Storefront Modes — Hybrid, B2B-Only & B2C-Only

The Storefront mode toggle is Vertex's single most important B2B-related theme setting. It controls which B2B elements — the amber greeting bar, sales rep pill, NET terms badge, RFQ link, bulk-order link, B2B promo strip, and every other B2B-flavored element — actually appear in your storefront.

The setting lives at Customize ▸ Theme settings ▸ B2B ▸ Storefront mode and has three options:

Hybrid (recommended) — Auto-detects who's signed in. Both audiences get the right UI.
B2B-only — Hides B2C-friendly defaults. The store assumes every visitor is a trade account.
B2C-only — Suppresses every B2B element of the UI. Even signed-in B2B buyers see the B2C version of the storefront.

Default is Hybrid

Out of the box, Vertex ships with Storefront mode set to Hybrid. For most merchants, this is the correct setting and you never need to change it.

The three modes at a glance

Mode	Best for	What buyers see
Hybrid	Most merchants. Selling to both trade accounts AND walk-in retail / small-business customers.	B2B elements auto-show for signed-in B2B buyers. B2C UI for guests and retail customers.
B2B-only	Wholesale-only merchants who NEVER sell retail. Trade-only catalogs. Dealer networks.	B2B elements are the default everywhere. Sign-up paths default to "Create trade account". RFQ and bulk-order links always visible.
B2C-only	Sister stores running the same theme as a retail brand. Soft-launch B2B without exposing yet.	Every B2B element is suppressed — even for signed-in B2B buyers. Looks like a polished industrial supply B2C theme.

Side-by-side decision matrix

Use this matrix to predict exactly which UI elements appear in each mode. G = guest. B2C = signed-in retail customer. B2B = signed-in B2B buyer.

UI element	Hybrid (G / B2C / B2B)	B2B-only (G / B2C / B2B)	B2C-only (G / B2C / B2B)
Amber B2B greeting bar (above header)	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Company name + badges in greeting bar	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
NET-30 / NET-60 / NET-90 badge	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Tax-exempt badge	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Sales rep pill (desktop header)	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Ship-to location switcher	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Company switcher (multi-company buyers)	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Volume pricing table (product page)	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Quantity rule enforcement (MOQ/max/increment)	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
RFQ link in main nav	✓ / ✓ / ✓	✓ / ✓ / ✓	— / — / —
Bulk-order link in main nav	✓ / ✓ / ✓	✓ / ✓ / ✓	— / — / —
B2B feature promo strip (homepage)	✓ / — / —	✓ / ✓ / ✓	— / — / —
"Create trade account" CTA (instead of "Sign up")	— / — / —	✓ / ✓ / ✓	— / — / —
"Sign up" CTA (B2C default)	✓ / — / —	— / — / —	✓ / — / —
B2B-aware account dashboard	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Cart NET-terms badge	— / — / ✓	— / — / ✓	— / — / —
Hide prices until customer logs in (when enabled)	guest hidden	guest hidden	guest hidden

Legend:

✓ — element is visible
— — element is hidden / not rendered

Catalog scoping is always native

Catalog scoping (B2B buyers only see products in their assigned catalog) is enforced by Shopify itself, regardless of Storefront mode. Even in B2C-only mode, a signed-in B2B buyer will still only see their catalog's products — but without the B2B chrome around them.

Mode 1 — Hybrid (recommended for most merchants)

Hybrid is the default and the right answer for about 80% of merchants. It auto-detects each visitor (guest, B2C customer, or B2B buyer) and renders the appropriate UI.

Who should use Hybrid

You sell to both trade accounts (with terms, catalogs, volume pricing) AND walk-in retail or small-business customers.
You want one URL, one theme, one product catalog — but with B2B perks layered on for verified buyers.
You're an industrial supply or MRO merchant whose retail buyers are small contractors, hobbyists, or end-users.

What Hybrid does

Visitor type	What Hybrid renders
Guest	Polished B2C storefront. B2B feature promo strip on the homepage as marketing. RFQ and bulk-order links in nav (even guests can submit an RFQ to start a trade account).
B2C customer (signed in)	Same B2C UI. No B2B promo strip (they're already a customer). No B2B greeting bar (they're not in a company).
B2B buyer (signed in)	Full B2B UI — amber greeting bar, company name, NET-terms and tax-exempt badges, ship-to switcher, sales rep pill, volume pricing table, quantity-rule enforcement, B2B-aware account dashboard.

