What is Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)?

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Minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest quantity of a product that a seller allows a buyer to purchase in one order or line item. It is common in wholesale and manufacturing where packaging, production, or logistics economics require larger quantities.

MOQs are common when products are manufactured, packed, shipped, or priced economically only above a certain quantity. The rule may apply per SKU, per variant, by case pack, or to an entire product group. In wholesale and B2B ecommerce, the storefront should communicate the requirement before checkout and prevent invalid quantities from entering the order.

MOQ logic can depend on:

• Supplier or manufacturing constraints for a specific product.

• Case packs, pallet quantities, or fixed order increments.

• Customer segment or contract terms, where strategic accounts receive different thresholds.

• Regional warehouse or fulfillment rules that affect how the product can be shipped.

MOQ should not be confused with minimum order value, which applies to monetary value rather than units. Both can exist in the same B2B store. The ecommerce platform should apply the current rule from the appropriate system of record and show buyers exactly what they need to change when a quantity is invalid.

Example: A supplier that ships a component only in cartons of 24 can prevent a buyer from ordering 10 units and explain that quantities must be entered in multiples of 24.