Shopify store owners know it can be frustrating for customers when an “out-of-stock” variant keeps appearing at their storefront. Luckily, there are some simple tips you can follow to quickly hide Sold Out Variants on Shopify.
This tutorial will outline how to conceal out of stock product variants on your website without using third-party applications.
1. Use a third-party app
There are numerous third-party apps that can assist in managing inventory and hiding sold out variants on Shopify, but one of the best is Nada: Sort & Hide Out-of-Stock, which automatically unpublishes out-of-stock items from sales channels while creating redirects so there are no 404 errors. Starting at $4.99 a month with a 7-day free trial available this app starts from just under $40/month!
Your Shopify store allows you to use custom code to hide sold out variants. While this method can be more complex, it could save time by automating stock levels instead of manually checking for stock levels yourself. To use it effectively, first duplicate your product template by opening its details page and clicking “Duplicate”, and then edit that new version with this code:
Alternately, you can use a third-party app to divide product variants into individual products. This will allow you to set unique titles, descriptions, and images for each variant and make it easier for customers to locate what they’re searching for quickly and easily. There are several third-party apps that are capable of doing this on Shopify but some can be costly.
An effective way of concealing sold out variants on your Shopify site is using a notification app. This enables you to notify customers immediately when their item is back in stock, increasing customer satisfaction while expanding sales potential.
There are a few apps that can do this, but most cost more than $99 monthly and therefore are unaffordable for small businesses. But Back in Stock offers an affordable alternative that’s completely free of cost – the perfect Shopify notification app for out-of-stock products that’s easy to install, customizable to match your brand style, compatible with recent themes including Brooklyn Boundless Debut Express Minimal Narrative Simple
2. Uncheck the “Continue selling when out of stock” option
Product variants are an indispensable aspect of online stores, providing customers with multiple choices to find what’s just right. From red sneaker laces to 64GB laptops, offering customers different choices will increase customer satisfaction rates and boost sales potential. But managing inventory properly and not running out of stock products are still vitally important; one strategy to accomplish this may include hiding unstocked variants on your storefront.
To hide a product variant, log into your Shopify admin and navigate to “Products”. Locate the product containing the variant you’d like to hide and click “Edit.” In the Variants section, uncheck “Continue Selling When Out Of Stock”, as this will prevent customers from seeing that variant when it goes out of stock – potentially discouraging purchases altogether.
Another way of concealing sold-out variants is with a third-party app. There are a variety of apps on the market that will automatically hide out-of-stock variants for you, saving time and effort. Installation and setup usually happen easily and some may even be free – though be wary as some apps can cause issues with your website if chosen without reading reviews first!
Alternatively, Shopify themes offer another method for hiding sold-out variants without incurring extra costs: Boundless, Brooklyn Debut Express Minimal Narrative Supply are among those equipped with this feature. However, this method may not suit every store as it requires custom coding in order to hide variants from product selector.
If you don’t want to invest in an app, a product waitlist system can also serve to notify customers when an item returns in stock and therefore increase sales when products are out-of-stock. Learn more about setting up such a waitlist here and also consider customizing out-of-stock product labels for enhanced customer experience.
3. Set the stock quantity to 0
If your products come in multiple variants, hiding those that are out of stock may help customers from becoming disgruntled and abandoning their purchase journeys. There are various methods you can employ to do so and each has their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
One option is to utilize a third-party app that will hide sold-out variants automatically for you, eliminating the hassle of manually hiding them yourself. There are plenty of such apps on Shopify App Store; just be sure to read reviews prior to selecting one!
Setting the stock quantity to zero may also help prevent products from being displayed when they have gone out of stock; however, this solution should only be seen as temporary; once more items come back into your inventory you will need to adjust its stock quantity again.
Product waitlists are also an effective way of building customer loyalty and brand trust if the item in question is highly sought-after.
However, this feature is only available with more advanced Shopify plans; even without them you can still employ strategies such as placing out-of-stock products at the bottom of collections or adding “Sold Out” badges to them.
Automated collection rules offer another effective solution for hiding out-of-stock products and avoiding 404 errors while decreasing inventory management time. To set these up, navigate to your Shopify Admin dashboard > Products > Collections and then Edit any collection before selecting Inventory Stock Greater Than or Equal To Zero in Conditions section followed by Hide out-of-Stock Items under Condition tabs.
Hiding sold-out variants is an effective way to enhance customer experience on your website and ensure they can find what they’re searching for quickly and easily. By following these simple guidelines, you can avoid frustrating visitors while increasing conversions on your site.
4. Hide the variants on the product page
If you operate an online store, product images are essential to driving conversions and customer engagement. When offering multiple variants for one item–for instance different sizes or colors–it can be challenging to manage inventory without overselling or alienating your customers. Luckily there are ways of hiding sold-out or unavailable variants on Shopify websites.
One approach is to utilize a third-party app like Egnition’s Out-of-Stock Police. This tool automatically moves out-of-stock products down collection pages or hides them altogether, and allows you to set stock quantity alerts so you’ll know when certain products or variants have run low on stock.
An alternative way of hiding variants is using a custom code snippet, which will add a checkbox that allows customers to only see available variants when selecting from the dropdown menu. This solution offers simple yet straightforward way to avoid overselling and irritating customers.
Keep an eye on your inventory to make sure popular items remain available and avoid overselling. When selling out of an item variant, replenishing as soon as possible to minimize disappointment among customers and ensure your business remains profitable.
