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Pricing and Inventory Management

This guide covers bulk editing of pricing and inventory fields, including best practices for price updates, inventory synchronization, and maintaining accurate stock levels across your product catalog.

Pricing Fields​

Price​

The regular selling price of your products.

Field Details:

  • Type: Decimal number
  • Currency: Based on your store's default currency
  • Validation: Must be positive, cannot be negative
  • Impact: Affects customer pricing, profit calculations

Common Operations:

Fixed Value: 29.99
Formula: price * 1.15  // 15% increase
Find/Replace: Find "19.99" Replace "24.99"
Conditional: IF product_type = "Premium" THEN price * 1.2

Compare At Price​

The original or reference price, typically used to show discounts.

Field Details:

  • Type: Decimal number (optional)
  • Purpose: Display crossed-out "was" price
  • Best Practice: Should be higher than regular price
  • SEO Impact: Helps with sale/discount visibility

Common Operations:

Save Original: compare_at_price = price  // Before applying discount
Clear Sales: compare_at_price = null     // Remove sale pricing
Percentage Above: price * 1.25           // 25% higher reference

Cost Per Item​

Your cost basis for the product, used for profit calculations.

Field Details:

  • Type: Decimal number
  • Visibility: Internal only, not shown to customers
  • Purpose: Profit margin calculations, reporting
  • Currency: Same as store currency

Common Operations:

Fixed Cost: 15.50
Formula: price * 0.4  // 40% of selling price
Import: Update from supplier CSV
Markup Calculation: cost_per_item * 2.5  // 150% markup

Inventory Fields​

Inventory Quantity​

Current stock levels for each variant.

Field Details:

  • Type: Integer number
  • Tracking: Only works if inventory tracking is enabled
  • Validation: Cannot be negative
  • Real-time: Updates immediately affect availability

Common Operations:

Set Stock: 100
Adjust: inventory_quantity + 50  // Add 50 units
Sync: Import from warehouse CSV
Reset: 0  // Clear all inventory

Inventory Tracking​

Controls whether Shopify tracks stock levels.

Field Details:

  • Type: Boolean (Enabled/Disabled)
  • Default: Usually enabled for physical products
  • Impact: Affects inventory quantity functionality
  • Digital Products: Often disabled

When to Enable:

  • Physical products with limited stock
  • Products requiring stock management
  • Items with supplier inventory tracking

When to Disable:

  • Digital downloads
  • Services
  • Made-to-order products
  • Unlimited stock items

Inventory Policy​

Determines what happens when inventory reaches zero.

Options:

  • Deny - Stop selling when out of stock
  • Continue - Allow overselling

Field Details:

  • Type: Selection (Deny/Continue)
  • Customer Impact: Affects checkout availability
  • Business Impact: Prevents overselling vs. lost sales

Best Practices:

Physical Products: "Deny" (prevent overselling)
Digital Products: "Continue" (unlimited availability)
Pre-orders: "Continue" (allow advance orders)
Custom Items: "Continue" (made to order)

Bulk Pricing Strategies​

Percentage-Based Updates​

Apply consistent percentage changes across products:

Price Increases:

Formula: price * 1.10  // 10% increase
Filter: Product Type = "Electronics"
Timing: Beginning of fiscal year

Sale Pricing:

Step 1: compare_at_price = price  // Save original
Step 2: price = price * 0.8       // 20% off
Filter: Tags contains "sale-eligible"

Seasonal Adjustments:

Winter Sale: price * 0.7   // 30% off
Spring Cleanup: price * 0.5  // 50% off
Holiday Premium: price * 1.15  // 15% increase

Tiered Pricing​

Set different prices based on product characteristics:

By Product Type:

IF product_type = "Premium" THEN price * 1.5
IF product_type = "Standard" THEN price * 1.2
IF product_type = "Basic" THEN price * 1.0

By Inventory Level:

IF inventory_quantity > 100 THEN price * 0.95  // Volume discount
IF inventory_quantity < 10 THEN price * 1.1    // Scarcity premium

By Vendor:

IF vendor = "Premium Brand" THEN cost_per_item * 3.0
IF vendor = "Standard Brand" THEN cost_per_item * 2.5
IF vendor = "Budget Brand" THEN cost_per_item * 2.0

