How to Add Sale Price in Shopify to Increase Sales

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Understanding the Mechanics: How to Add Sale Price in Shopify
3. Bulk Editing: Scaling Your Promotions Efficiently
4. The Psychology of the "Compare-At" Price
5. Creating Sale Collections to Drive Traffic
6. Beyond Physical Products: Adding Sale Prices to Digital Courses and Memberships
7. Advanced Sale Strategies: Seasonal, New Arrivals, and Abandoned Carts
8. Best Practices for Running a Successful Shopify Sale
9. Technical Troubleshooting: When Sale Prices Don't Appear
10. Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) Through Strategic Discounts
11. Conclusion
12. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that according to consumer psychology research, nearly 93% of shoppers use a discount code or look for a sale price at least once a year? For the modern e-commerce merchant, a sale is far more than just a temporary price drop; it is a sophisticated tool for "anchoring." Anchoring occurs when a customer sees a higher original price (the anchor) next to a lower sale price, immediately increasing the perceived value of the product and the urgency to purchase. Whether you are clearing out winter inventory or launching a highly anticipated digital course, mastering how to add sale price in Shopify is a foundational skill that can drastically shift your conversion rates and inventory turnover.

In this guide, we will provide an exhaustive walkthrough of how to add sale price in Shopify, covering everything from single-product edits to massive bulk updates. We will explore the strategic logic behind "compare-at" pricing, the technical steps to automate your sale collections, and how to apply these same principles to high-margin digital products like online courses and memberships. We will also discuss how to avoid common pitfalls—like the "2% discount trap"—and how to use Shopify's native features to build a robust, sustainable revenue model.

Ultimately, we believe that your store should be more than just a checkout page; it should be a dynamic environment where physical goods and digital expertise live side-by-side. Our mission at Tevello is to "turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse," and providing you with the technical know-how to manage your pricing strategy is the first step in that journey. By the end of this article, you will be equipped to run professional, high-converting sales that respect your brand equity and maximize your store's profitability.

Understanding the Mechanics: How to Add Sale Price in Shopify

To effectively run a promotion, you must first understand the two distinct price fields Shopify provides for every product and variant: the "Price" and the "Compare-at price." The "Price" is what the customer actually pays at checkout. The "Compare-at price" is the original price you want to display as being crossed out.

When you learn how to add sale price in Shopify, the most common mistake is entering the sale price into the "Compare-at" field and the original price into the "Price" field. This will result in no sale badge appearing and the customer being charged the original price. The rule is simple: the "Compare-at price" must always be higher than the "Price" for the "Sale" badge to trigger on most Shopify themes.

Step-by-Step: Adding a Sale Price to a Single Product

1. Access the Admin: Log in to your Shopify admin dashboard and select the Products tab from the left-hand sidebar.
2. Select the Item: Click on the title of the product you wish to discount.
3. Navigate to Pricing: Scroll down until you reach the Pricing section. If your product does not have variants (like different sizes or colors), you will see the price fields directly here.
4. Input the Data:
   • In the Price field, enter the new, lower price you want the customer to pay.
   • In the Compare-at price field, enter the original, higher price.
5. Save: Click the "Save" button at the top or bottom of the screen.

If your product has variants, the process changes slightly. You will need to scroll to the Variants section, select the specific variant you want to put on sale, and click Edit. Inside the variant's details, you will find the same Pricing section where you can adjust the Price and Compare-at price. This is particularly useful for "clearance" strategies where only specific sizes (like XS or XXL) are overstocked and need a deeper discount than the popular sizes.

Bulk Editing: Scaling Your Promotions Efficiently

For merchants with hundreds of SKUs, editing each product individually is not feasible. Shopify’s built-in bulk editor is a powerful tool that allows you to change sale prices across your entire catalog in minutes. This is essential for large-scale events like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

How to Bulk Edit Prices

1. Filter and Select: In the Products section of your admin, use the check-boxes to select the items you want to put on sale. You can use the search and filter functions to find specific brands, types, or tags.
2. Open Bulk Editor: Once items are selected, a bar will appear at the bottom or top of the list. Click Bulk edit.
3. Configure Columns: In the bulk editor view, click Columns on the top right. Ensure that both Price and Compare-at price are checked.
4. Update Prices: You can now see a spreadsheet-like view of your products. You can manually type the new prices or use the "copy-paste" functionality by dragging the corner of a cell down (similar to Excel) to apply the same price to multiple rows.
5. Review and Save: Always double-check your columns to ensure you haven't swapped the price and the compare-at price. Click Save once you are finished.

Efficiency in pricing is vital for maintaining a competitive edge. If unifying your stack is a priority, start by a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses. This allows you to scale your digital offerings without worrying about the complexities that often plague physical inventory management.

