I often see brands set big targets for their sales, only to end up with underwhelming results.
Unfortunately, in 2026, you can’t just mark everything down and expect the sales to start rolling in (as much as we’d all love that to be the case!).
What I see time and time again is smaller brands missing a lot of the key pieces that actually make a sale work. They might seem small individually, but together they make a huge difference.
So I wanted to pull together the tips and tricks you can use to keep up with the bigger players.
If I was launching a sale on your site today, this is exactly what I would do…
1. It’s all in the prep
Or as my partner so eloquently puts it, “preparation prevents piss poor performance!” 😅
When launching your sale, there’s always a lot to do, so keep a sale start and end checklist to make sure nothing gets missed. This includes:
- Preparing your homepage, banners, email, and navigation in advance
- Thinking through the customer journey before launch
- Having a clear calendar for the sale so you know what’s happening when – e.g. further reductions or last chance messaging
Most brands leave money on the table by starting too late.
As a small brand, if you want the results of a larger one, you have to act like one. Even if it’s just you behind the scenes, it still needs to be properly planned and mapped out in advance – and then actually followed through.
2. Visibility is everything
Too many brands forget that while they know there’s a big sale on, customers don’t. You have to look at your site through the customer’s eyes and ask how obvious it actually is.
When setting things up, focus on:
-
Making your sale collection prominent in navigation
Bring it to the first position on desktop and mobile. Consider highlighting it visually (for example using a colour like red) and updating the label to something clear like "SALE" or “UP TO 60% OFF”. The goal here is simple: get the click. Once someone is inside the sale section, they’re far more likely to browse and buy. -
Updating your homepage hero banner
Make sure your sale messaging is clear, bold, and consistent across the site so there’s no confusion about where to go or what’s on offer.
Remember, if people can’t see it quickly, they won’t shop it.
3. Make it effortless to shop
Visibility is important, but it’s just as important to make your sale easy to shop.
A poorly laid-out sale where things are hard to find is like walking into a physical shop where the sale section is messy, clothes are strewn all over the floor, and nothing is easy to browse. Pretty quickly, you’d give up – no matter how good the bargains might be – because it just feels like too much effort.
The same applies online. When a customer lands on your sale, they should instantly understand what’s on offer and be able to start shopping without friction.
Create a dedicated sale landing page, and/or make sure your sale collection is fully optimised.
- Keep messaging simple and clear so the offer is obvious straight away
- Make it easy to start browsing from the moment they land
- Add clear filter options like price, category, or size if relevant
- Organise products in a way that feels logical and easy to navigate
If it’s easy to understand and easy to shop, conversion follows naturally.
↑ Crew Clothing sale landing page
↑ Crew Clothing sale collection page
↑ On Angel & Rocket, sale is organised into popular categories like gender, age, and price, so it's super easy to shop.
4. Merchandising matters
Okay, so merchandising always matters, but during sale periods, it really matters.
Make sure your sale items are sitting at the top of all relevant collections so they’re the first thing customers see, not buried underneath full price stock (if you’re using an app like Best Seller Resort, this is where it really comes into play).
It’s also important to think about stock levels here. You don’t want to just surface everything randomly, especially if it means lots of fragmented or almost sold-out variants sitting at the top. That said, showing some items selling out can actually work in your favour. It creates momentum and a bit of urgency.
It’s about balance – highlighting what’s popular and moving, without making the experience feel messy or disjointed.
Also think about scale. If you’ve got 10+ pages of sale products, the reality is most people simply aren't going to scroll through all of it. That first page has to do a lot of the heavy lifting – featuring your best sellers, strongest discounts, and most compelling products right up front.
What people see first is what they’re most likely to buy.
5. Pricing is perception
Of course, there’s always a balance between margin, what’s profitable, clearing stock, and meeting customer expectations of what a sale should look like.
But it’s also important to make the sale feel as appealing as possible.
For example, customers typically expect up to 50% off in an end of season sale, so going in too low (like 20–30%) will feel underwhelming.
However, you always want to leave yourself room to maneuver. Save further markdowns and new lines for clear step changes in messaging – this helps keep the sale feeling fresh, especially if it runs over a few weeks.
On-site, make sure you’re supporting that perception:
- Show original prices clearly struck through
- Highlight savings where possible (percentage off badges work really well)
- Make the value obvious at a glance
People don’t want to have to work it out – they need to understand the deal immediately.
6. Create urgency (but ethically)
It’s important to introduce a sense of urgency during sale periods, but it needs to be used carefully. The goal is to support decision-making, not to overwhelm people or create false pressure.
