Seasonal markdowns on Shopify

Markdown strategy is usually written as a plan: 20% now, 40% in three weeks, 60% after that, then archive whatever is left. What breaks is the execution, because each stage is another afternoon of editing.

Each stage is one filtered task with a start date, and the whole plan can be created in a single sitting.

Staging the markdown

• Stage one: −20% for the season’s tag, scheduled for the first markdown date.
• Stage two: a further cut for whatever still has stock, scheduled three weeks later.
• Stage three: the final discount, filtered on inventory so sold-out lines are ignored.
• Finally: product status → archived for anything still unsold after the season.
• Each stage stores its previous prices, so any single stage can be reverted on its own.

Choosing what marks down

• By tag — the season marker, applied when the range was created.
• By creation date — everything added before a cut-off.
• By inventory quantity — only discount what is actually in stock.
• By cost per item or price band — to protect margin on specific ranges.
• Excluding a “core” tag so year-round products never enter the markdown.

A worked example: a three-stage clearance

1. Filter for all three stages: tag is “ss26”, inventory more than 0.
2. Task 1: price −20%, start 1 August.
3. Task 2: price −20% again on the reduced price, start 22 August.
4. Task 3: price −25%, start 12 September.
5. Task 4: product status → archived, start 1 October, filtered on inventory equal to 0.

Protect the floor

Successive percentage cuts compound: three 20% cuts leave you at 51% of the original price, not 40%. If you have a margin floor, calculate the final stage from cost rather than from the current price.

The app can price from cost per item directly, which is the safer way to express “never below cost plus 10%”.

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