How to Add an "Expires Soon" Tag to Shopify Products Before They Expire
Expiry dates don't have to mean the end of a sale — if you catch them early enough, they're an opportunity. A tag added before expiry can feed a clearance collection, trigger urgency messaging, and help you move stock before you have to pull it.
Why "before" is more useful than "after"
The auto-hide on expiry workflow is reactive — it acts when time runs out. This workflow is proactive. It fires a tag days before the expiry date, giving you a window to do something about it.
What you do with that tag is up to you. Common approaches:
- Feed a "Last Chance" or "Clearance" smart collection so expiring products surface automatically
- Trigger a sale badge in your theme (if your theme uses a tag to display badge labels)
- Give ops teams a visual signal in the Shopify admin — products tagged "expires-soon" stand out in product lists
The workflow
Timing: Before the date (14 days)
Action: Add tag → expires-soon
Filter: Status = Active, Exclude tags: clearance
The filter here is doing two things. The Active status filter ensures the tag only goes on products currently listed — no point tagging a product you've already pulled. The Exclude tags filter skips anything already tagged "clearance," since those products are already being actioned through a different process.
Layering two warnings
You're not limited to one "before" warning. A common approach for food or supplement stores is two separate workflows on the same metafield — one at 30 days and one at 7 days:
- 30 days before: Add tag "expires-soon" — feeds the clearance collection, staff has time to run a promotion
- 7 days before: Add tag "last-week" — tighter urgency, could trigger a deeper discount or a last-chance email to subscribers
Each is a separate DateCue workflow on the same metafield with a different "Before" offset. They stack on the same product as the dates approach.
Creating the smart collection
In Shopify admin, go to Products → Collections → Create collection. Set it to Automated. Add a condition: Product tag → is equal to → expires-soon. Save it and give it a name like "Last Chance" or "Clearance." As products get tagged, they'll appear there automatically.
💡 Pair with the auto-hide workflow: This tag workflow and the auto-hide on expiry workflow are designed to work together. The "expires-soon" tag creates a clearance window before expiry. The auto-hide workflow closes the product down when time runs out. Together they cover the full end-of-life journey for a product.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set two different warnings at different timeframes?
Yes — create two separate DateCue workflows on the same metafield, each with a different "Before the date" offset (e.g. 30 days and 7 days). They fire independently and both apply to the same products.
How do I create a "Last Chance" smart collection in Shopify?
Go to Products → Collections → Create collection, set it to Automated, and add a rule: Product tag is equal to expires-soon (or whatever tag you use). Products with that tag will appear in the collection automatically.
What's the difference between this and the auto-hide workflow?
This workflow fires before the expiry date and adds a tag — it's proactive, giving you a window to sell through stock. The auto-hide workflow fires after the date and changes product status — it's reactive, pulling the product from your store when time's up. They're designed to be used together.
Will the "expires-soon" tag get removed automatically too?
Not by this workflow — it only adds the tag. You can set up another workflow to remove the tag after the expiry date passes, but in most cases the auto-hide workflow will draft or archive the product anyway, so the tag on a non-active product doesn't really matter. It's optional cleanup.
Ready to set this up?
DateCue runs this workflow automatically, every minute, without you touching it.
Start your free trial14-day free trial. No credit card required.