Efficient Ways to Change Sale Price on Shopify Stores

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Importance of Visual Discounts in E-Commerce
3. How to Change Sale Price on Shopify: Individual Products
4. Bulk Editing Prices for Large Inventories
5. Leveraging Digital Products to Amplify Sales
6. Automating Sales with Shopify Scripts and Apps
7. The Psychological Strategies for Sale Pricing
8. Common Mistakes to Avoid When Changing Prices
9. Case Study: Digital Transformation and Sales Success
10. Navigating the Technical Nuances of Shopify Pricing
11. Maximizing Revenue with Tevello’s Unlimited Model
12. Building Recurring Revenue Stability
13. Maintaining Brand Integrity During Sales
14. Conclusion
15. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that nearly 93% of online shoppers hunt for a discount code or a sale price before they ever consider clicking the "checkout" button? This single statistic highlights the immense psychological weight that a simple strikethrough price carries in the e-commerce world. For a merchant, price is not just a number; it is a communication tool that signals value, urgency, and brand positioning. When a customer sees a product marked down from its original cost, it triggers a "fear of missing out" (FOMO) that often outweighs the hesitation to spend.

At Tevello, our mission is to turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse, but we understand that the foundation of any great store—whether selling physical goods, digital courses, or memberships—is a mastery of the Shopify platform’s core features. One of the most fundamental yet impactful skills a merchant can possess is knowing how to change sale price on Shopify efficiently. Whether you are running a flash sale to clear out physical inventory or launching a promotional period for a new digital masterclass, the way you display these prices can make or break your conversion rates.

In this guide, we will walk you through the technical steps of updating your pricing, explore the strategic differences between "Price" and "Compare-at Price," and discuss how you can leverage these changes to build long-term brand loyalty. We will also dive into how digital products, such as those powered by Tevello, offer a unique opportunity to use sale pricing without the overhead of shipping or manufacturing costs. By the end of this article, you will have a comprehensive understanding of price management that allows you to scale your business with confidence.

The Importance of Visual Discounts in E-Commerce

Before we dive into the "how-to," it is essential to understand the "why." In a physical store, a "50% Off" sign in the window draws people in. In the digital space, the equivalent is the "Compare-at price." This is a field in Shopify that allows you to show the original price of an item next to the current sale price. The original price is usually displayed with a strikethrough, immediately informing the customer of the savings they are about to enjoy.

This visual cue is rooted in the psychological principle of anchoring. When a shopper sees a "Compare-at price" of $100 and a "Price" of $70, their brain "anchors" to the $100 value. They perceive the product as being worth $100, making the $70 price tag feel like an immediate $30 gain in equity. Without the compare-at price, $70 is just a number. With it, $70 is a bargain.

Furthermore, keeping your customers on your own URL throughout this entire experience is vital. At Tevello, we believe merchants should own their customer data and brand experience, which is why we created a solution that keeps customers on the merchant's own site rather than redirecting them to third-party learning platforms. This same logic applies to pricing; when a customer sees a consistent, professional sale display on your Shopify store, it reinforces their trust in your brand.

How to Change Sale Price on Shopify: Individual Products

If you are just starting out or only have a handful of items to update, the manual method is the most straightforward way to manage your sales. This process ensures that you have total control over how each product is presented.

Step 1: Navigate to the Product Section

Log in to your Shopify admin dashboard. On the left-hand sidebar, click on Products. This will bring up a list of everything you currently have for sale in your store.

Step 2: Select Your Product

Click on the name of the product you wish to discount. If your product has multiple variants (such as different sizes or colors), you will need to scroll down to the Variants section to edit prices individually, or use the bulk editor for that specific product.

Step 3: Edit the Pricing Fields

Look for the Pricing section. You will see two primary fields:

• Price: This is what the customer will actually pay.
• Compare-at price: This is the original, higher price that will be crossed out.

