How to Put Products on Sale in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you want to boost sales and attract new customers? Putting your products on sale in WooCommerce is a fantastic way to do just that! Don’t worry if you’re new to the platform. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, making it easy even for complete beginners. We’ll cover everything from simple sales to more advanced scheduled sales, with plenty of real-world examples.
Think of it like this: you’re running a small online bookstore. You have a stack of slightly damaged novels you want to clear out, and you want to attract attention to your popular self-help books. Putting them on sale is the perfect way to do it!
Why Put Products on Sale?
Before we dive in, let’s understand *why* sales are so effective:
- Increased Visibility: Sale prices are eye-catching. They often lead to higher click-through rates and more visits to your product pages. Prominent badges and sale prices make customers stop and look.
- Boosted Sales: Reduced prices make products more attractive, leading to increased purchase volume. Remember that bookstore? A 20% discount on those self-help books could encourage customers to add them to their cart impulsively.
- Inventory Clearance: Sales are a great way to clear out old stock, overstocked items, or seasonal products to make way for new inventory. Perfect for those slightly damaged novels!
- Customer Loyalty: Offering sales can reward loyal customers and encourage repeat business. Think of it as a “thank you” for their patronage.
- “Set new” to specify a fixed sale price for all selected products. This isn’t usually recommended unless you’re clearing out everything for the same price.
- “Increase by percent” or “Decrease by percent”: This is the most common option. Select “Decrease by percent” and enter the percentage discount (e.g., 10 for a 10% discount).
- “Increase by fixed amount” or “Decrease by fixed amount”: Less common, but useful if you want to discount all products by a specific dollar amount.
Putting a Single Product on Sale: The Simple Method
This is the easiest way to put a product on sale in WooCommerce. Let’s say you want to offer a 15% discount on your “Yoga for Beginners” DVD. Here’s how:
1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Products > All Products.
3. Find the product you want to put on sale (e.g., “Yoga for Beginners DVD”) and click “Edit”.
4. In the “Product data” meta box (usually below the product description), you’ll see a “General” tab. This is where the magic happens!
5. Enter the regular price in the “Regular price” field (e.g., $20.00).
6. Enter the sale price in the “Sale price” field (e.g., $17.00). Calculate the discounted price beforehand to avoid confusion!
7. Click “Update” at the top or bottom of the page.
That’s it! WooCommerce automatically calculates the discount and displays the sale price on your product page. You’ll usually see the original price crossed out and the sale price highlighted. This visual cue is essential to attract customer attention.
Scheduling a Sale for a Future Date
What if you want to plan a sale in advance? Let’s say you’re planning a Black Friday promotion for your “Meditation Cushion” product. Here’s how to schedule the sale:
1. Follow steps 1-5 above (logging in, navigating to the product edit page, and entering regular and sale prices).
2. Next to the “Sale price” field, you’ll see a “Schedule” link. Click it.
3. A date range selection box will appear. Choose the start and end dates for your sale. For Black Friday, you might set the start date for the day before Thanksgiving and the end date for the following Monday.
4. Click “Update” to save your changes.
WooCommerce will automatically activate the sale on the start date and remove the sale price on the end date. Scheduling sales is a powerful time-saving feature, allowing you to plan your promotions in advance.
Putting Multiple Products on Sale Using Bulk Editing
If you have a large number of products to put on sale (perhaps all your fiction books), bulk editing is your friend.
1. Navigate to Products > All Products.
2. At the top of the product list, check the checkbox next to “Title” to select all products on the current page. Alternatively, select individual products by checking their respective checkboxes.
3. In the “Bulk actions” dropdown menu, select “Edit” and click “Apply”.
4. A bulk editing panel will appear. Find the “Sale” section (or similar, depending on your WooCommerce version).
5. You can choose to:
6. Click “Update”.
Important: Be very careful when using bulk editing! Double-check your settings before clicking “Update” to avoid unintended price changes.
Code Snippets for Advanced Sale Management (For Developers)
For those comfortable with code, you can use PHP snippets to implement more advanced sale logic. Always back up your site before modifying code!
For example, you could automatically set a sale price based on the product’s regular price:
add_action( 'woocommerce_before_save_product', 'auto_set_sale_price' );
function auto_set_sale_price( $product ) {
// Only apply to specific product categories (e.g., ‘clearance’)
if ( has_term( ‘clearance’, ‘product_cat’, $product->get_id() ) ) {
$regular_price = $product->get_regular_price();
$sale_price = $regular_price * 0.8; // 20% discount
$product->set_sale_price( $sale_price );
}
}
This code snippet automatically applies a 20% discount to products in the “clearance” category. Remember to adapt the code to your specific needs and testing thoroughly.
Displaying Sale Badges Effectively
WooCommerce typically displays a default “Sale!” badge. However, you can customize this to make it more appealing and informative.
- Consider using a plugin like “WooCommerce Sale Badge Customizer” to change the badge’s text, color, and position.
- Use clear and concise language. Instead of “Sale!”, try “20% Off!” or “Limited Time Offer!”.
- Ensure the badge is visible and doesn’t obstruct other important product information.
Conclusion: Maximize Your WooCommerce Sales
Putting your products on sale in WooCommerce is a powerful strategy for driving sales, clearing inventory, and attracting new customers. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, the methods outlined in this guide will help you create effective and engaging sales campaigns. Remember to plan ahead, track your results, and adjust your strategies as needed to maximize your return on investment. Happy selling!
