Archive Shopify Products Automatically on Their End Date
Products that have run their course shouldn't sit in your active catalogue indefinitely. Set a discontinuation date once — DateCue archives the product when that day arrives and your store stays clean without any manual housekeeping.
Active vs archived in Shopify
Shopify has three product statuses: Active, Draft, and Archived. Archiving is different from drafting — archived products are removed from all sales channels and won't appear in search or collections, but they're preserved in your admin for reporting and records. You can unarchive at any time.
For products that are genuinely being retired, archived is the right status. Draft is for products that aren't ready yet or need rework.
Step 1: Create the discontinuation metafield
Go to Settings → Custom data → Products and create:
- Namespace and key:
custom.discontinue_date - Type: Date
Set this on any product you're planning to retire. You can set it months in advance — DateCue won't act until the date arrives.
Step 2: The DateCue workflow
Timing: On the date
Action: Set status → Archived
That's it. When the discontinuation date arrives, DateCue archives the product. It disappears from your storefront, your collections, and customer search — automatically.
Add a last-chance window before archiving
Most stores benefit from a warning period before a product disappears. The Last Chance workflow adds a "last-chance" tag 14 days before the discontinuation date, feeding a clearance collection that creates urgency for customers who are still interested.
Both workflows run from the same custom.discontinue_date metafield. The last-chance tag goes on at day -14, the product archives at day 0.
Bulk-setting discontinuation dates
If you're retiring a whole product line, use Shopify's bulk editor to set custom.discontinue_date on all affected products at once. Filter by collection or vendor, open the bulk editor, and set the metafield across the selection. DateCue will pick them all up on its next check cycle.
💡 Archiving doesn't delete: Archived products are fully recoverable. If you change course on a product retirement, find it in admin (filter Products by "Archived"), click in, and set it back to Active. The custom.discontinue_date metafield will still be there — clear it or update it so DateCue doesn't archive it again.
Frequently asked questions
Can I archive products to draft instead?
Yes — if you'd rather move products to Draft (keeping them recoverable but not archived), change the action to "Set status → Draft." Use draft if you might reactivate the product later and want it to stay in a more accessible state. Use archived for permanent retirements.
What happens to existing orders for an archived product?
Existing orders are not affected — archiving only changes whether the product appears in your storefront and collections. Historical orders remain intact and accessible. Customers who already purchased can still view their order history normally.
Can I set different end dates per product variant?
DateCue acts at the product level, so the archive action applies to the whole product. If specific variants are being discontinued while others continue, handle those via Shopify's variant availability (set quantity to 0 or mark as unavailable) rather than archiving the whole product.
Will DateCue notify me before the archive happens?
Not by default — the workflow just fires. To get a heads-up, set up a separate email action workflow that fires X days before the discontinue date. You'll get an email reminder before the archive happens, giving you time to reconsider or update inventory records.
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