To show a sale, ensure the "Compare-at price" is higher than the "Price." For example, if you are selling a "Beginner Photography Course" that normally costs $199, but you want to run a weekend special for $99, you would enter $99 in the Price field and $199 in the Compare-at price field.

Step 4: Save and Verify

Click Save at the top or bottom of the page. It is always a best practice to view the product live on your storefront immediately after saving. This allows you to seeing how the app natively integrates with Shopify or how your theme handles the visual layout of the discount. Some themes might place a "Sale" badge on the image, while others might simply change the color of the price text.

Bulk Editing Prices for Large Inventories

For merchants with hundreds of products, manual entry is not sustainable. Shopify provides a built-in Bulk Editor that functions similarly to a spreadsheet, allowing you to change dozens of prices simultaneously.

Using the Shopify Bulk Editor

1. From the Products page, select the checkboxes next to the products you want to edit.
2. Click Bulk edit (this button usually appears at the bottom or top of the list once items are selected).
3. In the bulk editor, you can add columns for both "Price" and "Compare-at price" if they aren't already visible.
4. Type in the new values. You can even use keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste values down the column, just like in Excel.
5. Click Save.

This method is perfect for seasonal transitions. For instance, if you run a store selling gardening supplies and want to discount all "Winter Prep" items as spring approaches, the bulk editor allows you to apply these changes in minutes. This efficiency is a hallmark of the Shopify ecosystem. If you are also managing digital content, you’ll find that Tevello follows this same philosophy of efficiency, offering a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses so you can spend more time on marketing and less on administrative busywork.

Leveraging Digital Products to Amplify Sales

While changing prices on physical goods is a standard practice, smart merchants are increasingly looking toward digital products to boost their profit margins. Physical products come with "cost of goods sold" (COGS), shipping fees, and potential damage during transit. Digital products, however, have near-zero marginal costs.

Consider a merchant selling organic coffee beans. They might have a tight margin on a 12oz bag of beans. By using Tevello to create a "Mastering the Pour-Over" video course, they can bundle that digital content with their physical beans. When they decide to run a sale, they can deeply discount the course because it doesn't cost them anything extra to deliver it to one more customer.

This is why we focus on all the key features for courses and communities that allow these two worlds to coexist. By having your digital products that live directly alongside physical stock, you create a unified shopping experience. When a customer buys a sale-priced course, they are immediately logged into your store's ecosystem, increasing their lifetime value (LTV).

Automating Sales with Shopify Scripts and Apps

If you want to move beyond manual price changes, Shopify offers more advanced ways to handle sales.

Automatic Discounts

Instead of changing the price on the product page, you can create "Automatic Discounts" in the Discounts section of your Shopify admin. These are applied at checkout or on the cart page based on rules you set (e.g., "Buy X, Get Y" or "10% off orders over $100"). The advantage here is that you don't have to revert your product prices manually when the sale ends; you simply set an expiration date for the discount rule.

Scheduled Sales

If you are planning a major event like Black Friday, you might want your "Compare-at prices" to appear exactly at midnight. While the basic Shopify admin requires manual intervention or the use of a third-party app to schedule these specific field changes, many merchants find that the Native Shopify Integration of their tools makes these transitions smoother.

If unifying your stack is a priority, start by a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses. Having a fixed cost for your software allows you to experiment with different pricing strategies without worrying about your overhead increasing as you scale.

The Psychological Strategies for Sale Pricing

Understanding how to change sale price on Shopify is the technical side; knowing what to change it to is the strategic side. Here are a few proven tactics:

1. The Rule of 100

If a product is priced under $100, a percentage discount (e.g., "25% off") usually sounds more appealing than a dollar amount (e.g., "$15 off"). If the product is over $100, the dollar amount often feels more significant to the buyer.

2. Tiered Pricing for Courses

For digital products, we often see merchants succeed by offering a "Sale" price on a basic version of a course to get customers in the door. Once they are in your ecosystem, you can offer them higher-tier memberships or community access. This is one of the many retention strategies that drive repeat digital purchases. By getting a customer to commit to a small sale purchase today, you are building the foundation for a much larger relationship tomorrow.

