Frequently Asked Questions

The short answer is: no—and that’s not where your focus should be. E-Commerce Connect™ exists to strengthen the independent garden center industry as a whole. The real competition in online selling isn’t other local garden centers—it’s the big-box retailers and mass marketplaces that already dominate e-commerce. Dropshipping opens the door to selling well beyond your ZIP code. The opportunity is far larger than your local market, and the “endless aisle” means customers are shopping for availability, trust, and expertise—not just proximity. Just like brick-and-mortar stores, no two garden centers sell the same mix of plants, hardgoods, or home décor, and the same holds true online. Every e-commerce store is branded differently, merchandised differently, priced differently, and marketed in its own voice. Even when products overlap, the experience does not. The goal isn’t to compete with one another—it’s to ensure independent garden centers can compete, collectively and confidently, in a digital landscape that’s already moving fast.

Drop-shipping is a retail model that allows you to sell products online without stocking or shipping inventory yourself. Through E-Commerce Connect™—a retailer-led drop-shipping program built specifically for independent garden centers—you can sell plants and hardgoods online using a curated network of vetted growers and suppliers you already trust. Products are listed in your Shopify or WooCommerce store under your brand. When a customer places an order, the approved supplier fulfills and ships it directly to the customer using your garden center’s name—so the customer experience remains yours from start to finish. Beyond expanding assortment, drop-shipping also reduces labor and carrying costs. You’re not buying, watering, moving, or maintaining as much inventory on-site—allowing you to keep a tighter, more intentional in-stock mix while drop-shipping the rest. The same applies to hardgoods: not every garden center has the space to store thousands of SKUs. With suppliers like Melrose Intl. offering expansive catalogs, you can offer the selection without the storage burden. Drop-shipping also helps remove traditional barriers like weather and seasonality. Customers can shop on their own schedule, and your online store can continue selling even when foot traffic slows, weather closes your location, or the season winds down. Many of our members are leaning into this strategy—using e-commerce and drop-shipping to stay open, relevant, and selling year-round. The result is an endless aisle that expands reach beyond your local market, lowers operational strain, and helps independent garden centers compete where today’s customers are already shopping.

E-Commerce Connect is owned and operated by the team at BoomerWrangle, who administer the program end-to-end in partnership with participating garden centers. We treat e-commerce as another store location for your business, with its own operational needs, systems, and ongoing support. Our team oversees e-commerce site support and integrations, enrolls and onboards vetted suppliers, and manages the day-to-day operations of the program. We also lead program marketing, education, and ongoing support through regular workshops, seminars, and shared resources designed specifically for independent garden centers. To ensure transparency and alignment, we use a structured onboarding and progress-tracking system to guide and monitor each member’s e-commerce journey. This keeps timelines clear, responsibilities aligned, and progress visible at every stage. Members can access key resources, milestones, and updates through their ConnectSpace portals, so you always know where you are and what’s coming next. Running an e-commerce store requires ongoing attention, learning, and adjustment. To support that, E-Commerce Connect provides quarterly educational seminars focused on practical e-commerce execution for garden centers. Members also stay informed through our News & Updates section, where we share supplier additions, program activity, and important developments. In addition, we encourage participation in our Facebook community, where retailers and suppliers exchange insights, ask questions, and learn from one another in real time.

We provide links to Shopify and WooCommerce’s own support resources for garden centers managing their sites in-house. These can be found under Marketing Support → Support Learning. We do not provide platform training or act as your web developer. Unless you choose to hire one of our partner developer teams to build or maintain your site, most website-related responsibilities—including store settings, customizations, and troubleshooting—remain with you or your chosen web developer. These links are intended to point you in the right direction when questions arise around your store settings. Business decisions—such as sales tax setup, business tax collection, and how your online store is structured—are your responsibility to establish, just as they would be when opening a brick-and-mortar location. The only difference is that you’re now operating that business online.