Low stock messaging and “selling fast” indicators can work well when they’re genuine, as they help customers understand what’s popular and what might not stick around for long.
You could also consider adding a sticky countdown timer above your announcement bar.
I must admit I’m not especially fond of these in general as I often see people use them disingenuously – where the timer simply resets every 24 hours so it always looks like the sale is ending, when it actually isn’t... 😒
This isn't only false advertisement, but also a sure-fire way to lose trust with your customers, so don’t do this!
That said, when they’re used properly, they can serve a purpose and help remind people there’s a limited window to make the most of sale pricing. This tends to work best in the final days of a sale, but you do need to be careful not to switch it on too early, otherwise it loses its impact.
I’ve used the Essential Countdown Timer Bar app before (there’s a free version up to a certain number of monthly page views).
Clear messaging across your site and emails is also important, so customers know exactly when the sale finishes. Don’t fall into the trap of running a sale that drags on for months and months without a clear end date – you lose urgency, and it quickly just becomes background noise rather than a real event.
7. Remove the friction
Just because people are more likely to impulse buy during a sale doesn’t mean they don’t need convincing – they definitely do. In fact, surfacing the right information at the right time can really help reduce objections and reassure customers.
Make sure key details like delivery and returns are easy to find and clearly explained. For example, can sale items still be returned in the same timeframe as full-price items, or is it different? Little bits of clarity like this go a long way in reducing friction.
And finally, make sure your trust signals are doing their job – reviews, guarantees, and anything else that builds confidence should be prominent, not hidden away. 🧐
This is what removes hesitation at checkout, which is often all sale shoppers need to go through with a purchase.
8. Metadata is a hidden lever
This is a little hack that a lot of brands miss.
Updating your metadata to mention your sale means it will show up in Google search results, which can make a big difference in getting people to click through and explore your sale.
You can do this on individual collections or pages, or if you want to update your homepage, you can go into your online store preferences and adjust it there, then resubmit the page in Google Search Console.
Just make sure you set a reminder to switch it back once the sale ends!
I wouldn’t recommend doing this all the time, but it can be really effective during end-of-season sale periods when you want to maximise click-through from search.
9. Email is your secret weapon
Don’t sleep on email in your sale efforts – it’s often your highest ROI channel and can really drive a large chunk of your sale revenue. This is because you’re speaking to people who’ve already bought from you before and are much more likely to buy again, especially when the price is right.
That said, it’s important to balance the messaging. You don’t want to shout about it too much or people will switch off – it can start to feel a bit desperate and lead to sale fatigue (yep, it's a thing! 🥱).
Instead, think about different angles across the sale period. Start with an early access email for loyalty or returning customers if you can, then your main launch announcement, followed by further touchpoints like new lines added, additional markdowns, and a final “last chance” or extra discount push towards the end.
10. Don’t kill your brand
I know this might sound like I’m contradicting everything I’ve just said, but I think it’s worth finishing on this point.
You don’t want to kill your brand with a sale. Yes, you want to drive revenue, but you also want people to continue shopping with you outside of sale periods. That means you still need to think carefully about your brand image, especially if you’re positioning yourself as more premium or luxury.
- Don’t over-discount everything
- Avoid overly aggressive messaging
- Keep visual and verbal consistency
- Protect long-term brand perception
Short-term revenue shouldn’t damage long-term value. A good example of what NOT to do is overly shouty, desperate messaging like:
❌ “🚨 EVERYTHING MUST GO!!! FINAL FINAL FINAL SALE!!! UP TO 80% OFF EVERYTHING!!! DON’T MISS OUT!!! 🚨”
or
❌ “LAST CHANCE EVER!!! SHOP NOW BEFORE IT’S ALL GONE!!!”
It might get attention, but it doesn’t feel considered – and it rarely aligns with a brand you want people to trust or return to.
Compare that to something more natural and controlled:
✅ “All Your Faves, Now Up to 50% Off”
or
✅ "Sale Just Got Even Better…”
Still clear and commercial, but it feels much more in line with a brand people actually want to shop with again.
Sales aren’t just about discounting. They’re about how well you guide someone through the journey from discovery to checkout.
Small improvements across each stage are what separate underwhelming sales from high-performing ones.
If you need help with your Shopify store or email marketing, you can work with me 1:1 – just book a call and we can talk through your store and what you need support with.
Or, if you’d prefer something lower cost and lower commitment but still want access to me and a community of like-minded store owners, join the community today.
