Show Stock Quantity on Your WooCommerce Product Pages: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’re running a WooCommerce store and want to display how Read more about How To Enable Rest Api In Woocommerce many units you have in stock for each product? Great idea! Showing your stock quantity can significantly improve the customer experience and potentially boost sales. Think of it like this: would you be more likely to buy that cool gadget if you knew there were only 3 left? Probably!
This guide will walk you through exactly how to show stock quantity on product pages in WooCommerce, even if you’re a total beginner. We’ll cover the built-in options, discuss some helpful plugins, and touch on customizing the display for a more personalized touch.
Why Show Stock Quantity?
Before we dive into the “how,” let’s quickly touch on the “why.” Showing stock quantity provides several benefits:
- Creates a Sense of Urgency: Limited stock (“Only 2 left!”) can encourage customers to purchase immediately, preventing them from delaying and potentially forgetting.
- Builds Trust: Transparency about your inventory makes your store seem more credible and professional. Customers appreciate knowing what to expect.
- Improves Conversion Rates: By giving customers complete information, you’re empowering them to make informed decisions, leading to increased sales.
- Reduces Customer Service Inquiries: Less “Do you have this in stock?” questions equals more time for you to focus on other crucial aspects of your business.
- Prevents Frustration: Imagine a customer trying to order 10 of an item, only to find out during checkout that you only have 2. Showing the quantity upfront avoids this disappointment.
- Enable stock management: Make sure this box is checked! This tells WooCommerce you want to track inventory.
- Hold stock (minutes): Defines how long unpaid orders are held, preventing someone from reserving stock indefinitely.
- Low stock threshold: Sets the quantity at which you’ll receive a low stock notification email. For example, if you set it to ‘2’, you’ll get an email when a product’s stock drops to 2 or less.
- Out of stock visibility: Controls whether out-of-stock products are hidden from your catalog.
- Stock display format: This is the setting we’re most interested in! It offers three options:
- “Always show quantity remaining in stock e.g. ’12 in stock'”: This displays the exact number of units available. (e.g., “5 in stock”)
- “Only show quantity remaining in stock when low e.g. ‘Only 2 left in stock'”: Displays quantity only when stock is below the low stock threshold. (e.g., “Only 2 left in stock”)
- “Never show quantity remaining in stock”: This is the default setting. No stock information is displayed.
- WooCommerce Stock Manager: This plugin provides a centralized interface for managing your entire inventory, including quick editing of stock levels and generating stock reports. While it doesn’t directly affect display, it makes stock management easier, which is essential for accurate stock display.
- Stock Synchronization Plugins: If you sell on multiple platforms (e.g., Etsy, Amazon), consider a plugin that synchronizes your inventory across all channels. This ensures that the displayed stock levels are always accurate, regardless of where the sale originates.
- More control over the display text: You can customize the wording beyond the default options.
- Advanced stock alerts: Receive notifications via email, Slack, or SMS when stock reaches a specific level.
- Integration with other tools: Connect your inventory management with accounting software, fulfillment services, and more.
Method 1: WooCommerce Built-In Settings
WooCommerce comes with built-in options to manage and display stock. Let’s start there:
1. Access WooCommerce Settings: Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to WooCommerce > Settings.
2. Click on the ‘Products’ Tab: Within the settings, click on the ‘Products’ tab, and then choose the “Inventory” sub-tab.
3. Inventory Options: This is where the magic happens. You’ll find several key settings:
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4. Choose Your Preferred Display: Select the option that best suits your needs. Showing the exact quantity can create a sense of urgency, while showing it only when low can be more subtle.
5. Save Changes: Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save changes.”
Example:
Let’s say you sell handmade candles. You might choose to “Always show quantity remaining in stock” to let customers know if a popular scent is running low. Alternatively, if you have a large supply, you could choose to “Only show quantity remaining in stock when low” to avoid scaring away customers who might think your inventory is limited.
Method 2: Using Plugins for Enhanced Stock Management
While the built-in options are a great starting point, plugins offer more advanced control and customization. Here are a couple of popular choices:
Why Use a Plugin?
Plugins can give you:
Method 3: Customizing the Display with Code (Advanced)
If you’re comfortable with PHP and WooCommerce templating, you can customize the stock display to an even greater degree. Be cautious when editing theme files directly. It’s always recommended to use a child theme.
Here’s a simple example of how to modify the displayed text using a code snippet in your child theme’s `functions.php` file:
<?php /**
if ( $product->managing_stock() && $stock_quantity > 0 ) {
if ( $stock_quantity <= 5 ) {
$html = ‘
Hurry! Only ‘ . $stock_quantity . ‘ left!
‘;
} else {
$html = ‘
Available: ‘ . $stock_quantity . ‘
‘;
}
} elseif ( !$product->is_in_stock() ) {
$html = ‘
Out of Stock
‘;
}
return $html;
}
add_filter( ‘woocommerce_get_stock_html’, ‘customize_woocommerce_stock_display’, 10, 2 );
?>
Explanation:
- This code snippet uses the `woocommerce_get_stock_html` filter, which allows you to modify the HTML that WooCommerce generates for the stock display.
- It checks if the product is managing stock and if the quantity is greater than 0.
- If the quantity is 5 or less, it displays a “Hurry!” message to create urgency.
- If the quantity is higher, it displays the stock quantity.
- If the product is out of stock, it displays an “Out of Stock” message.
Important: Always test code snippets thoroughly in a staging environment before implementing them on your live site.
Conclusion
Displaying stock quantity on your WooCommerce product pages is a simple yet powerful way to improve the customer experience, drive sales, and build trust. Whether you choose the built-in settings, a plugin, or custom code, take the time to implement a solution that best suits your business needs. Remember, transparency and clear communication are key to creating a successful online store! Happy selling!