3. Bundling for Value

Instead of just lowering the price, try adding more value. For a fitness brand, instead of lowering the price of a yoga mat from $50 to $40, keep it at $50 but include a "7-Day Morning Yoga" digital course for free. The customer feels they are getting a massive deal, and you maintain your brand’s premium pricing for the physical item. We have seen how brands generating over €243,000 by upselling existing customers often use these hybrid physical-digital models to crush their revenue targets.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Changing Prices

Even experienced Shopify experts can make mistakes that lead to lost revenue or customer frustration.

• Forgetting the Compare-at Price: If you lower the "Price" but leave the "Compare-at price" empty, customers won't know the item is on sale. They might just think the product is cheaper (and potentially lower quality) than they previously thought.
• Mismatched Prices across the Store: Ensure that if you change a price on a product, any "Collection" pages or "Featured Product" sections on your homepage reflect that change. Most Shopify themes do this automatically, but custom-coded sections might require a refresh.
• Ignoring Transaction Fees: Many platforms charge a percentage of your sales. If you are running a deep discount, those fees can eat your entire profit margin. This is why Tevello is committed to a model of 0% transaction fees. We believe that if you do the work to sell a course, you should keep 100% of the earnings.
• Neglecting the Mobile Experience: Over 70% of Shopify traffic typically comes from mobile devices. After changing your sale prices, check your store on a phone. Ensure the "Sale" badge doesn't cover up important product details and that the price is easy to read.

Case Study: Digital Transformation and Sales Success

The power of combining physical and digital products under one roof cannot be overstated. We have seen merchants achieve incredible results by diversifying their revenue streams. For example, how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses serves as a blueprint for modern e-commerce. By utilizing strategies for selling over 4,000 digital courses natively, they were able to use sale pricing effectively to drive massive volume during peak seasons without the logistical nightmare of shipping 4,000 physical boxes.

This approach works because it leverages the existing Shopify infrastructure. You don't need a separate login for your students or a separate checkout. Everything happens within the native Shopify environment that your customers already trust. This reduces friction and increases the likelihood that they will complete their purchase during a sale event.

Navigating the Technical Nuances of Shopify Pricing

When you learn how to change sale price on Shopify, you might encounter some technical nuances, especially regarding tax settings and currency conversion.

Taxes and Sale Prices

By default, Shopify calculates taxes based on the "Price" field, not the "Compare-at price." If you have your store set to include taxes in the price, make sure your new sale price still leaves you with a healthy margin after the tax portion is removed.

Multi-Currency Stores

If you use Shopify Markets to sell internationally, remember that your sale prices will be converted into the customer’s local currency. If you want to set specific sale prices for specific countries (e.g., $19.99 in the US but £15.00 in the UK), you may need to use Shopify’s more advanced market settings rather than the basic product pricing fields.

Bulk Updates via CSV

For very large updates—such as a store-wide clearance—the CSV export/import tool is your best friend.

1. Export your products to a CSV file.
2. Open the file in Google Sheets or Excel.
3. Update the Variant Price and Variant Compare At Price columns.
4. Import the CSV back into Shopify, selecting the option to "Overwrite any current products that have the same handle."

This method is powerful but carries risk. Always back up your original product data before performing a CSV import to ensure you can revert if something goes wrong.

Maximizing Revenue with Tevello’s Unlimited Model

The ultimate goal of managing sales is to grow your business. Many software solutions penalize your growth by charging more as you get more students or sell more courses. We find that model counterproductive to the entrepreneurial spirit.

Whether you are hosting one course or a hundred, Tevello offers a flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members. This means you can run as many sales as you want, bring in thousands of new students during a promotion, and your software cost remains exactly the same: $29.99 per month.

Our Unlimited Plan includes:

• Unlimited courses and students.
• Unlimited video hosting and bandwidth (no more worrying about Wistia or Vimeo bills).
• Community features like member directories and social feeds to keep your students engaged after the sale.
• Drip content scheduling to release course material over time.
• Quizzes and certificates to add professional value to your digital products.

