Effective Strategies for How to Put Sale on Shopify

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Strategic Importance of Promotional Sales
3. Preparing Your Store for a Successful Sale
4. How to Put Sale on Shopify: Individual Products
5. Scaling Up: How to Put Sale on Shopify in Bulk
6. Enhancing the Sale with Digital Products
7. The Technical Advantage of Native Integration
8. Advanced Sale Tactics: FOMO and Urgency
9. Post-Sale Strategies: Turning Buyers into Members
10. Transparency in Pricing and Fees
11. Troubleshooting Common Sale Issues
12. Real-World Scenario: The Fitness Influencer
13. Creating a "Sale" Collection
14. Conclusion
15. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that according to consumer psychology studies, the simple act of seeing a "strikethrough" price can trigger an immediate release of dopamine in the brain? This physiological response is why 93% of shoppers use a discount code at least once a year. In the competitive world of e-commerce, mastering the art of the promotional sale is no longer just an optional tactic; it is a fundamental pillar of business growth. When a merchant understands exactly how to put sale on Shopify, they aren’t just lowering a price—they are engineering an experience that builds urgency, rewards loyalty, and clears the path for long-term customer relationships.

The purpose of this guide is to provide a comprehensive, technical, and strategic deep dive into the mechanics of running sales on the Shopify platform. We will move far beyond the basics of clicking a few buttons in your admin panel. Instead, we will explore how to prepare your inventory, the psychological nuances of different discount types, the technical steps for bulk price changes, and—most importantly—how to use these sales as a springboard for higher-margin digital offerings. At Tevello, we believe that every physical product sale is an opportunity to introduce a customer to your broader brand ecosystem, including digital learning and community engagement.

Throughout this article, we will cover the essential steps to configure individual and bulk discounts, the strategic timing of seasonal events like Black Friday, and the ways you can maximize Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) by bundling digital products with your physical sales. Our thesis is simple: a successful Shopify sale should not just be a "race to the bottom" on price, but a strategic move to increase brand equity, stabilize cash flow, and turn one-time bargain hunters into lifelong community members.

The Strategic Importance of Promotional Sales

Before we dive into the technical "how-to," we must understand the "why." Putting items on sale is a double-edged sword. If done poorly, it can devalue your brand and train customers to never pay full price. If done correctly, it is a surgical tool for inventory management and customer acquisition.

Clearing Inventory and Improving Cash Flow

For merchants selling physical goods, stagnant inventory is "dead money." It occupies warehouse space and ties up capital that could be used for new product development. By strategically applying sales to slow-moving items, you liquidate stock and refresh your cash flow. This is particularly vital for seasonal brands that need to make room for new collections.

Increasing Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

A sale is often the "entry point" for a new customer. While the initial margin on a discounted product might be lower, the value lies in the data you acquire. Once a customer is in your Shopify ecosystem, you have the opportunity to upsell them on higher-margin items. This is where Tevello shines. By digital products that live directly alongside physical stock, you can offer a discounted physical item (like a yoga mat) and immediately follow up with a digital course (like a 30-day yoga challenge) that costs you nothing to ship and carries a 100% margin.

Building Brand Momentum

Sales create "noise." They give your marketing team a reason to send emails, post on social media, and run targeted ads. This momentum often spills over into your non-discounted items. Frequently, a customer will arrive at a store for a sale item and end up adding full-priced items to their cart once they see the value your brand provides.

Preparing Your Store for a Successful Sale

Preparation is the difference between a high-profit event and a technical nightmare. Before you change a single price, you need to audit your store’s readiness.

1. Inventory Accuracy

There is nothing more damaging to a brand’s reputation than a customer purchasing a sale item only to receive an "out of stock" email three days later. Before launching a major promotion, perform a physical or digital inventory count. Ensure your Shopify stock levels match what is actually on your shelves.

2. Setting Clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

What does "success" look like for this sale? Are you aiming for:

• A specific total revenue number?
• A certain number of new customer acquisitions?
• A reduction in "days on hand" for a specific product line?
• Increasing the number of members in your digital community?

Without KPIs, you cannot accurately measure if the sale was worth the margin hit. We recommend looking at how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses to see how setting specific targets for digital-physical bundles can lead to explosive growth.

3. Site Speed and Performance

A sudden influx of traffic can slow down a store. While Shopify handles hosting and server scaling excellently, heavy images or poorly coded third-party apps can still cause friction. Test your site speed on mobile devices, as the majority of sale-day traffic typically comes from smartphones.

How to Put Sale on Shopify: Individual Products

The most basic way to run a sale is by using the "Compare-at price" feature. This creates the visual "strikethrough" that customers love.

Step-by-Step Configuration:

1. Navigate to Products: Log in to your Shopify Admin and click on "Products."
2. Select a Product: Click the name of the product you wish to discount.
3. Find the Pricing Section: Scroll down to the "Pricing" card.
4. Edit the Compare-at Price: Enter the original, higher price in the "Compare-at price" field.
5. Edit the Price: Enter the new, lower sale price in the "Price" field.
6. Save: Click save at the top of the page.

