How to Move Out-of-Stock Products to the Bottom of Your Shopify Collections (Using Free Sidekick AI)

We have found that nothing kills a customer's shopping mood faster than clicking into a collection page only to find the first few products are completely sold out. Or even worse, not being able to tell that the item they love is out of stock in the collection (anyone else get INSTANT frustration from this??).

Keeping products in order and organised manually, ensuring you move out of stock items to the end of the collection, can be a constant “chasing your tail” task. This is multiplied further if you have a large product catalogue with lots of collections to go with it. Let's be real: manually reordering products takes up your valuable time, while third-party dynamic reordering apps can add another monthly subscription to your tech stack, and extra cost to your expenses.

Shopify currently offers trial access to Sidekick (Shopify's built-in AI assistant) and it’s ability to build custom apps. Right now (at the time of writing this) you can use Sidekick to build a free custom app directly inside your Shopify admin that automatically sorts your collections by best-sellers and pushes zero-inventory items straight to the bottom, and we are LOVING IT!

Here is the exact step-by-step process to set it up in less than two minutes. If you don’t want to read it check out our instructions on YouTube here.

Why Collection Order Directly Impacts Your Sales

Your collection pages normally do a LOT of the heavy lifting when it comes to converting site traffic into orders (the rest of the load is normally carried by your product pages and checkout process). When a customer lands on a collection page, we have found that they expect to see popular, available products immediately. This is what can happen when you change up your order of products in your collections if you have: 

• Best-sellers at the top: Instantly capture buyer attention, validate purchasing decisions, and improve conversion rates.
• Out-of-stock items at the top: Create immediate friction, force unnecessary scrolling, and cause buyers to bounce off your store.

Moving sold-out items to the very end keeps your store looking active, inventory-rich, and makes it much less frustrating for online shoppers.

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Custom Reorder App

You do not need any coding or technical knowledge to build this; we PROMISE —Sidekick handles all the backend work.

Step 1: Open Sidekick

Log into your Shopify admin and open Sidekick (found in your admin toolbar).

Step 2: Select "Generate App"

Click the action menu inside the Sidekick chat window and select Generate App.

Step 3: Input the Exact Prompt

Copy and paste this prompt into the Sidekick chat:

"Create an app that reorders all my collections. It should first sort products by best-selling and then find any products with zero inventory and move them to the very bottom of the collection order."

Step 4: Preview and Publish

Sidekick will generate the mini-app and explain how it works.

1. Click Preview to check the setup.
2. Click Publish to install the app directly into your Shopify admin backend.

How to Manage the App (Without Extra Stress)

Because this tool is built natively through Sidekick rather than as a heavy paid subscription, it does not run continuously on autopilot 24/7. The app page must remain open in your browser tab while it reorders your catalogue. Personally, we are totally ok with this on our stores.

The Simple Workaround:

Instead of paying for a monthly subscription app, set a recurring calendar reminder (daily, weekly or monthly, depending on your stock turnover and sales volumes).

When your reminder pops up:

1. Open your custom collection reorder app in your Shopify admin.
2. Click Reorder All Collections.
3. Leave the tab open for a minute while it processes.

The app will display live progress updates as it moves through your catalogue (for example: "Running Accessories: 2 out-of-stock products moved to the bottom"). Once finished, simply close the tab.

Free Sidekick Tool vs. Paid Apps: Which Should You Use?

• Use the Free Sidekick Tool if: You want a zero-cost solution, have low-to-medium inventory turnover, and don't mind taking 60 seconds once a week to trigger the process manually.
• Use a Paid Shopify App if: You have thousands of fast-moving products with inventory updating constantly, requiring continuous, automated real-time reordering 24/7.

For most boutique eCommerce stores, this free built-in Shopify hack removes the headache of sold-out items clogging up top spots in your product catalogue without adding extra costs to your subscriptions.

How Will You Use It?

We actually think the possibilities of this are pretty epic! This was just the first idea we came up with - what are you thinking of using this for? Make sure you let us know we are all for sharing the inspiration legends!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopify Sidekick completely free to use?

Yes! Sidekick and its custom app generation feature are currently included as part of Shopify's native platform features. You don't need to pay extra software fees or add another monthly subscription to build and run this app.

Can I sort my products by something other than best-selling?

You sure can! Sidekick builds the app based on your exact text instructions. If you prefer to sort your collections by newest arrivals, price, or alphabetically before pushing out-of-stock items to the bottom, simply adjust the prompt language before clicking generate.

Does this custom app run automatically when an item sells out?

No, it won't trigger on its own in the background. Because it runs inside Sidekick rather than through an external paid server, the app page must be open in your browser while you click "Reorder All Collections". Setting a quick weekly or monthly calendar reminder is a great way to keep it updated without adding to your workload.

Will reordering collections mess up my product SEO or URLs?

Not at all! Changing the collection sort order only adjusts the visual position of products on your collection pages. It will never change your product page URLs, handles, meta titles, or SEO rankings.

What if I don't see Sidekick in my Shopify admin bar?

Shopify rolls out new AI features gradually across regions and account types. If Sidekick isn't visible in your admin toolbar yet, ensure you are logged in with primary owner permissions. You can also check your store settings to confirm early-access feature permissions are enabled.

Need Help Clearing Up Your Store's Tech?

Building tiny custom tools in Sidekick is a great way to eliminate daily backend admin frustration.

If backend store tasks, layout tweaks, or marketing setups are causing you overwhelm, remember you don't have to figure it out alone.

• Check out our flexible, fixed-price Shopify Website Services to clear up your site's foundations.
• Learn about our tailored Google & Meta Ads Services to drive profitable traffic to your store.
• Have a quick question? Reach out to our team—we are always in your corner! 🦄