Magento customer group tactics to drive sales across all buyer types

Not all customers shop the same, and your sales strategy shouldn’t treat them that way. Magento’s customer group feature allows store owners to tailor pricing, content, checkout options, and promotions to the unique needs of different buyer types, from individual retail shoppers to high-volume B2B clients. When used strategically, customer groups can significantly improve conversion rates, increase average order values, and build stronger long-term loyalty. 

In this guide, we’ll walk through actionable tactics to help you get the most out of Magento customer groups and turn segmentation into sales growth.

Maximizing sales through customer group-specific strategies

Assign CMS block for specific groups in Magento

Showing tailored content to specific customer groups helps create a more relevant shopping experience. By assigning CMS blocks to particular groups, you can display targeted promotions, information, or trust signals that align with each group’s priorities. This improves engagement, drives conversions, and reduces the chances of irrelevant messaging turning customers away.

How to do it:

In Magento Commerce (Page Builder)

• Create a CMS Block

• Go to Content > Blocks > Add New Block.
• Enter the Block Title and Identifier.
• Add the content you want to display.

• Set customer group visibility
  • In Page Builder, edit the page where the block should appear.
  • Add a Dynamic Block.
  • Under Visibility Settings, select the customer groups that should see the block.
  • Save and publish the page.
• Tips:
  • Use clear, descriptive names for blocks to identify the target group easily.
  • Preview the page for different groups to ensure correct visibility.

Magento Open Source (requires custom logic or extension)

• Custom development approach

• Create a CMS block as usual (Content > Blocks > Add New Block).
• Use layout XML or template logic to check the logged-in customer’s group: if($customer->getGroupId()==X){echo $this->getLayout()->createBlock(‘Magento\Cms\Block\Block’)->setBlockId(‘your_block_identifier’)->toHtml();}
• Replace X with the target customer group ID and your_block_identifier with the block identifier.
• Extension approach
  • Install a CMS personalization or content restriction extension.
  • Configure the block to show only for selected customer groups through the extension’s interface.

Configure Magento tiered pricing for customer groups

Standard pricing often fails to address the diverse needs of your customer base. Individual buyers might be discouraged by high prices, while loyal or bulk buyers could expect discounts. Tiered pricing allows you to:

• Reward loyal customers with better rates.
• Encourage bulk purchases from B2B clients.
• Increase average order value while maintaining profit margins.
• Tailor offers for different customer groups without creating multiple product SKUs.

How to do it:

1. Default tier pricing (Magento 2 Advanced Pricing):

Magento 2 natively supports tiered pricing per customer group using the Advanced Pricing feature. This allows you to define different prices based on quantity thresholds.

Steps:

• Navigate to Catalog → Products → Edit Product → Advanced Pricing.
• In the Tier Price section, click Add Tier.
• Select the Customer Group (e.g., Retail, Wholesale, VIP).
• Enter Quantity Threshold (e.g., 5 units) and the Discounted Price or Percentage.
• Repeat for additional tiers or groups as needed.
• Save the product. Customers will automatically see the tiered price at checkout.

Example:

• Retail: Buy 1–4 units at $20 each.
• Wholesale: Buy 5+ units at $18 each.
• VIP: Buy 3+ units at $17 each.

2. Enhanced flexibility with extensions: While Magento 2’s default tier pricing works well for simple scenarios, complex pricing structures, like B2B price matrices, product attribute-based pricing, or seasonal quantity-based discounts, may require an extension. Extensions can:

• Apply tier pricing dynamically across multiple products.
• Combine quantity, customer group, and product attributes for granular control.
• Automate bulk updates or complex tier rules for large catalogs.
• Support advanced use cases like contract pricing for B2B clients or VIP-exclusive discounts.

Benefits:

• Easily serve both individual and corporate customers with tailored prices.
• Reduce manual work for large product catalogs.
• Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty by offering relevant pricing.

Restricting products by customer group

Certain products are meant for specific customer groups, like bulk packs for wholesale clients or exclusive items for VIP members. By controlling who can see these products, you streamline the shopping experience, helping customers focus only on what’s relevant to them. This not only enhances trust and clarity but also enables more precise marketing and pricing strategies for each audience.