Pro Tip: Your Shopify theme determines how this is displayed. Most modern themes will automatically add a "Sale" badge to the product image on your collection pages. This visual cue is essential for catching the eye of a casual browser.

Scaling Up: How to Put Sale on Shopify in Bulk

If you have a catalog of hundreds of items, manual editing is impossible. Shopify provides several native ways to handle bulk discounting.

Method 1: The Bulk Editor

Within the "Products" menu, you can select multiple items using the checkboxes. Once selected, click "Bulk edit." This opens a spreadsheet-like interface within Shopify. You can add the "Compare-at price" and "Price" columns to the view and quickly type in the new values for dozens of products at once.

Method 2: CSV Uploads

For very large stores, exporting your product list to a CSV (Excel/Google Sheets) file is the most efficient route. You can use formulas in Excel to decrease all prices by 20% across the board and then re-import the file to Shopify.

• Warning: Always back up your current product list before importing a new CSV. One small error in a spreadsheet column can overwrite your entire catalog's data.

Method 3: Automated Discounts

Instead of changing the "Price" on the product page, you can create a rule that applies at checkout.

1. Go to Discounts in your Shopify Admin.
2. Click Create discount.
3. Choose Amount off products.
4. Select Automatic discount.
5. Define the percentage or fixed amount.
6. Set the "Minimum requirements" (e.g., "Spend $50 to get 10% off").

Automatic discounts are powerful because they reduce friction. The customer doesn't have to remember a code; the reward is applied automatically as they shop.

Enhancing the Sale with Digital Products

At Tevello, our mission is to turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse. While a traditional sale focuses on physical inventory, the most savvy merchants are now using sales to transition customers into their digital ecosystem.

Imagine a merchant selling specialized kitchen knives. During a "Summer Grilling Sale," they might put their chef’s knife on sale. But the real value comes from the "Barista Basics" or "Knife Skills 101" video course they offer as a bundle. Because Tevello provides all the key features for courses and communities, the merchant can set up a "Buy X, Get Y" promotion where purchasing the knife automatically grants the customer access to a private video course.

This strategy does several things:

• Increases Perceived Value: The customer feels they are getting more than just a piece of steel; they are getting an education.
• Zero Marginal Cost: Unlike shipping a second physical item, giving access to a Tevello course costs the merchant nothing extra.
• Retention: The customer will return to your store to log in to their course, keeping your brand top-of-mind long after the initial sale.

If you are looking to see the potential of this model, you can see how merchants are earning six figures by integrating these digital assets into their standard Shopify sales workflows.

The Technical Advantage of Native Integration

One common mistake merchants make when trying to figure out how to put sale on Shopify is using third-party apps that redirect customers to outside URLs. This breaks the "Native Shopify Integration" that is so vital for trust and conversion.

When you use Tevello, your customers stay on your own URL. Their login for your store is the same login for their courses. This "Unified Login" reduces support friction and ensures that your brand remains the star of the show. During a high-traffic sale, the last thing you want is a customer getting confused by a third-party checkout or a different-looking dashboard.

If unifying your stack is a priority, start by a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.

Advanced Sale Tactics: FOMO and Urgency

A sale without a deadline is just a price drop. To truly drive conversions, you must incorporate elements of scarcity and urgency.

Countdown Timers

Adding a countdown timer to your header or product pages during a sale can significantly increase conversion rates. It visually represents the "Fear Of Missing Out" (FOMO). If a customer knows they only have 4 hours left to get 30% off, they are much less likely to "think about it" and leave the site.

Limited Quantity Sales

"Only 50 units available at this price!" This is a classic tactic for a reason. Shopify allows you to track inventory levels closely. You can display "Only 3 left in stock" on your product pages to nudge the customer toward the checkout.

Early Access for VIPs

Use your email list to offer "Early Access" to your sale. This makes your most loyal customers feel valued and ensures you get a "burst" of sales the moment the promotion goes live. It also helps you test your site's performance with a smaller, friendlier audience before the general public arrives.

Post-Sale Strategies: Turning Buyers into Members

The "hangover" after a big sale can be tough. Traffic drops, and the high of the revenue surge fades. However, the post-sale period is the most important time for building long-term stability.

The Power of Recurring Revenue

Physical product sales are often "one and done." By using Tevello to offer memberships or subscription-based content, you can turn a sale-day customer into a monthly subscriber. This provides the recurring revenue stability that e-commerce businesses often lack. Instead of waiting for the next big holiday to generate cash, you have a predictable stream of income from your community.

Analyzing the Data

Once the sale is over, dive into your Shopify Analytics. Look at:

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Was the discount deep enough to attract new people, but not so deep that you lost money on the acquisition?
• Repeat Purchase Rate: How many people who bought during the sale have come back?
• Digital Conversion: If you offered a digital bonus, how brands converted 15% of challenge participants into long-term community members is a great benchmark to aim for.

Transparency in Pricing and Fees

When running a business, every dollar counts, especially when you are discounting your margins to run a sale. This is why we are adamant about predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees.

