for the everyday mechanics of wholesale, from ordering and pricing to inventory visibility and retailer interactions. 

At the same time, the systems behind wholesale aren’t always as connected as the strategy itself. Only 9% of respondents report fully integrated ERP systems with seamless data flow, while 86% rely on partial integration and some manual processes.

That gap matters as wholesale becomes more data-driven. AI is becoming part of that equation, too, with inventory forecasting, routine process automation, pricing optimization, and real-time decision-making among the leading use cases. The more brands ask technology to help them make better decisions, the more important it becomes to have reliable, connected data underneath it.

B2B eCommerce is no longer simply a digital way to place an order; it’s becoming part of the operating infrastructure that makes a more sophisticated wholesale strategy possible.

Depth is becoming just as important as reach

There’s another shift happening alongside expansion: brands are looking more closely at the relationships they already have.

The report found that 78% of senior leaders rank B2B wholesale as their top investment channel. But the opportunity they see isn’t necessarily about chasing volume. Leaders are putting more emphasis on margin discipline, sell-through data, assortment precision, replenishment, and stronger collaboration with retail partners.

In other words, the next phase of wholesale may be less about asking “How many more retailers can we reach?” and more about “What else can we do with the relationships we already have?”

Technology can play a role here. When brands and retailers can work from shared product information, access inventory visibility, collaborate on assortments, and make reordering easier, the infrastructure becomes part of the relationship itself.

And brands don't always have to start from scratch to get there. Major and independent retailers are already working through platforms like NuORDER, creating an opportunity for brands to look at the infrastructure already sitting within their wholesale network and consider whether they’re getting everything they can from it.

The next phase of wholesale is already taking shape

The picture emerging from our latest report isn’t one of wholesale slowing down, but rather one of wholesale becoming more deliberate.

Brands are expanding into new markets, investing in existing retail relationships, and relying more heavily on the systems and data behind those decisions. As that happens, the infrastructure supporting wholesale becomes harder to treat as an afterthought.

The brands thinking about what comes next may not need to reinvent their wholesale operation. They may simply need to take a closer look at what they already have—and whether it’s equipped for where they want to go.

Chat with a wholesale expert to see how you can get even more from NuORDER.