Products don\u2019t last forever, and sometimes you need to discontinue products or ensure that they\u2019re not put on sale for a period of time. For instance, products might be only available for a certain time during the year such a ticket sales, seasonal licenses, etc. Or you might have seasonal products that you only want to sell in the run-up to a holiday\/event to get the best value for the product (e.g. Christmas).<\/p>\n
Managing this stock manually can be done with ease if you have a small enough store with fewer SKUs. However, it isn\u2019t always possible. Instead, you might want to make the process automatic. That is, you will automatically remove a product from your store (discontinue) when the product is no longer available for sale.<\/p>\n
There are many options to discontinue products on Shopify. One approach is to delete all product variants of seasonal or discontinued items. Another option is to archive discontinued products entirely. These actions can be facilitated through Shopify advanced customizations or third-party apps.<\/p>\n
However, there are numerous benefits to making the process of automatically discontinue products in Shopify. For one, automating this process keeps your website relevant and fresh, allowing you to improve the trust and aesthetics of your website. It would look rather poor if customers saw Christmas jumpers on your store in April.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also more time-efficient for you to have the process automatic. This will allow you to spend more time marketing your website instead of manually maintaining and hiding products. Therefore, you can grow your audience better and faster.<\/p>\n
This automatic option can also prevent you from having to take queries from customers who might want a discount because a product is now out of season. Whereas if the product was properly hidden when out of season, they would be happy to pay full price during the relevant period.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking to automatically hide products on Shopify, then the best option is to use an app on your website. There are many options that are available, however, one of the top apps for this task is Auto Hide, Auto Publish. Using a hide sold out products<\/a> app allows you to set a date\/time when products can be hidden and published to ensure that you are only showing products that are available at the set date\/time that you want to sell them.<\/p>\n This can be very beneficial as it prevents you from accidentally leaving a product available and the low cost allows you to put your time to better use. The app will also hide products if they get below a specific stock threshold that you specify to your customers, therefore, it has a wide range of functions to help you keep customers happy when they\u2019re making orders on your website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Products don\u2019t last forever, and sometimes you need to discontinue products or ensure that they\u2019re not put on sale for a period of time. For instance, products might be only\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_title":"%%title%% %%page%% [year]","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Discover the best strategies to automatically discontinue products on Shopify. Learn how to maintain customer engagement and...","_yoast_wpseo_metatitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-shopify-apps"},"acf":{"breadcrumbs":[{"postpage":[3102]}],"conclusion":"Strategies for\u00a0Discontinued Products on Shopify<\/h2>\r\n
SEO Considerations for Discontinued Products<\/h3>\r\nWhen discontinuing products, it's crucial to consider the SEO impact. Deleting product pages can lead to lost search rankings and broken links. Instead, mark products as out-of-stock and redirect URLs to relevant pages.\r\n\r\nThis approach maintains SEO value and guides customers to alternative products.\r\n
Utilizing Out-of-Stock Notifications<\/h3>\r\nInstead of hiding out-of-stock items, leverage them for customer engagement. Implementing back-in-stock notifications can convert potential losses into future sales.\r\n\r\nThis strategy keeps customers informed and encourages return visits to your store when products are available again.\r\n
Automated Collection Rules for Inventory Management<\/h3>\r\nAutomate the visibility of products based on stock levels using Shopify's collection rules. This method ensures only in-stock items are displayed, reducing manual effort and improving the shopping experience.\r\n\r\nIt's a seamless way to manage product availability without affecting customer trust.\r\n
Managing Discontinued Products on Shopify<\/h2>\r\n
Creating a Discontinued Collection<\/h3>\r\nFor products that are permanently discontinued, consider creating a 'Discontinued' collection.\r\n\r\nThis archive can showcase the types of products you've offered, serving as a historical catalog and potentially attracting customer interest in similar current products.\r\n
Handling Out-of-Stock Products<\/h3>\r\nFor out-of-stock products, clearly communicate their status to avoid customer frustration. Use clear messaging and consider offering alternatives or the option to be notified when the product is back in stock.\r\n\r\nThis approach maintains a positive user experience and keeps customers engaged.\r\n
Strategic Product Visibility<\/h3>\r\nDecide strategically which products to hide or keep visible. For temporarily unavailable items, consider keeping them visible with an out-of-stock status.\r\n\r\nFor permanently discontinued items, redirect their URLs to similar products or categories to retain SEO benefits and guide customers to available options.\r\n
Conclusion: How to Automatically Discontinue Products on Shopify<\/h2>\r\nWhen you want to automatically discontinue or hide products on Shopify, there is only one option, using an app. You also have other options for products in your Shopify product set up<\/a>. Apps can help save you time, ensure accuracy and can even help you get the product back on the store when it is time to sell it again if you so wish. Use the app recommended above to get the task started.","repeater":null,"filter":false,"attach_to_post":[3102],"author_bio":false,"custom_author_bio":false,"author_bio_name":"","author_bio_info":"","_meta_excerpt_title":"","meta_excerpt":"","trust_signals":{"expert_reviewed":true,"items_tested":""},"key_statistics":null,"key_takeaways":{"takeaways_items":null},"required_subtopics":null,"context_block":{"context_heading":"","context_excerpt":"","context_content":""},"methodology":{"methodology_heading":"","methodology_content":""},"comparison_table":"","mid_content_cta":{"cta_text":"","cta_button_text":"","cta_link":""}},"yoast_head":"\n