Inventory Management Workflows​

Daily Inventory Sync​

Synchronize with external inventory systems:

Setup:

  1. Export current inventory levels
  2. Compare with warehouse data
  3. Identify discrepancies
  4. Bulk update quantities

Automation:

Schedule: Daily at 2:00 AM
Filter: Inventory tracking = "Enabled"
Action: Import CSV with new quantities
Notification: Email summary of changes

Low Stock Management​

Identify and manage products running low:

Low Stock Identification:

Filter: inventory_quantity < 10
AND status = "Active"
AND inventory_tracking = "Enabled"
Action: Add "low-stock" tag

Reorder Point Management:

Filter: inventory_quantity < reorder_point
Action: Add "needs-reorder" tag
Notification: Send to purchasing team

Seasonal Inventory Prep​

Prepare inventory for seasonal changes:

Pre-Season Buildup:

Filter: product_type = "Winter Clothing"
AND created_at < "2024-09-01"
Action: inventory_quantity = projected_demand

Post-Season Clearance:

Filter: tags contains "winter-2024"
AND inventory_quantity > 0
Action: price = price * 0.6  // 40% off clearance

Advanced Pricing Techniques​

Dynamic Pricing Formulas​

Create sophisticated pricing rules:

Margin-Based Pricing:

Formula: cost_per_item * (1 + target_margin)
Example: cost_per_item * 2.5  // 150% markup

Competition-Based Pricing:

Formula: competitor_price * 0.95  // 5% below competition
Condition: IF competitor_price > 0

Inventory-Based Pricing:

Formula: base_price * inventory_multiplier
Where: inventory_multiplier = 1 + (100 - inventory_quantity) / 1000

Price Optimization​

Optimize prices for maximum profitability:

A/B Testing Setup:

Group A: price = base_price
Group B: price = base_price * 1.1
Filter: Split by product ID modulo 2

Demand-Based Adjustments:

High Demand: price = price * 1.05  // 5% increase
Low Demand: price = price * 0.95   // 5% decrease

Error Prevention​

Validation Rules​

Implement checks to prevent pricing errors:

Price Validation:

  • Price must be greater than cost
  • Compare-at-price must be greater than price
  • Prices must be reasonable (not $0.01 or $999,999)

Inventory Validation:

  • Quantities must be non-negative
  • Tracking must be enabled for quantity updates
  • Reasonable stock levels (not 999,999 units)

Safety Measures​

Protect against accidental changes:

Preview Changes:

  • Always preview before applying
  • Check sample products manually
  • Verify formulas with test data

Backup Strategy:

  • Export current prices before changes
  • Save original values in custom fields
  • Use job history for rollback capability

Gradual Rollout:

  • Test with small product subset first
  • Apply to one product type at a time
  • Monitor customer response and sales impact

Common Use Cases​

Supplier Price Updates​

Handle regular supplier cost changes:

1. Import new cost data from supplier
2. Calculate new selling prices with target margin
3. Update cost_per_item and price fields
4. Maintain minimum price thresholds

Promotional Campaigns​

Set up time-limited promotions:

Start of Sale:
- compare_at_price = price
- price = price * 0.8
- tags += "flash-sale"

End of Sale:
- price = compare_at_price
- compare_at_price = null
- tags -= "flash-sale"

Inventory Liquidation​

Clear excess inventory:

Filter: inventory_quantity > 50
AND last_sold > 90 days ago
Actions:
- price = cost_per_item * 1.1  // Minimal markup
- tags += "clearance"

Best Practices​

Pricing Strategy​

  • Maintain consistent profit margins
  • Consider psychological pricing ($9.99 vs $10.00)
  • Test price changes on small segments first
  • Monitor competitor pricing regularly

Inventory Management​

  • Set appropriate reorder points
  • Use safety stock for popular items
  • Regular cycle counting and adjustments
  • Coordinate with fulfillment team

Data Quality​

  • Validate all price changes before applying
  • Maintain accurate cost data
  • Regular audits of pricing and inventory
  • Document all bulk changes for accountability

Next Steps​