Keeping popular items stocked in your ecommerce store is good for the customer experience. That said, sometimes a “sold out” message can work in your favor.
This guide explores how to mark products as sold out on Shopify, how to add a sold-out badge, and what to do if your store shows sold-out errors by mistake.
How To Mark Products as Sold Out on Your Shopify Store
Sold-out messages can help you deal with unexpected emergencies, such as supplier issues. Here’s how to add a sold-out badge on Shopify.
Change Inventory Levels
Shopify stores automatically stop selling products that are out of stock. These items usually appear grayed out or say “sold out.”
To take advantage of this feature, first enable inventory tracking on Shopify. Go to Admin > Products. Click on the item(s) and check the box marked “Track quantity,” then “Save.”
When you know how Shopify works, you can change inventory levels to mark any product as sold out. Here’s what to do:
- Navigate to Products > Inventory.
- Find the item(s) you want to show as sold out.
- In the “On hand” columns, set the value to zero. This will display “Sold Out” on the product page.
- Alternatively, you can set the “Available” quantity to zero, which instead shows “Unavailable” on the product page.
- Click “Save” to finish.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to use a back-in-stock reminder after things are up and running again.
How To Add a “Sold Out” Badge to Products on Shopify
Sometimes, marking a product as “sold out” is used to generate fear of missing out. This psychological tactic is called the sold-out effect.
FOMO makes customers more likely to buy remaining products because the clock is ticking. This marketing strategy works well with brands that have a loyal fanbase eagerly awaiting the next big thing.
Shopify’s default themes can display a small “Sold out” on product pages. If you’re comfortable making changes to the site’s liquid code, you can edit the Shopify schema for this text. Some premium themes come with a variety of badges to display on product and collection pages, including larger “sold out” badges or countdown timers.
Another user-friendly solution is to get an app to manage pre-orders. This type of app lets you customize your messaging, like “Coming soon,” “Out of stock,” or the reason for the shortage.
How To Fix “Sold Out” Errors on Shopify
Do your Shopify products say “sold out” even though there are plenty available? This can be related to a bug with Shopify updates. It’s rare, but when it happens, your entire inventory is affected. Reach out to customer support ASAP.
More commonly, the error affects stores with multiple warehouses or store locations. If the location assigned to a certain market is out of stock, Shopify marks the product as sold out for that region, even if your other locations have it. To solve this sold-out error in Shopify, add inventory units to the correct distribution location.
How Do You Keep Customers Interested When Products Are Sold Out?
At StayTuned Digital, our easy-to-use apps can help you do a lot more than just mark products as sold out. With a dedicated pre-order app for Shopify, you can build interest in new products and maintain momentum when you’re out of stock. Request a demo today and keep your customers coming back for more.