Shopify Automated Product Sorting: Complete Guide

Automated product sorting determines the order in which products appear within your Shopify collections. The right sorting strategy puts your best products in front of customers first, improving engagement and conversions. This guide covers Shopify's built-in sorting options and strategies for optimizing product order.

Why Product Order Matters

Product placement within collections affects:

First impressions: Top products set customer expectations
Engagement: Poor sorting leads to quick exits
Conversions: Relevant products first means more sales
Average order value: Strategic placement drives cross-sells

Shopify's Built-in Sorting Options

Shopify offers several sorting methods for collections:

Best Selling

Products sorted by sales volume. Best for:

Established stores with sales history
Categories where popularity indicates quality
Building social proof through visible bestsellers

Alphabetically (A-Z or Z-A)

Products sorted by title. Best for:

Brand collections (customers know what they want)
Large catalogs where customers search by name
Reference-style collections

Price (Low to High or High to Low)

Products sorted by price. Best for:

Budget-conscious shoppers (low to high)
Luxury positioning (high to low)
Price-focused collections

Date (Newest to Oldest or Oldest to Newest)

Products sorted by creation date. Best for:

New arrivals collections
Trend-driven categories
Stores with frequent new inventory

Manual

You drag and drop products to set order. Best for:

Featured products collections
Curated selections
Marketing campaigns

Advanced Sorting Options: AWSM Collections provides additional sorting algorithms and rules beyond Shopify's native options, helping you optimize product placement automatically.

Setting Sort Order

Go to Products > Collections in Shopify admin
Select the collection to edit
Scroll to the Products section
Click the Sort dropdown
Select your preferred sort order
Click Save

Customer-Facing Sort Options

Allow customers to sort products themselves:

Most themes include sort dropdowns on collection pages
Common options: Featured, Best Selling, Price, Newest
The default sort is what you set in the admin

Sorting Strategies by Collection Type

Homepage Featured

Use manual sorting to control exactly which products appear first.

Category Collections

Best selling or newest works well for general browsing.

Sale Collections

Consider sorting by discount percentage (requires app) or price.

New Arrivals

Sort by date (newest first) to keep fresh products at the top.

Advanced Sorting Considerations

Inventory Levels

Push out-of-stock products to the bottom so customers see available items first. This requires an app or custom solution.

Profit Margin

Feature higher-margin products first to maximize revenue per sale.

Review Ratings

If you have product reviews, consider featuring highly-rated products prominently.

Seasonal Relevance

Adjust sorting to prioritize seasonal products during relevant times.

Using Tags for Sort Control

With manual sorting, use tags to help organize:

Tag featured products for easy identification
Use priority tags (priority_high, priority_low)
Tag products by promotional status

Mobile Considerations

Sorting matters even more on mobile:

Fewer products visible per screen
Users scroll quickly—top products matter most
Test sort order on mobile devices

Measuring Sort Effectiveness

Use analytics to evaluate:

Which products get the most views from collections
Conversion rates by product position
Scroll depth on collection pages
Add-to-cart rates for different sort orders

A/B Testing Sort Orders

Test different sorting strategies:

Choose a collection with significant traffic
Run one sort order for a week
Switch to another sort order for a week
Compare conversion rates and revenue
Implement the winning sort order

Conclusion

Automated product sorting affects how customers experience your collections. Choose sort orders that match customer intent—best selling for social proof, newest for trend-seekers, or price for budget-conscious shoppers. Test different approaches and measure results to find what works best for your store.