Margin-based pricing on Shopify

Most stores price by habit: a number that felt right when the product was added, adjusted occasionally. Margin-based pricing replaces that with a rule you can state, audit and re-run whenever costs move.

It only works if cost per item is accurate, which is why the two jobs usually happen in the same task.

Expressing the policy

• Price → adjust based on cost per item, by percentage, for a markup rule.
• Price → adjust based on cost per item, by amount, for a fixed contribution per unit.
• Round to — decide the ending after the arithmetic, not before.
• Different rules per product type or vendor, run as separate tasks.
• Optionally set compare-at price from the new price if you want a visible reference.

Where to apply which margin

• By product type — categories rarely share a single target margin.
• By vendor — supplier terms differ.
• By cost band — thin margins on high-cost items, wider on accessories.
• Excluding contract-priced products by tag.
• Where cost per item is empty — find them first; a margin rule cannot price what has no cost.

A worked example: markup by category

1. Task 1: filter product type “Accessories”, price → based on cost, increase by 160%, round to .95.
2. Task 2: filter product type “Footwear”, price → based on cost, increase by 120%, round to .95.
3. Before either: filter cost per item is empty, and fill those in.
4. Check the calculation example, then run each task and read the log.

Markup is not margin

A 100% markup on a cost of 10 gives a price of 20 and a margin of 50%. Stating which one you mean before you type the percentage avoids the most common pricing mistake in bulk editing.

Once the rule is right, save it as a recurring task and new products inherit your pricing policy instead of whatever was typed when they were created.

Related guides