Why it's recommended

Zero risk of accidentally hiding a feature from the wrong audience.
Catalog scoping still keeps B2B-only products hidden from guests if you want it that way.
Each audience gets a UI that signals "this storefront understands me".

Mode 2 — B2B-only

In B2B-only mode, the storefront assumes everyone is (or will be) a trade account. Sign-up CTAs default to "Create trade account". The B2B feature promo strip shows for everyone — even signed-in retail customers — because retail customers shouldn't really exist in this mode. RFQ and bulk-order links stay always visible.

Who should use B2B-only

Wholesale-only merchants. You sell exclusively to verified trade accounts. There's no retail SKU, no consumer-facing checkout flow.
Dealer or distributor networks. Your buyers are all approved channel partners with terms.
Trade-only catalogs. Products like industrial chemicals, heavy machinery, regulated medical supplies, or industrial-only certifications.
You may still allow anonymous browsing — but anyone who wants prices or to check out must sign in (pair B2B-only with the Hide prices until customer logs in theme setting for the strongest gate).

What B2B-only changes

All sign-up paths route to "Create trade account" — the buyer is funneled to your trade-application form, not a generic registration page.
B2B promo strip is always visible to communicate the value of having an account.
RFQ and bulk-order links are pinned to the nav for everyone (guests included).
B2B chrome still requires sign-in to render (greeting bar, rep pill, NET-terms badge) — that's a Shopify constraint, not a Vertex choice. But every other UI signal nudges visitors toward trade-account status.

What stays the same as Hybrid

Volume pricing, NET-terms badges, tax-exempt badges, rep pill — all still require a signed-in B2B buyer to render.
Catalog scoping is unchanged.
B2C-friendly defaults (e.g., adding to cart as a guest) still work IF you haven't enabled Hide prices until customer logs in.

Pair with login-required pricing for full lockdown

B2B-only mode controls the chrome, not the gate. To prevent guests from seeing prices or checking out, also enable Hide prices until customer logs in at Customize ▸ Theme settings ▸ B2B ▸ Hide prices until customer logs in. The combination is the canonical "true wholesale-only" configuration.

Mode 3 — B2C-only

B2C-only is the strongest hide. Every B2B element of the UI is suppressed — even for signed-in B2B buyers. The amber greeting bar doesn't render. The rep pill doesn't render. The NET-terms badge doesn't render. The B2B-aware account dashboard reverts to the B2C account dashboard. The RFQ and bulk-order links are removed from the nav.

The underlying pages still exist — /pages/rfq, /pages/bulk-order, /pages/special-offers. They're just not linked from the navigation. Only the navigation and chrome are hidden; the pages remain accessible by direct URL.

Who should use B2C-only

You run the same Vertex theme on a sister B2C store that has no B2B activity at all (e.g., your retail-only consumer brand vs. your industrial supply brand). Same theme, different stores.
You're soft-launching B2B features — you want to configure companies, catalogs, payment terms, and theme settings in the background WITHOUT exposing the UI to early visitors. Flip to Hybrid (or B2B-only) on launch day.
A pure-retail period during a launch ramp — e.g., a Black Friday week where you want a uniformly consumer-facing experience.
Regulatory or contractual moment where every page must be B2C-facing temporarily.

What B2C-only does

Suppresses every B2B element. The storefront looks like a polished B2C industrial supply theme.
Signed-in B2B buyers still get catalog scoping (Shopify-native), but no B2B chrome. They see catalog prices but no NET-terms badge, no rep pill, no volume pricing table.
The B2B feature promo strip is hidden from everyone.
The bulk-order, RFQ, and special-offers pages remain accessible by direct URL — only the nav links are hidden.

When NOT to use B2C-only

If you have signed-in B2B buyers who depend on seeing NET-terms badges, rep contact info, or volume pricing in the chrome. They'll lose all of that.
If you're a wholesale-only merchant — use B2B-only instead.

Common ramp-up pattern: "Soft-launch B2B over 30 days"

A popular pattern for merchants who are adopting B2B for the first time:

Days 1–14: B2C-only mode. Install Vertex. Configure native B2B in admin per the B2B setup guide. Create companies, catalogs, price lists, payment terms. Fill in the sales rep and product spec metafields per the Metafield setup guide. Test internally with staff accounts. Nothing is exposed to customers yet.
Days 15–25: Hybrid mode, but show no B2B buyers yet. Switch to Hybrid. Onboard 3–5 pilot trade accounts. Verify everything renders correctly for them. Iterate on settings. Refine sales rep assignments.
Day 26+: Stay in Hybrid, announce publicly. Email your retail list to invite trade-account applications. Add the RFQ link to your homepage hero. You're live.

