How to Show Sale Price on Shopify to Boost Conversions

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Psychology of the "Compare at Price"
3. Step-by-Step: Showing Sale Price for Individual Products
4. Managing Sale Prices in Bulk
5. Showing Sale Prices for Digital Products and Courses
6. Troubleshooting: Why the Sale Price Isn't Showing
7. Boosting LTV with Recurring Sale Strategies
8. Best Practices for Pricing Transparency
9. Leveraging Tevello for Growth
10. Moving Beyond Physical Goods
11. The Technical Advantage of Tevello
12. Conclusion
13. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that according to consumer psychology studies, the presence of a "sale" price can increase conversion rates by over 30%, even if the actual discount is modest? The human brain is hardwired to seek out value, and the visual cue of a strikethrough price next to a lower offer triggers a powerful emotional response known as "anchoring." For e-commerce merchants, mastering the technical nuances of displaying these prices is not just about aesthetics; it is about building trust and creating urgency. Whether you are clearing out seasonal physical inventory or launching a new digital masterclass, knowing how to show sale price on Shopify is a fundamental skill for any growing business.

In this guide, we will provide an exhaustive walk-through of the various methods used to display sale prices on your storefront. We will cover the basic "Compare at price" setup, bulk editing techniques for large catalogs, and how to handle sale pricing for digital products like online courses. At Tevello, our mission is to turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse, and we believe that a merchant's ability to seamlessly blend physical and digital sales is the key to modern e-commerce success. By the end of this article, you will have a comprehensive strategy for using discounts to increase Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and build a loyal community of repeat buyers.

The Psychology of the "Compare at Price"

Before diving into the technical steps, it is essential to understand why Shopify uses the specific terminology of a "Compare at price." In the world of retail, the original price serves as a psychological anchor. When a customer sees a product marked down from $100 to $70, their mind focuses on the $30 "gain" rather than the $70 "expenditure."

This strategy is particularly effective when you are scaling your brand. It allows you to maintain the perceived value of your brand while still offering incentives for first-time buyers. For many merchants, this is the first step toward building a complex revenue model that includes both physical products and high-margin digital content. For instance, you might see how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses alongside their physical supplies by using promotional pricing to drive initial interest.

Step-by-Step: Showing Sale Price for Individual Products

Setting a sale price on Shopify is straightforward, but it requires precision to ensure the "Sale" badge appears correctly on your collection pages and product cards.

Accessing the Product Admin

First, log in to your Shopify admin dashboard and navigate to the Products section. Select the specific product you wish to discount. If your product has multiple variants (like sizes or colors), you will need to apply these changes at the variant level.

Configuring the Pricing Fields

Scroll down to the Pricing section of the product page. You will see two primary fields:

1. Price: This is the price the customer will actually pay.
2. Compare at price: This is the original price that will be shown with a strikethrough.

To show a sale price, the value in the "Compare at price" field must be higher than the value in the "Price" field. For example, if you want to sell a "Digital Marketing 101" course for $49 instead of the usual $99, you would enter 49 in the Price box and 99 in the Compare at price box.

Saving and Previewing

Once you click Save, Shopify automatically updates your storefront. Most modern Shopify themes are designed to detect this difference and will automatically display a "Sale" badge on the product image. This visual consistency is why we advocate for a unified login that reduces customer support friction; when your store looks and acts professionally, customers feel safer making a purchase.

Managing Sale Prices in Bulk

If you have hundreds of products or are preparing for a major event like Black Friday, updating each product individually is inefficient. Shopify provides several tools to manage sale prices at scale.

Using the Bulk Editor

From the Products list, you can select multiple items by checking the boxes next to their names. Click on Bulk edit. In the editor, ensure that the columns for "Price" and "Compare at price" are visible. You can then quickly type in new values for dozens of products at once. This is an excellent way to prepare for seasonal shifts or to experiment with strategies for selling over 4,000 digital courses natively by adjusting prices across an entire curriculum.

Utilizing CSV Files

For merchants with massive inventories, exporting your product list to a CSV file is the most robust option. You can use spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to apply formulas—such as reducing all prices by 20% while moving the original prices to the "Compare at price" column. Once edited, you simply import the CSV back into Shopify, selecting the option to overwrite existing products with the same handles.

Showing Sale Prices for Digital Products and Courses

At Tevello, we believe merchants should own their customer data and brand experience. This is why our platform ensures that your digital products that live directly alongside physical stock use the same native Shopify checkout logic. If you are selling an online course through Tevello, the process of showing a sale price remains exactly the same as physical goods.

The Power of Bundling

One of the most effective ways to use sale pricing is through bundling. Imagine a merchant selling premium coffee beans. By creating a "Barista Basics" video course using Tevello, they can offer a "Starter Bundle." The physical beans might be full price, but the digital course can be shown with a significant discount (e.g., $5 instead of $25) when purchased together. This approach increases the Average Order Value (AOV) without significantly increasing shipping or inventory costs.

Creating Urgency for Memberships

If you are running a community or a subscription-based model, showing a "Compare at price" for an annual membership versus a monthly one is a classic tactic. It highlights the long-term savings and encourages users to commit to your brand. By avoiding per-user fees as the community scales, you can pass those savings on to your customers through aggressive sale pricing while still maintaining healthy margins.