Many platforms will entice you with a low monthly fee but then take 2%, 3%, or even 5% of your sales as a "success fee." When you are running a high-volume sale on Shopify, these fees can eat up thousands of dollars of your profit. At Tevello, we charge 0% transaction fees. Whether you sell 10 courses or 10,000 during your sale, you keep 100% of your earnings.

Our Unlimited Plan is just $29.99 per month, and it includes:

• Unlimited courses and students.
• Unlimited video hosting and bandwidth (no more worrying about video costs during a viral sale!).
• Full community features (profiles, directories, social feeds).
• Drip content and quizzes to keep students engaged.

By choosing a solution with a flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members, you can scale your sales events without scaling your software costs.

Troubleshooting Common Sale Issues

Even the best-laid plans can hit a snag. Here are the most common issues merchants face when putting items on sale on Shopify:

The "Compare-at Price" Isn't Showing

This is usually a theme-specific issue. Check your "Theme Settings" under "Product Grid" or "Product Pages." There is often a checkbox to "Show sale badges" or "Show compare-at price." If it’s checked and still not showing, ensure your "Compare-at price" is actually higher than your "Price." If they are equal, Shopify will not display the sale UI.

Discount Codes Overlapping

Shopify allows you to decide if discount codes can be "stacked." If you have an automatic discount running and a customer tries to use a 20% off coupon, you need to decide if they get both. Usually, it’s best to disable stacking to protect your margins.

Mobile Checkout Friction

During a sale, customers are often shopping on the go. Ensure that your "Buy Now" buttons are prominent and that your checkout doesn't require too many fields. Using Shopify Markets and local payment gateways (which seeing how the app natively integrates with Shopify facilitates) can also help international customers convert more easily.

Real-World Scenario: The Fitness Influencer

Let’s look at a practical example. Imagine a merchant selling eco-friendly yoga mats. They want to know how to put sale on Shopify for the New Year’s "Resolution Season."

1. The Sale: They discount their premium mat from $120 to $85 using the "Compare-at price" feature.
2. The Upsell: On the product page, they use Tevello to offer a "Free 7-Day Yoga Flow Course" with every purchase.
3. The Community: The customer is invited into a Tevello-powered community where they can share their progress with other mat owners.
4. The Result: The merchant sees a massive spike in physical sales. But more importantly, they now have 5,000 people inside their digital community. In February, they can sell those 5,000 people a "Year-Long Advanced Yoga Certification" course for $200—no shipping, no inventory, just pure profit.

This is the power of generating revenue from both physical and digital goods. It transforms a simple discount into a holistic business strategy.

Creating a "Sale" Collection

To make it easy for customers to find your deals, you should create a dedicated sales collection.

1. Go to Collections: In your Shopify Admin, click "Collections."
2. Create Collection: Click "Create collection."
3. Automated Collection: Choose "Automated" as the collection type.
4. Set the Rule: Set the condition to "Compare at price is greater than 0."
5. Save: Now, any time you put an item on sale using the compare-at price method, it will automatically be added to this page.

Link this collection in your main navigation menu under a bright "SALE" tab. This is often the most-clicked link on an e-commerce site.

Conclusion

Learning how to put sale on Shopify is a vital skill, but it is only the first step in a much larger journey toward e-commerce mastery. A sale should be seen as a bridge—a way to move a customer from "interested" to "invested." By combining the visual power of Shopify’s native discounting tools with the high-margin, engagement-driving capabilities of Tevello, you can create a business that is not only profitable during the holidays but stable all year round.

We invite you to stop thinking of your store as just a place to ship boxes and start seeing it as a destination for learning and community. With our $29.99/month Unlimited Plan and 0% transaction fees, you have the freedom to experiment, grow, and succeed without the fear of hidden costs.

Take the first step toward transforming your business today. You can build your entire curriculum and set up your community during our 14-day free trial before you ever pay a cent.

Install Tevello from the Shopify App Store today and start turning your store into a digital learning powerhouse.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

Can I run a sale on Shopify without using a discount code? Yes. The most common way to do this is by using the "Compare-at price" feature on individual product pages. This changes the price directly on the storefront and displays a strikethrough of the original price. You can also use "Automatic Discounts" which apply at checkout without requiring the customer to enter a code.

How do I put my entire Shopify store on sale at once? The most efficient way to put an entire store on sale is to use a bulk editing tool or to export your products via CSV, apply a percentage decrease in a spreadsheet program like Excel, and then re-import the file. Alternatively, you can create an Automatic Discount that applies to "All Products" for a specific time period.

Will putting items on sale affect my SEO? Generally, putting items on sale is positive for SEO because it can lead to increased traffic and social sharing. However, you should avoid changing your product URLs or page titles just for a temporary sale. Keep your technical structure consistent and use banners or badges to signal the sale to users.

Can I sell digital courses and physical products in the same Shopify sale? Absolutely. This is one of the most effective ways to increase your Average Order Value (AOV). By using an app like Tevello, you can bundle digital courses with physical items, allowing the "sale" price of the physical item to be offset by the high margin of the digital product.