Shopify Smart Collections: Automated Collection Management

Smart collections (also called automated collections) automatically include products based on conditions you define. Instead of manually adding products, smart collections use rules—like tags, price ranges, or vendors—to populate themselves. This guide covers how to use smart collections effectively.

How Smart Collections Work

Smart collections monitor your products and automatically include those matching your criteria:

You set conditions (e.g., "tag equals sale")
Shopify checks all products against those conditions
Matching products are automatically added
When products change, collections update automatically

Available Conditions

Smart collections can use these product attributes:

Product title: Contains, equals, starts with, ends with
Product type: Equals a specific type
Product vendor: Equals a specific vendor
Product tag: Equals a specific tag
Price: Greater than, less than, equals
Compare at price: Greater than, less than, equals
Weight: Greater than, less than, equals
Inventory stock: Greater than, less than, equals
Variant's title: Contains, equals

Creating a Smart Collection

Go to Products > Collections
Click Create collection
Enter a title and description
Select Automated under Collection type
Add conditions using the dropdowns
Choose all conditions or any condition
Click Save

Extended Smart Collection Features: AWSM Collections adds powerful automation features beyond Shopify's native smart collections, including additional condition types and advanced sorting rules.

Condition Logic: All vs. Any

All Conditions

Products must match every condition:

Condition 1: Tag equals "summer"
Condition 2: Price less than $50
Result: Only summer products under $50

Any Condition

Products matching at least one condition are included:

Condition 1: Tag equals "featured"
Condition 2: Tag equals "bestseller"
Result: Products with either tag (or both)

Smart Collection Examples

Sale Collection

Condition: Compare at price is greater than $0

Automatically includes any product with a compare-at price set.

In-Stock Products

Condition: Inventory stock is greater than 0

Shows only products currently available.

Brand Collection

Condition: Product vendor equals "Brand Name"

Groups all products from one vendor.

Price Range

Conditions (All):

Price is greater than $25
Price is less than $75

Products in the $25-$75 range.

Advantages of Smart Collections

Automatic updates: No manual product management
Consistent categorization: Rules apply to all products
Scalability: Works regardless of catalog size
Time savings: New products are categorized automatically

Limitations of Smart Collections

Limited conditions: Only Shopify's predefined conditions available
No manual override: Can't exclude specific matching products
Sorting limitations: Can't manually reorder products
Depends on data quality: Requires consistent tagging

Apps That Extend Smart Collections

Third-party apps can add capabilities:

AWSM Collections: Adds compound rule groups (AND + OR logic), metafield-based conditions, and scheduled collection updates
Shopify Search & Discovery (free): Customize product order within collections using boost/bury rules based on sales data
Collection merchandising apps: Apps like Bestsellers reSort let you auto-sort collection products by revenue, inventory, or creation date
Shopify Flow (all plans): Automate tagging workflows — for example, auto-add a 'new' tag when products are created, auto-remove it after 30 days

Best Practices

Plan Your Tagging System

Tags drive most smart collections. Create a consistent system before building collections.

Test Before Launch

After creating a collection:

Verify the right products are included
Check that excluded products are actually excluded
Add a test product to confirm automation works

Document Your Rules

Keep a reference of which conditions each collection uses. This helps troubleshooting and onboarding.

Troubleshooting

Products Not Appearing

Check if product matches all conditions (if using "all")
Verify product is published and active
Check tag spelling and capitalization
Check if the product is set to 'Active' status and is available on the 'Online Store' sales channel (Products > [product] > Publishing)

Wrong Products Appearing

Review condition logic (all vs. any)
Check for unintended tag matches
Tighten conditions with additional criteria

Smart Collections and SEO

Even automated collections need SEO attention:

Write unique collection titles
Add keyword-rich descriptions
Set meta titles and descriptions
Use descriptive URL handles

Conclusion

Smart collections automate product organization, saving time and ensuring consistency. Success depends on planning your conditions carefully and maintaining clean product data. Start with simple conditions, test thoroughly, and expand complexity as needed.