Use Add to Cart when selling fixed-price and standard products for fast checkout. Use Request a Quote for custom pricing, bulk orders, or B2B sales, where negotiation or personalized pricing is needed.
Definitions
Add to Cart
Is the standard purchase flow used by most online stores built on Shopify. Customers select a product, add it to their cart, and proceed directly to checkout with a fixed price. This approach works best for fast-moving consumer goods and products with transparent pricing. It requires minimal interaction between the buyer and the merchant, which helps reduce friction and supports a quick, seamless checkout experience focused on speed and convenience.
Request a Quote
is an alternative purchasing flow where customers submit a pricing inquiry instead of paying immediately. Rather than showing a final price upfront, the store invites buyers to describe their needs, quantities, or specifications before receiving a tailored offer. This model is particularly suitable for customized products, bulk purchasing, and B2B e-commerce scenarios where prices are not one-size-fits-all. By enabling direct communication, the request-a-quote approach supports negotiation and personalized pricing, often leading to higher-value orders and stronger buyer–seller relationships.
When to Use Each Option
| Scenario / Business Need | Best Option |
|---|---|
| Standard retail e-commerce | Add to Cart |
| Complex, customized products | Request a Quote |
| Bulk or wholesale orders | Request a Quote |
| Fast checkout and high volume | Add to Cart |
| B2B customer negotiation | Request a Quote |
Key Benefits
Add to Cart
Delivers a faster checkout experience that helps reduce cart abandonment and keeps customers moving smoothly from product page to payment. By following a familiar shopping flow, it matches the expectations of most online buyers who prefer speed and clarity when prices are fixed. From the merchant’s perspective, this model also minimizes backend workload because orders are processed automatically, making it ideal for high-volume sales and streamlined operations on platforms like Shopify.
Request a Quote
Offers a more flexible and relationship-driven sales approach. Instead of forcing a single fixed price, it allows merchants to tailor pricing to each customer’s needs, which is especially valuable for customized products, bulk purchases, or B2B transactions. This direct interaction increases customer engagement and builds trust, as buyers feel their requirements are understood and addressed.
In practice, stores that use quote-based workflows often see stronger revenue performance for complex sales, with many reporting an increase in average order value of around 30 percent compared to traditional add-to-cart checkouts.
Supporting Context from Shopify Ecosystem
Within the Shopify ecosystem, Request a Quote is not a native core feature available out of the box. Instead, merchants typically rely on third-party apps such as Request a Quote tools, Hide Price solutions, or B2B-focused quote apps to enable this functionality. These applications extend Shopify’s default checkout model by allowing stores to hide product prices and the standard Add to Cart button when fixed pricing is not appropriate.
By using quote-based apps, merchants can replace direct purchasing with custom quote request forms that capture detailed customer requirements, including quantities, specifications, or business details. Once a quote is approved, many of these tools can convert the request into a Shopify draft order, which then flows into the standard checkout process. This approach supports more advanced B2B workflows, enables structured negotiation, and bridges the gap between inquiry-based selling and Shopify’s transaction system.
Use-Case Examples
Best Fits for Request a Quote
B2B stores that sell in bulk often rely on quote requests to adjust pricing based on volume, contracts, or long-term partnerships. Custom or made-to-order product sellers also benefit from this model, as pricing usually depends on specifications that cannot be standardized upfront. It is equally effective for high-value goods where negotiation is expected and for stores that require flexible pricing rules to accommodate different customer segments, regions, or order conditions within the Shopify ecosystem.
Best Fits for Add to Cart
On the other hand, is the natural choice for standard retail operations with clear and fixed pricing. Direct-to-consumer brands typically use this flow to keep the buying journey fast and intuitive, meeting shopper expectations for instant purchasing. This approach also works best for low-touch, high-velocity purchases, where customers want minimal friction and merchants need an efficient, automated checkout process that can scale with volume.
Which Should YOU Choose?
Add to Cart → Choose when your products have fixed prices and you need simple, fast checkout.
Request a Quote → Choose when your business model involves custom pricing, bulk orders, or B2B negotiations, and you want to increase engagement and order value.