It depends on your current setup. If you already have an existing e-commerce site, once program fees are paid and supplier applications are approved, we move directly into integration. If you don’t yet have an e-commerce site, we’ll connect you with our Shopify or WooCommerce developer to get your store built first, then complete the integration. We meet each garden center where they are from a technology standpoint. For those interested in deeper system connectivity, POS integration is available as an optional add-on to more tightly connect your e-commerce store with your in-store systems. Most members do not require POS integration; however, when selected, POS integrations typically take an additional 2–3 weeks and may take longer depending on the complexity of your POS system. Additional costs apply. While most implementations stay within the expected timeframe, occasionally factors outside of our control—such as supplier approvals, third-party scheduling, platform limitations, or POS constraints—can extend timelines. We’ll communicate proactively if that happens, but it’s important to allow some flexibility. In most cases, please plan for 4–6 weeks to get fully up and running.

E-Commerce Connect is built as a partner-driven ecosystem, not a single software subscription. Each fee supports a distinct part of what makes the program work end-to-end. The annual E-Commerce Connect™ program fee ($750) covers administration, supplier vetting and onboarding, education, workshops, marketing resources, Canva templates, and ongoing program support. The one-time OrderEase setup fee ($250) establishes and configures the underlying technology that connects your store to approved suppliers. The monthly platform fee ($50+) scales with your e-commerce activity and supports the operational infrastructure that powers ordering, fulfillment, and integrations. These components work together: suppliers, technology, education, marketing assets, and operational support all play a critical role in making drop-shipping successful at scale.  BoomerWrangle serves as the program administrators and connective layer—bringing together the technology, suppliers, training, web development and ongoing support under one coordinated framework. We are deeply embedded in the independent garden center industry and uniquely positioned to manage this ecosystem. Our team understands the suppliers, the associations, and the operational realities of garden centers, and we maintain in-house technical expertise to adapt and troubleshoot in real time. That means fewer delays, faster solutions, and a program that evolves alongside the industry. The result isn’t just access to drop-shipping—it’s a fully supported, retailer-led e-commerce operation designed to work in the real world. *These fees assume that your garden center already has an existing e-commerce website, typically on Shopify or WooCommerce. If you do not yet have an online store, you will need to establish one before participating in the dropshipping program. For retailers who need support, we can build a store in-house through our developer, who offers a starter e-commerce package beginning at $2,100 designed specifically for garden centers entering the E-Commerce Connect ecosystem. Please let us know if you need an e-commerce site developed.

E-Commerce Connect™ is a program that provides far more than just product access. Membership fees support the infrastructure, services, and ongoing management required to operate a national dropshipping network for independent garden centers. Your membership includes: Supplier onboarding and integrations Retailer onboarding and integrations Technology coordination with our platform partners Program management and support Marketing assets, templates, and promotional campaigns (including Hot Buys) Education, training, and workshops Expansion of new suppliers and product categories Strategic partnership that support compliance, operations and network growth. The $750 annual fee ensures the drop-shipping program continues to grow, add value, and operate smoothly so retailers can offer an “endless aisle” without building these capabilities on their own.

Our current process is designed to move products and plants directly into your Shopify or WooCommerce online store, allowing you to quickly expand your assortment online with minimal complexity. To keep the program accessible and affordable for independent garden centers, E-Commerce Connect does not integrate directly with in-store point-of-sale (POS) systems by default. For most retailers, this approach works well because the primary goal is to push supplier catalogs and products into their online storefront, allowing them to sell a much broader assortment through dropshipping without needing to manage the inventory in-store. If a retailer prefers full integration with their POS system to create a single reporting environment, that can be done, but it does require additional development and costs outside of the standard program setup. We do have a few garden centers with multiple locations that require deeper integrations, and those have been successfully implemented. However, most garden centers choose the simpler model, where products are pushed directly into their online store, allowing them to quickly expand their online assortment without the added complexity of POS integration. This approach keeps implementation fast, affordable, and operationally straightforward while still enabling retailers to offer an extended catalog through dropshipping.

E-Commerce Connect™ serves as the program owner and the connective layer—bringing together the technology, suppliers, training, web development and ongoing support under one coordinated framework. We are deeply embedded in the independent garden center industry and uniquely positioned to manage this ecosystem. Our team understands the suppliers, the associations, and the operational realities of garden centers, and we maintain in-house technical expertise to adapt and troubleshoot in real time. That means fewer delays, faster solutions, and a program that evolves alongside the industry. These components work together: suppliers, technology, education, marketing assets, and operational support all play a critical role in making drop-shipping successful at scale. The result isn’t just access to drop-shipping—it’s a fully supported, retailer-led e-commerce operation designed to work in the real world.