Shopify Strikethrough Pricing: The Best Workflows for Your Sales & Google Shopping

Hey everyone! I recently saw a fantastic question pop up in the community forums from PeteJelliffe, and it's something many of us wrestle with: "Anyone running sales with strikethrough pricing, what is your current workflow?"

Pete's situation is super common: a small team (3 people), managing 1,000 products, running regular sales, and getting significant traffic from Google Product Search. He's doing a smart "build vs. buy" analysis, and he rightly pointed out that using "compare-at price" can feel a bit like a hack, preferring native discounts if possible. This is a nuanced area in Shopify, so let's break down the best approaches based on collective experience.

Demystifying Shopify's Strikethrough Options: Native vs. Apps vs. Custom

Pete's "build vs. buy" analysis is spot on here, because Shopify doesn't have one single, perfect, out-of-the-box solution for this that covers all bases automatically. It really depends on your specific needs and comfort with code or apps.

The "Compare At Price" Method: The Native Display Hack (or Feature?)

This is probably the most common way merchants display a strikethrough price on their Product Detail Pages (PDPs). Shopify's theme architecture typically uses the "Compare at Price" field to show the original price, and if the regular "Price" field is lower, the theme automatically displays the "Compare at Price" with a strikethrough.

How it Works for Display:

1. Go to a product in your Shopify admin.
2. Under the "Pricing" section, you'll see "Price" and "Compare at price".
3. Enter your original price in "Compare at price" (e.g., $100).
4. Enter your sale price in "Price" (e.g., $80).
5. Your theme should then display $80 with $100 struck through.

Pros:

• Native Display: It’s built into Shopify’s product data structure, so most themes handle the visual display automatically.
• Google Product Search: This method is also recognized by Google Shopping (Google Merchant Center) for displaying sale prices, which is a big win for Pete's traffic from Google.

Cons (and why Pete calls it a "hack"):

• Manual Updates: This is the biggest pain point. For 1,000 products and regular sales, manually updating compare-at prices for each product or variant is incredibly tedious and prone to errors.
• No Direct Discount Reporting: While you can see the difference between "price" and "compare at price," Shopify's native analytics don't track this as a "discount given" in the same way they track discount codes. You'd need custom reporting or an app for that.
• Not a "Discount" in Shopify's System: It's purely a display mechanism. It doesn't trigger automatic discounts at checkout or interact with Shopify's discount code system.

Shopify's Native Discounts: The Cart-Level Solution

Pete mentioned wanting to use native discounts if possible. Shopify does have robust native discount functionality, but it works differently than the PDP strikethrough. These are primarily for applying discounts at the cart or checkout level.

Types of Native Discounts:

• Automatic Discounts: Set up rules (e.g., "Buy X Get Y," percentage off collections) that apply automatically at checkout.
• Discount Codes: Customers enter a code at checkout for a percentage, fixed amount, or free shipping.

Why they don't directly solve PDP strikethrough:

• These discounts don't automatically change the product's "Price" or "Compare at price" fields in the admin, nor do they typically trigger a strikethrough display on the PDP without custom theme code. The original price is shown on the PDP, and the discount is applied later in the funnel.
• For Pete, whose goal is to show the sale price with a strikethrough on the PDP to drive initial interest, native discounts alone aren't the answer.

Enter the Apps: Bridging the Gap (The "Buy" Option)

This is where many merchants, especially those with larger catalogs and frequent sales, turn to the Shopify App Store. Apps are designed to automate the process of managing sales, applying discounts, and displaying strikethrough pricing.

How Apps Help:

• Bulk Editing: Many apps allow you to schedule sales, set start/end dates, and apply "Compare at Prices" or update "Prices" in bulk for entire collections, tags, or specific products.
• Automated Strikethrough: The better apps will not only manage the pricing data but also provide scripts or integrate with your theme to ensure the strikethrough is displayed correctly on PDPs, collection pages, and sometimes even in Google Product Search feeds (though the compare-at price method is usually best for Google).
• Reporting: A key advantage! Many apps offer detailed reporting on sales performance, actual discounts given, and revenue generated from specific promotions, addressing Pete's concern about analytics.
• Flash Sales & Tiered Pricing: Apps often offer more advanced features like flash sale timers, tiered pricing (buy more, save more), and BOGO offers that are difficult to manage natively.