The Psychology of the "Compare-At" Price

Why does Shopify use a "Compare-at" field rather than just a "Discount percentage" field? The answer lies in the psychological principle of "Price Anchoring." When a customer sees that a jacket is $75, that number is an isolated data point. However, if they see $150 crossed out next to a $75 price tag, their brain immediately categorizes the purchase as a $75 gain.

Creating a Perception of Value

The "Compare-at" price sets the baseline for the quality of the item. If you set your sale prices too low without a realistic compare-at price, you risk "devaluing" your brand. Customers may wonder why the price is so low—is the product defective? Is the company going out of business? By keeping a clear record of the original price, you remind the customer of the premium nature of the product they are receiving at a bargain.

Timing Your Discounts

Data shows that sales perform best when they are tied to a specific reason. Whether it’s a "End of Summer" clearance or a "New Launch" introductory price, providing a "Why" behind the discount helps maintain the integrity of your standard pricing. If your store is always on sale, the "Compare-at" price loses its anchoring power because customers will simply wait for the next "permanent" discount.

Creating Sale Collections to Drive Traffic

Once you have learned how to add sale price in Shopify, you need to make sure customers can find those deals. The most effective way to do this is through an "Automated Collection." Instead of manually adding products to a "Sale" page every time you change a price, you can set a rule that does it for you.

Setting Up an Automated Sale Collection

1. Create Collection: Go to Products > Collections and click Create collection.
2. Title and Type: Name your collection (e.g., "Clearance" or "Special Offers") and select Automated as the collection type.
3. The Rule: Under "Conditions," select Compare-at price. In the next dropdown, select is greater than. In the final field, type 0 or 1.
4. Save: This rule tells Shopify to automatically include any product in this collection that has a value in the "Compare-at price" field.

This automation ensures that as soon as you remove the compare-at price from a product, it disappears from the Sale collection, keeping your storefront organized without extra manual labor. For merchants looking for a more comprehensive setup, all the key features for courses and communities can be integrated to ensure that your digital sales are just as automated and professional as your physical ones.

Beyond Physical Products: Adding Sale Prices to Digital Courses and Memberships

Many Shopify merchants are moving toward a hybrid model—selling both physical goods and digital education. For example, a merchant selling high-end espresso machines might also sell a "Mastering Latte Art" video course. The beauty of digital products is that they have no shipping costs and zero cost of goods sold (COGS) for each additional unit sold. This makes running sales on digital products incredibly profitable.

At Tevello, we believe merchants should own their customer data and brand experience. This is why we created a solution for keeping customers at home on the brand website. When you add a sale price to a digital course on Shopify, the customer stays on your URL, uses your Shopify checkout, and gets immediate access to their content within your store’s ecosystem.

Why Digital Sales are High-Margin

When you discount a physical product by 50%, you might be eating into your profit margin significantly after factoring in manufacturing and shipping. However, with a digital course, a 50% discount still yields nearly 100% profit (minus your Shopify and payment processing fees). This allows you to be much more aggressive with your sales strategies.

Consider the success of other Shopify brands. We have seen how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with their physical products. By using the same "Compare-at" pricing strategy, they were able to show immense value in their bundles, leading to higher average order values (AOV).

Advanced Sale Strategies: Seasonal, New Arrivals, and Abandoned Carts

To maximize the impact of your pricing changes, you should look beyond simple store-wide discounts and implement targeted strategies.

Seasonal Transitions

If you sell seasonal products, your goal is to move inventory before it becomes a liability. Using the bulk editor to apply a "Compare-at" price to last season's items is the fastest way to clear shelf space.

New Arrival Momentum

Contrary to popular belief, sales aren't just for old inventory. You can use a "Launch Sale" to generate initial reviews and social proof for new products. By setting a "Compare-at" price that reflects the eventual retail price, you reward your most loyal customers for being early adopters.

Recovering Abandoned Carts

If a customer leaves an item in their cart, it’s often due to "price shock" at the shipping or total cost. A targeted discount of 5% to 10% can often be the nudge they need to complete the transaction. In these cases, you don't necessarily need to change the price on the product page; you can send a unique discount code. However, for a major "Flash Sale," changing the price natively in Shopify is better because it shows the discount to everyone immediately.

Best Practices for Running a Successful Shopify Sale

A sale is only as good as the marketing behind it. If you change your prices but don't tell anyone, your inventory won't move.