Magento Commerce (no extension needed):

1. Navigate to Stores → Configuration → Catalog → Catalog Permissions.
2. Set rules to allow or restrict product visibility based on customer groups.
3. Configure visibility per category or individual product as needed.

Magento Open Source (requires an extension):

To restrict product or category visibility for specific customer groups in Magento Open Source, you can use an extension. Many extensions offer advanced rules that consider factors such as group membership, product attributes, or even purchase history, giving you greater flexibility and control than Magento Commerce’s built-in permissions feature.

Custom discounts for a specific customer group

Magento allows you to assign specific discount rules to different customer groups, ensuring that promotions and special pricing are applied only to the intended audience. By configuring group-based cart or catalog price rules, you can control which customers receive a discount, making your promotions more targeted and effective while simplifying management of multiple pricing scenarios.

How to do it:

Using Magento’s default functionality

• Catalog price rules (product-level discounts)
  • Go to Marketing > Catalog Price Rules > Add New Rule.
  • Fill in Rule Name, Description, Status, and Websites.
  • Under Customer Groups, select the group(s) eligible for the discount.
  • Define Conditions (e.g., specific categories or products).
  • Set the Actions (discount type and amount).
  • Save and Apply Rules.
• Cart price rules (cart-level discounts)
  • Go to Marketing > Cart Price Rules > Add New Rule.
  • Fill in Rule Information, including Name, Description, Status, Websites, and Customer Groups.
  • Set Conditions (e.g., subtotal thresholds, product quantity).
  • Define Actions (percentage off, fixed amount, free shipping).
  • Save and Apply Rules.

Using extensions (if default rules are insufficient)

• For more complex scenarios, like tiered discounts, scheduled promotions, or customer-specific pricing, consider a custom discount extension.
• Example: extensions can allow automatic group-based tiered pricing, multiple overlapping promotions, or special negotiated rates for B2B clients.

Tips:

• Test each rule with different customer accounts to confirm correct application.
• Keep discount logic simple and transparent to avoid confusion.
• Combine with content personalization to reinforce the promotion messaging.

Retention strategy for different groups

Retention strategies help maintain engagement and encourage repeat purchases from your customer base. Retail customers are motivated by rewards, points, and gift cards, while B2B clients often value account-specific perks, bulk order benefits, or flexible credit options. Tailoring retention tactics to each customer group strengthens loyalty, boosts repeat orders, and increases customer lifetime value.

How to do it:

1. Loyalty programs and reward points

• Magento Commerce (Built-in):
  • Use the reward points system to incentivize repeat purchases.
  • Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Customers > Reward Points.
  • Configure earning rules, redemption rates, and expiration policies.
  • Assign rules to specific customer groups to differentiate incentives for retail versus B2B customers.
• Magento open source: Requires a third-party loyalty or points extension to implement group-based reward systems.

2. Gift cards

Gift cards encourage repeat purchases, increase trust, and can be tailored for each customer group.

To implement gift card-based retention, consider purchasing a third-party module. One of the most reliable options is the BSS Commerce Magento 2 Gift Cards. This allows you:

• Create gift cards as a dedicated product type with flexible pricing to target individual customers or bulk buyers (B2B clients).
• Allow buyers to enter recipient details and schedule delivery, supporting personalized experiences for each customer group.
• Let recipients redeem gift cards at the cart or checkout, with automatic balance application for both individual and corporate purchases.
• Enable remaining balance reuse across multiple orders, catering to customers with different spending habits.
• Provide account management tools: buyers can resend or update virtual cards, and recipients can check balance and expiry, supporting ongoing engagement for all customer types.

Tips:

• Monitor redemption and reward point usage by customer group to measure effectiveness.
• Combine loyalty programs and gift card campaigns with group-specific content or promotions for maximum impact.
• For B2B clients, consider pairing gift cards or points with quote-based perks or bulk order incentives to further strengthen retention.

Group-based payment and shipping methods

Different customer groups often have distinct payment and shipping needs. For instance, VIP clients might prefer express shipping, while wholesale buyers may require invoice-based payment terms. By offering options tailored to each group, you can improve the checkout experience, reduce cart abandonment, and ensure that every customer receives the services that best fit their profile.

