[Shopify Plus] Automate your sales! Schedule theme and price changes on Launchpad and important points to note

When starting a large-scale sale or campaign, do you find yourself overwhelmed with tasks like manually switching your site design or changing prices at midnight?

By using the extension app "Launchpad," which is available exclusively on Shopify Plus, you can schedule these tasks in advance and fully automate them.

In this article, we will explain the specific setup steps to automate "theme switching" and "product price changes (sale price application)" using Launchpad.
We will also provide detailed information on important points to be aware of to prevent operational failures, such as the specification that "multiple events cannot be set simultaneously" and "recommendations for setting prices (dealing with round numbers)."

Launchpad is a Shopify Plus app for planning and automating flash sales, product launches, and other events.
The following operations can be performed automatically according to the start and end times of the event.

- Change in sales price
・Switching themes (such as releasing the design of a special page)
- Controlling the timing of product release
・Enable scripts (Shopify Scripts)

This time, we will introduce how to set up the frequently used features "switching themes" and "changing product prices"!

This setting is useful if you want to change the design of your homepage or display a specific banner only during a sale period.

①Open the Launchpad app and click "Create an event" in the top right corner of the screen.

② Once the event settings screen opens, go to the "Theme" section.

③Check "Enable theme switching".

④Select one of the following two options:

• Themes during the event: The theme you want to display during the sale period

• Post-event themes: Themes you want to bring back after the sale ends

Your site will now automatically switch the theme at the specified start date and time, and revert to the original theme at the specified end date and time.

This is a way to offer a limited-time sale price on specific products or collections.

① On the event settings screen, go to the "Discount" section.

② Check "Apply discounts to products and collections."
3. Click "Add Products" (or "Add Collections") and select the products you want to include in the sale.

④Set the sale price for the added product.

You can choose to set the price as a percentage (e.g., 20% off) or as a fixed price (e.g., ¥1,000).

*Note*
If you set it as a percentage, the calculation result may contain fractional parts (e.g., 30% off ¥1,050).
To avoid unexpected price changes, we recommend using fixed prices where possible, as they allow you to specify a specific amount.

Finally, set the end date and time of the sale in the "End Date" field at the bottom of the screen, save it, and you're done.

Launchpad is a convenient app that can be used for automation, but if you don't understand its specifications, you may encounter problems such as "settings not being reflected" or "prices being incorrect."
Therefore, you need to keep the following two points in mind beforehand.

Due to the specifications of Launchpad,Multiple events cannot occur during overlapping periods.

• × Failure example:

  • Event A (for theme switching): December 1st to 3rd

  • Event B (for price changes): December 1st to 3rd
    → These cannot be moved at the same time, so an error will occur.
    
    

• Correct answer example:

  • Event A (Theme Switching + Price change): December 1st to 3rd

If you want to switch themes and change the prices at the same time,You must set both the theme and discounts in one event setting screen.

If you absolutely need to set a discount as a percentage (%), any fractional parts in the calculation result will be rounded down.
Since discrepancies of even 1 yen can be a problem, we recommend entering the price as a "fixed price" whenever possible.

By making full use of the Launchpad we introduced, you can improve problems that often occur during busy times such as sales, such as having to wait late at night when a sale starts or forgetting to put things back when it ends.
This year's BFCM sale is nearing the end, but be sure to try incorporating automation into your next sale!