Troubleshooting: Why the Sale Price Isn't Showing

Sometimes, despite entering the correct numbers, the sale price may not appear as expected on your site. Here are the most common reasons and how to fix them:

1. Cache Issues: Sometimes your browser or a caching app stores an older version of the page. Try viewing your store in an incognito window.
2. Theme Settings: Some Shopify themes require you to toggle a setting to "Show sale price" or "Show sale badge." Check your theme customization settings under the "Product Page" or "Collection Page" sections.
3. App Interference: If you are using third-party pricing or discount apps, they might be overriding the native Shopify pricing fields. This is one reason why we emphasize our "Native Shopify Integration," which minimizes these conflicts by working within the default Shopify ecosystem.
4. Currency Conversion: If you use a multi-currency app, the sale price might be rounded or adjusted based on exchange rates, sometimes making the "Compare at price" logic behave unexpectedly.

Boosting LTV with Recurring Sale Strategies

Displaying a sale price is a tactical move, but your long-term strategy should focus on Customer Lifetime Value. Recurring revenue stability is the holy grail of e-commerce. Instead of one-off sales, consider how a discounted entry price can lead to a long-term relationship.

Many of our successful merchants focus on generating over €243,000 by upselling existing customers. By offering a "flash sale" on an introductory course, they bring customers into their ecosystem. Once the customer is inside the Tevello-powered student portal, the merchant can offer higher-tier courses or memberships at full price. This method of driving 50% of sales from repeat course purchasers is much more sustainable than constantly hunting for new traffic.

Best Practices for Pricing Transparency

While the "Compare at price" tool is powerful, it must be used ethically. Many jurisdictions have strict laws regarding "fictitious" pricing. You should only use a compare-at price if it represents a genuine price at which the product was previously offered for a reasonable period.

• Be Honest: Avoid keeping products "on sale" for 365 days a year. This can diminish brand trust and lead to legal complications.
• Highlight the Savings: Use your theme’s language settings to change "Sale" to "You Save $20" or "30% OFF." This makes the value proposition even clearer.
• Coordinate with Marketing: Ensure that your email marketing and social media ads reflect the exact same sale price shown on your Shopify store to maintain a seamless customer journey.

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

Leveraging Tevello for Growth

When you decide to expand your Shopify store into digital learning, you need a partner that understands the importance of a frictionless experience. At Tevello, we provide all the key features for courses and communities without the complexity of third-party redirects. Your customers stay on your URL, use your Shopify login, and check out through your existing payment gateways.

This native approach is why we offer predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees. We believe that as your community grows, your costs shouldn't skyrocket. Whether you have 10 students or 10,000, our Unlimited Plan at $29.99 per month remains constant. This allows you to focus on comparing plan costs against total course revenue with total clarity.

Moving Beyond Physical Goods

The most successful Shopify stores of the future will be those that diversify their revenue. Physical goods have overhead: shipping, storage, and manufacturing. Digital products, however, offer near-infinite scalability. By learning how to show sale price on Shopify, you are preparing your store to handle these digital assets with the same professional polish as your physical inventory.

For example, a fitness brand selling workout equipment can use Tevello to host a "90-Day Transformation" community. By showing a sale price on the membership during the New Year period, they can capture a massive influx of customers who are then more likely to buy the physical equipment (weights, bands, mats) later in the year. This ecosystem is what we mean when we talk about a "digital learning powerhouse."

The Technical Advantage of Tevello

Choosing the right tools to manage your digital sales is as important as the sales themselves. Many platforms charge "success fees," essentially taking a percentage of your hard-earned revenue. We reject this model. With Tevello, you get:

• 0% Transaction Fees: You keep 100% of your earnings.
• Unlimited Everything: Courses, students, and video hosting are all included in our flat-rate plan.
• Drip Content & Quizzes: Keep students engaged and coming back for more.
• Community Features: Build a member directory and social feed directly on your store.

By securing a fixed cost structure for digital products, you can aggressively use sale pricing to gain market share without worrying about how those discounts will affect your software bill.

Conclusion

Displaying a sale price on Shopify is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to influence buyer behavior. By utilizing the "Compare at price" field, you create immediate visual value that can drive conversions and help you clear inventory or launch new products. However, the true potential of your Shopify store lies in its ability to grow beyond simple transactions.

By integrating digital products, courses, and communities, you can build a brand that offers both physical utility and educational value. This diversification is the best way to ensure long-term stability and increased customer lifetime value. We invite you to install Tevello from the Shopify App Store today and explore how easy it is to add a digital wing to your business.

We are committed to helping you succeed with a flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members and a support team that treats you like a partner. You can start your 14-day free trial and build your first course now without paying a cent until you are ready to launch. Remember, in a world of complicated fees and third-party redirects, keeping your customers on your own site is your greatest competitive advantage.

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

FAQ

1. Does setting a sale price on Shopify affect my SEO? Setting a sale price does not negatively impact your SEO. In fact, it can improve your click-through rate (CTR) from search results and social media, as many search engines and social platforms can display the "Sale" price or badge in snippets, making your listing more attractive to potential visitors.

2. Can I schedule sale prices to start and end automatically? Standard Shopify product settings do not include a built-in scheduler for the "Compare at price" field. However, you can use Shopify's "Discounts" feature to create scheduled percentage-off or fixed-amount coupons. For more advanced automated price changes, there are various automation tools within the Shopify ecosystem that can update the "Compare at price" field based on a calendar.

3. Will my customers see the sale price in their cart and at checkout? Yes, when you use the "Compare at price" method, Shopify carries the discounted price all the way through the checkout process. Most themes will show both the original and the discounted price in the cart to remind the customer of the value they are receiving right before they finalize their purchase.

4. Can I use sale prices for Tevello courses and memberships? Absolutely. Because Tevello is a native Shopify integration, every digital product you create is handled as a standard Shopify product. This means you can use the "Compare at price" field, bulk editors, and even Shopify's native discount codes to offer promotions on your courses, just as you would for a t-shirt or a pair of shoes.