By verifying compatibility details in the official app listing, you can see how our tool fits perfectly into the Shopify admin you are already using to manage your physical product prices.

Building Recurring Revenue Stability

While one-time sales are great for cash flow injections, the most successful Shopify stores use sale pricing to bridge the gap into recurring revenue. You can use a sale price on a "Starter Course" as a lead magnet for a monthly membership.

Imagine a merchant who sells high-end art supplies. They can change their "Intro to Watercolor" course price to $0 (a 100% discount) for a limited time. During that course, they show students exactly which brushes and paints to buy from their store. They can then offer a $19/month "Art Community" membership where students get weekly critiques.

This creates a stable, predictable income stream that isn't dependent on the next big sale event. When you install Tevello from the Shopify App Store today, you get a 14-day free trial to set up this entire ecosystem. You can build your curriculum, set your sale prices, and organize your community before you ever pay a cent.

Maintaining Brand Integrity During Sales

One final piece of advice on pricing: don't over-discount. If your store is "always on sale," your compare-at price loses its meaning. Customers will learn to wait for the next "sale" rather than buying at full price.

Instead, use price changes strategically. Align them with holidays, product launches, or specific milestones in your business. By keeping your sales rare and impactful, you maintain the "premium" feel of your brand while still giving your loyal customers a reason to celebrate.

Consistent price management, combined with high-value digital content, is the fastest way to increase your Customer Lifetime Value. When you keep the customer on your own URL and provide a seamless checkout experience through Shopify’s trusted gateways, you aren't just making a sale; you are building a legacy.

Conclusion

Mastering how to change sale price on Shopify is a fundamental skill that empowers you to respond to market trends, clear inventory, and reward your customers. By understanding the difference between the "Price" and "Compare-at price" fields, you can leverage the psychology of anchoring to drive higher conversion rates. Whether you are manually updating a single product, using the bulk editor for a seasonal shift, or importing a massive CSV for a store-wide event, the Shopify platform provides the tools you need to succeed.

Beyond physical items, the integration of digital courses and memberships offers a revolutionary way to increase your margins. With Tevello, you can host unlimited content and students for a predictable monthly fee, all while keeping your customers on your own site. This all-in-one ecosystem—where physical and digital products live side-by-side—is the future of e-commerce. It allows you to diversify your revenue, build recurring stability, and own your customer data entirely.

Remember, the most successful merchants don't just "set and forget" their prices. they constantly analyze their performance and adjust their strategies. By securing a fixed cost structure for digital products, you can focus your energy on what matters most: creating incredible value for your customers.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from. Install the app today to begin your 14-day free trial and experience the power of a 0% transaction fee model that lets you keep 100% of what you earn.

FAQ

1. Will my sale price automatically revert to the original price after a certain time?

In the standard Shopify product editor, price changes are permanent until you manually change them back. However, if you use the "Discounts" section to create an automatic discount code, you can set an end date and time, and the discount will stop working automatically without you needing to edit individual product prices.

2. Why isn't the "Compare-at" price showing up on my store?

This is usually a theme-specific setting. Most modern Shopify themes will show the compare-at price with a strikethrough as long as the "Compare-at price" field is higher than the "Price" field. If it isn't showing, check your Theme Settings under "Product Pages" or "Typography" to ensure the display isn't hidden.

3. Can I use sale prices for digital courses hosted on Tevello?

Yes! Because Tevello is a native Shopify integration, your courses are treated as products within your Shopify admin. You can change their sale prices, use compare-at prices, and include them in automatic discounts exactly like you would with a physical T-shirt or a pair of shoes.

4. How does changing the sale price affect my store's SEO?

Directly changing the price on a product page doesn't usually hurt your SEO. In fact, many search engines (like Google) pull "Price Drop" data into search results, which can actually improve your click-through rate from the search results page. Just ensure your product descriptions remain high-quality and keyword-rich.