WooCommerce: Boost Sales with Striking Discounts – A Step-by-Step Guide
Want to grab your customers’ attention and drive more sales? Offering discounts is a classic strategy, but presenting those discounts with a “strike-through” price display can be incredibly effective. The visual contrast of the original price crossed out next to the discounted price instantly showcases the value and creates a sense of urgency. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to create discounts with strike-through pricing in WooCommerce, enabling you to easily highlight your special offers and entice your shoppers.
Why Use Strike-Through Pricing?
Before diving into the how-to, let’s briefly touch on why strike-through pricing is so powerful:
- Visual Impact: The crossed-out original price immediately draws the eye and emphasizes the price reduction.
- Perceived Value: Customers perceive a greater value when they see the difference between the original and discounted prices.
- Sense of Urgency: Strike-through pricing can subtly suggest a limited-time offer, encouraging faster purchasing decisions.
- Increased Conversions: By making your discounts more prominent, you can significantly boost your conversion rates.
- Enter the original price in the “Regular price” field.
- Enter the discounted price in the “Sale price” field.
Creating Discounts with Strike-Through Pricing in WooCommerce
WooCommerce natively handles strike-through pricing whenever a product is on sale. You don’t need any special plugins for basic discounts. Here’s how to set it up:
#### Method 1: Setting a Sale Price for a Single Product
1. Log in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard: Navigate to your website’s admin panel (usually `yourwebsite.com/wp-admin`).
2. Go to Products: In the left-hand menu, click on “Products” and then “All Products.”
3. Edit the Product: Find the product you want to discount and click “Edit” or the product title.
4. Product Data Meta Box: Scroll down to the “Product data” meta box. Make sure it’s set to “Simple product” or any other product type you’re using.
5. General Tab: Under the “General” tab, you’ll see two price fields: “Regular price” and “Sale price.”
// Example: // Regular price: $50 // Sale price: $40
6. Schedule the Sale (Optional): You can schedule the sale to run for a specific period. Click on the “Schedule” link next to the “Sale price” field. Choose the start and end dates for the sale.
7. Update the Product: Click the “Update” button at the top right of the page to save your changes.
Once you update the product, the front-end will automatically display the original price with a strike-through and the sale price next to it.
#### Method 2: Setting a Sale Price for Variable Products
For variable products (products with different variations like size or color), the process is slightly different:
1. Follow steps 1-3 from Method 1: Navigate to the product you want to edit.
2. Product Data Meta Box: Ensure the “Product data” meta box is set to “Variable product.”
3. Variations Tab: Click on the “Variations” tab.
4. Expand Each Variation: For each variation, click the downward arrow to expand its settings.
5. Set Prices: Enter the “Regular price” and “Sale price” for *each* variation. Just like with simple products, the “Sale price” is the discounted price.
// Example: // Variation: Size Large // Regular price: $60 // Sale price: $50
6. Update the Product: Click the “Update” button at the top right of the page to save your changes.
Now, when a customer selects a variation with a sale price, they will see the strike-through pricing on the product page.
#### Method 3: Using WooCommerce Coupons for Discounts
Coupons are a great way to offer discounts on specific products or categories, and they also automatically display strike-through pricing when applied.
1. Go to Marketing > Coupons: From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to “Marketing” and then “Coupons.”
2. Create a New Coupon: Click “Add coupon.”
3. Coupon Code: Enter a unique coupon code.
4. Discount Type: Choose the discount type (e.g., “Percentage discount,” “Fixed cart discount,” or “Fixed product discount”).
5. Coupon Amount: Enter the discount amount.
6. Usage Restriction: You can restrict the coupon to specific products or categories.
7. Usage Limits: Set usage limits if desired (e.g., limit the number of times the coupon can be used).
8. Publish the Coupon: Click “Publish.”
When a customer applies the coupon during checkout, the products with the discount will display the strike-through pricing.
Troubleshooting
- Strike-Through Not Showing: If the strike-through pricing isn’t showing, double-check that you’ve entered both the “Regular price” and the “Sale price” correctly. Clear your website’s cache and your browser’s cache. Also, inspect the product page using your browser’s developer tools to ensure there are no CSS conflicts preventing the strike-through from displaying.
- Theme Conflicts: Some themes might override the default WooCommerce styling. If you’re experiencing issues, try temporarily switching to a default WooCommerce theme like Storefront to see if that resolves the problem. If it does, the issue is likely with your theme’s CSS.
Conclusion
Implementing discounts with strike-through pricing in WooCommerce is a simple yet effective way to boost your sales and attract more customers. By visually highlighting the savings, you can create a sense of urgency and increase conversion rates. With the methods outlined in this guide, you can easily set up these discounts for individual products, variable products, or even through coupon codes. Remember to always test your discounts thoroughly to ensure they are working as expected and that your customers are seeing the correct pricing. Start experimenting with strike-through pricing today and watch your sales soar!