In Magento’s default configuration, you can navigate to Stores → Configuration → Sales → Payment Methods or Shipping Methods to set up available options. However, these settings only allow restrictions by specific countries and do not support customer group–based rules.

To implement customer group–specific payment or shipping methods in Magento 2, you need an extension. The Payment & Shipping Method per Customer Group extension allows store owners to display only relevant shipping and payment options to each customer group. 

Key features for the payment & shipping method per customer group extension include:

• Restrict shipping methods for specific customer groups to show only relevant options at checkout.
• Restrict payment methods for particular customer groups, tailoring payment options to buyer type.
• Compatible with Magento’s default payment method by customer group functionality.
• Supports advanced rules based on customer group, order total, shipping address, or product type.
• Included in Magento 2 B2B solutions, streamlining checkout for wholesale or VIP customers.
• Improves checkout clarity and reduces errors by presenting only appropriate options per group.

Dedicated quote-based checkout for Magento wholesale buyers

Wholesale clients often need to negotiate prices or request custom quantities before purchasing. A dedicated quote system replaces the standard “Add to Cart” button with a “Request a Quote” option, streamlining the buying process for high-value or custom orders. This improves the customer experience, ensures accurate pricing, and helps sales teams manage bulk or specialized orders efficiently.

Magento Commerce includes a built-in B2B Quotes module. Setup steps:

• Enable the module under Stores → Configuration → Sales → Quotes.
• Display the “Request a Quote” button for wholesale customer groups instead of the standard cart button.
• Allow the admin to review, approve, or modify quotes and convert them into orders.
• Automate email notifications throughout the quote workflow to keep customers informed.

Magento Open Source: Because Open Source does not include built-in quote functionality, you can use a Magento 2 Request for Quote extension to enable this feature. This extension adds essential capabilities for wholesale checkout, including:

• Enable the “Add to Quote” button per product, category, or globally.
• Restrict quote requests to specific customer groups, such as wholesale or registered users.
• Set minimum quote values per customer group to ensure requests are valid.
• Review and respond to each quote with custom pricing, notes, or alternatives.
• Approve, decline, or edit submitted quotes directly from the admin panel.
• Compatible with popular payment gateways like PayPal Express, Braintree, and Klarna for smooth order conversion.

Managing Magento customer groups efficiently

Proper configuration of customer groups is the foundation of all personalized sales strategies. By organizing customers into appropriate groups, you can tailor pricing, promotions, product visibility, and checkout options to different segments. Magento provides built-in tools for creating, assigning, and managing customer groups, while extensions can help automate and streamline these processes.

Creating and assigning customer groups

To create a new customer group in Magento:

• Navigate to Stores → Customer Groups → Add New Customer Group.
• Assign a tax class if applicable.

To assign a customer to a group:

• Go to Customers → All Customers → Edit.
• Change the Customer Group field and save.

This straightforward process ensures that each customer belongs to the correct group, enabling personalized pricing, visibility, and promotions.

Automating group assignment

Magento does not offer automatic group assignment by default. To save time and maintain accurate segmentation, you can use a third-party extension to auto-assign customers based on:

• Order histories, such as total spent or the number of orders.
• Registration fields, like company name for B2B clients.
• Behavior tags, for example, visiting B2B or wholesale-specific sections.

Automation helps maintain consistent customer segmentation and ensures that promotions or pricing rules are applied accurately.

Bulk management and import

For larger stores or ongoing integrations, Magento allows bulk customer group management:

• Navigate to System → Import → Customers.
• Include a group_id column in your CSV file to assign groups during import.
• Use the Export feature to download a sample format.

For ongoing synchronization with ERP systems or external databases, you can also use API integrations or customer import extensions to maintain accurate group assignments efficiently.

Conclusion

Customer segmentation is more than just organizing your audience; it’s a strategic approach to deliver smarter pricing, tailored content, and personalized experiences. While Magento provides the backend tools to manage these strategies per customer group, extensions are essential for more advanced or flexible functionality. BSS Commerce is a trusted Magento 2 extension provider, offering all the tools you need to implement effective sales strategies for each customer group, from tiered pricing and gift cards to group-specific checkout, payment, and shipping methods. Start by defining your core segments: Retail, Wholesale, VIP, apply targeted tactics, and track performance over time to continuously boost engagement, conversions, and customer lifetime value.

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