If you're a wholesale-only merchant, swap step 3 for "Switch to B2B-only" and turn on Hide prices until customer logs in.

You can switch modes any time

The Storefront mode is a single theme setting. Changing it has zero impact on stored data, customer accounts, B2B companies, catalogs, or orders — it only changes which UI elements render. You can flip back and forth as your business evolves.

How to change the Storefront mode

Open the Shopify admin and go to Online Store ▸ Themes.
Find the Vertex theme (Live, or any preview theme).
Click Customize.
In the top-left corner of the theme editor, click the Theme settings icon (the small gear, below the section list).
Scroll to (or click) the B2B group.
Find Storefront mode.
Pick Hybrid, B2B-only, or B2C-only.
Click Save (top right).

Click path: Online Store ▸ Themes ▸ Customize ▸ Theme settings ▸ B2B ▸ Storefront mode ▸ Save

The change applies instantly — refresh your storefront in a separate tab to confirm.

Decision tree

Not sure which mode to pick? Walk this tree:

Do you sell to retail customers?
- Yes → Continue to question 2.
- No (wholesale-only) → Pick B2B-only. Also enable Hide prices until customer logs in.
Do you have signed-in B2B buyers right now?
- No (not yet) → Pick B2C-only while you configure B2B in the background. Switch to Hybrid when ready.
- Yes → Pick Hybrid. Done.
Do you want a B2B-flavored sign-up funnel for guests?
- Yes → Consider B2B-only (with Hide prices until customer logs in).
- No, sign-ups should feel B2C → Stay on Hybrid.

FAQ

Will changing modes break anything?

No. The Storefront mode setting only changes which UI elements render. Stored data, customer accounts, B2B companies, catalogs, price lists, payment terms, and order history are all untouched.

Does B2C-only mode hide the `/pages/rfq` and `/pages/bulk-order` pages?

No. The pages remain published and accessible by direct URL. Only the navigation links and B2B UI are hidden. A merchant or customer who knows the URL can still visit them.

Can I render B2B elements conditionally per-collection or per-product?

The Storefront mode is a sitewide toggle. For per-collection or per-product hiding, use catalog scoping in Shopify admin. For example, products excluded from a catalog won't appear in that B2B buyer's storefront at all.

What happens if a B2B buyer signs in while the mode is B2C-only?

The buyer is signed in, catalog scoping applies (they only see their catalog's products), but none of the B2B chrome renders. They see the storefront as if they were a B2C customer. The NET-terms badge, rep pill, volume pricing table, and greeting bar are all suppressed.

Can I localize per-mode strings?

Yes. Every string in Vertex is translatable in Theme settings ▸ Languages. The "Create trade account" and "Sign up" labels can be customized per language to fit your brand voice.

What's next

B2B setup guide → — Enable native B2B end-to-end before switching out of B2C-only mode.
Metafield setup guide → — Fill in the vertex metafields that drive the rep card, the specs table, and the documents block — so they actually render in Hybrid and B2B-only mode.
Theme settings reference → — Every other B2B-related setting in the theme editor (Storefront mode, Hide prices until customer logs in, and the product-page toggles).
FAQ + troubleshooting → — Top mode-related questions answered.

The three modes at a glance​

Side-by-side decision matrix​

Mode 1 — Hybrid (recommended for most merchants)​

Who should use Hybrid​

What Hybrid does​

Why it's recommended​

Mode 2 — B2B-only​

Who should use B2B-only​

What B2B-only changes​

What stays the same as Hybrid​

Mode 3 — B2C-only​

Who should use B2C-only​

What B2C-only does​

When NOT to use B2C-only​

Common ramp-up pattern: "Soft-launch B2B over 30 days"​

How to change the Storefront mode​

Decision tree​

FAQ​

Will changing modes break anything?​

Does B2C-only mode hide the /pages/rfq and /pages/bulk-order pages?​

Can I render B2B elements conditionally per-collection or per-product?​

What happens if a B2B buyer signs in while the mode is B2C-only?​

Can I localize per-mode strings?​

What's next​