Tradeoffs:

• Cost: Apps come with a monthly subscription fee.
• Theme Compatibility: While good apps are generally compatible, sometimes minor theme adjustments are needed for perfect integration.
• Potential for Conflicts: Rarely, an app might conflict with another app or custom code, though this is less common with reputable apps.

Choosing an App:

Look for apps that specifically mention "bulk pricing editor," "sales scheduler," or "discount manager." Read reviews, check their support, and ensure they explicitly state they handle compare-at price updates and PDP display.

Custom Code & Theme Modifications: The "Build" Option

For those with development resources (or a willingness to learn Liquid and JavaScript), custom code offers the most flexibility and control. This could involve:

• Scripting Price Updates: Using the Shopify API with a custom script (e.g., a Python or Node.js script run on a server) to update "Compare at Price" fields in bulk based on a schedule or external data.
• Theme Logic for Discounts: Modifying your theme's Liquid files to dynamically calculate and display a strikethrough price based on a product tag (e.g., if a product has a "SALE" tag, calculate 20% off and display the original price struck through). This requires careful coding to ensure accuracy and performance.

Pros:

• Ultimate Control: Tailor it exactly to your needs.
• No Monthly Fees: After the initial development cost, there are no recurring subscription fees.

Cons:

• Development Effort: Requires coding skills and ongoing maintenance.
• Reporting: You'd need to build your own reporting mechanisms or integrate with external tools.
• Complexity: Can become complex quickly, especially with varying discount rules or scheduling.

Addressing Pete's Tradeoffs: Manual Effort, Reporting, and Issues

Let's circle back to Pete's specific concerns, as they're crucial for any small team:

Is it more manual than you’d like?

• Compare at Price (Manual): Yes, if done product by product. This is the problem for 1k products.
• Apps: Generally, no. This is their primary value proposition – automation and bulk management. You set it once, schedule it, and it runs.
• Custom Code: Depends on the script. A well-built script can automate everything. A poorly built one can be a nightmare to maintain.

Is reporting/analytics for how much in discounts you’re giving away?

• Compare at Price (Manual): Not natively. You'd need to export data and calculate it yourself in a spreadsheet.
• Apps: Often, yes! Many apps provide excellent dashboards and reports on discount performance. This is a huge benefit for understanding ROI.
• Custom Code: Only if you build it in. This would be an additional development task.

Any issues crop up caused by your solution?

• Compare at Price (Manual): The main issue is human error from manual updates and lack of clear reporting. Forgetting to revert prices, incorrect pricing, etc.
• Apps: Generally stable, but always check reviews for recent bugs. Compatibility with specific themes or other apps can sometimes be a minor hurdle, but good support usually resolves this.
• Custom Code: Can introduce bugs if not thoroughly tested. Requires ongoing maintenance for Shopify updates or theme changes.

So, what's the takeaway for Pete and other merchants facing this?

For a team of three managing 1,000 products with regular sales and needing good reporting, relying solely on manual "Compare at Price" updates is going to be a massive headache. While the "Compare at Price" is essential for the display and for Google Product Search, the management of those prices is where you need automation.

My strong recommendation, echoing what I've seen work best for countless stores, is to lean heavily into a reputable third-party app. It strikes the best balance between automation, ease of use for a small team, robust reporting, and ensuring your PDPs and Google listings look exactly right. It addresses the "buy" part of your analysis by providing a managed solution that avoids the manual pitfalls and offers the analytics you need.

If you're dead set on avoiding app subscriptions and have strong development resources, a custom script to manage the "Compare at Price" fields via API is a viable, albeit more complex, "build" option. But for most, especially those balancing multiple tasks, an app is the way to go to keep those sales running smoothly without the manual grind.