• Notify Your List: Use email marketing to announce the sale at least 24 hours in advance.
• Create Urgency: Use countdown timers on your homepage to show when the sale price will expire.
• Use Visual Badges: Ensure your theme displays a "Sale" badge on the product image in the collection view.
• Avoid "Ghost Sales": A "Ghost Sale" is when a merchant raises the "Compare-at" price just before a sale to make the discount look bigger. Customers are savvy and often track prices; this practice can destroy your brand's trust.

For merchants who want to build long-term stability, we recommend predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees. Our "Unlimited Plan" at $29.99 per month ensures that whether you have 10 students or 10,000, your costs stay the same. This predictability is vital when you are calculating the ROI of a major promotional event.

Technical Troubleshooting: When Sale Prices Don't Appear

Sometimes, after you've followed the steps for how to add sale price in Shopify, the storefront doesn't update correctly. Here are the three most common reasons why:

1. Cache Issues: Your browser or your Shopify theme might be showing a cached version of the page. Try opening your store in an "Incognito" window to see the changes.
2. Compare-at Price Logic: Ensure the Compare-at price is strictly higher than the Price. If they are equal, Shopify will not display a sale.
3. Theme Limitations: Some highly customized or older themes require you to enable "Show compare-at price" in the Theme Settings (Online Store > Themes > Customize).

If you find that your current setup is too fragmented or difficult to manage, you might consider generating revenue from both physical and digital goods through a more unified system. This reduces technical friction and allows you to focus on marketing rather than troubleshooting.

Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) Through Strategic Discounts

The ultimate goal of adding sale prices is not just a single transaction, but a long-term relationship with the customer. A customer who buys a discounted physical product today is a prime candidate for a digital course tomorrow.

For example, a merchant who sells photography gear could run a sale on lenses. Once the customer buys the lens, they can be upsold a "Professional Landscape Photography" course hosted on Tevello. This strategy is incredibly effective for generating over €243,000 by upselling existing customers. By diversifying your revenue streams, you move away from the "transactional" model and toward a "learning and growth" model for your brand.

We've seen that driving 50% of sales from repeat course purchasers is entirely possible when you provide a seamless, native experience. This is why we offer a flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members; we want you to grow your community without the fear of being "punished" with higher fees as you succeed.

Conclusion

Mastering how to add sale price in Shopify is a vital skill for any merchant looking to increase engagement, clear inventory, and build brand loyalty. By understanding the relationship between the "Price" and "Compare-at price" fields, you can leverage the psychology of anchoring to make your offers irresistible. Whether you are editing products individually, using the bulk editor for a store-wide event, or creating automated sale collections, these technical steps are the foundation of a successful promotional strategy.

Remember that sales are most effective when they are part of a larger business ecosystem. By integrating digital products like courses and memberships into your Shopify store, you can diversify your revenue and increase your profit margins. At Tevello, we are dedicated to helping you "turn your Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse." Our platform offers a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses and a native integration that keeps your customers exactly where they belong—on your website.

With 0% transaction fees and the ability to host unlimited videos and students, our Unlimited Plan at $29.99 per month is designed to scale with you. Don't let complicated technical hurdles or high success fees hold your business back. You can build your entire curriculum and community during our 14-day free trial before paying a single cent.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from. Before you commit, we encourage you to spend time checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals to see how other store owners have transformed their businesses. Once you are ready, install Tevello from the Shopify App Store today and start your 14-day free trial and build your first course now.

FAQ

How do I set a sale price for multiple products at once on Shopify?

The most efficient way to do this is through the Bulk Editor. In your Shopify admin, go to Products, select the items you wish to discount, and click Bulk Edit. Ensure the "Price" and "Compare-at price" columns are visible, then update the values accordingly. This allows you to manage store-wide sales in a fraction of the time it takes to edit products individually.

Will customers see both the sale price and the compare-at price at checkout?

On the product and collection pages, customers will see both the sale price and the original price (usually crossed out) to highlight the discount. However, during the final checkout steps, Shopify typically only displays the price the customer is paying. The visual "anchoring" is most important during the browsing phase to encourage the customer to add the item to their cart.

Can I customize how sale prices are displayed on my Shopify store?

Yes, most Shopify themes offer customization options for sale badges and price colors. You can access these by going to Online Store > Themes > Customize. From there, look for "Product Grid" or "Product Pages" settings. For more advanced features, such as adding countdown timers or specific "Sale" icons, you can use third-party apps found in the Shopify App Store.

What is the best way to run a sale on digital courses on Shopify?

To run a successful sale on digital courses, you should use a native integration like Tevello. This ensures that the sale price is reflected directly on your Shopify product page and the checkout process remains seamless. Since digital courses have no shipping or manufacturing costs, you can often offer deeper discounts (30-50%) to attract new students and build a community, which significantly increases the long-term value of your store.