In a recent Business Bloomer Club discussion, a WooCommerce user raised an interesting question regarding price adjustments on orders.
When manually reducing a product’s price within an order on the admin side, WooCommerce automatically displays this change as a “coupon” rather than a direct price adjustment.
This setup can lead to confusion for customers, as they might see what appears to be an unexpected discount on their “My Account” page instead of a simple adjusted price.
Understanding WooCommerce’s approach to price adjustments and exploring alternative methods can help achieve this functionality without affecting the customer experience. From using direct database adjustments to implementing custom code solutions, there are ways to bypass WooCommerce’s default display for a cleaner and clearer transaction summary on customer pages.
Why WooCommerce Displays Adjusted Prices as Coupons
WooCommerce currently allows admins to adjust the “total” for line items on an order page, but not the base “cost” of individual products. This functionality is likely built this way to maintain the integrity of original product pricing and track reductions as discounts rather than fundamental price changes. By registering the change as a “coupon” or discount, WooCommerce can maintain consistent pricing data across orders and products.
However, this approach has drawbacks when agents frequently make price adjustments, as it displays discounts publicly and may confuse customers.
Possible Solutions for Adjusted Price Display
- Database Adjustments: One workaround mentioned involves directly editing the values within the WooCommerce database. The
woocommerce_order_itemmetatable holds order item details, including custom prices set within specific orders. Adjusting this manually would remove the display of a coupon or discount, showing the adjusted price directly on customer pages. However, this method is impractical for frequent adjustments, as it requires backend access and manual database manipulation. - Custom Code for Inline Adjustments: For a more flexible solution, a custom function could be implemented to update order item metadata dynamically within WooCommerce’s order management process. A snippet could be created that listens for manual price adjustments on the admin order page and updates the price directly within the order item meta fields, bypassing WooCommerce’s automatic discount display. The code would then check and apply the modified price without marking it as a discount.
- Alternative Plugins: Although WooCommerce lacks native options for this specific need, custom WooCommerce order management plugins might offer a workaround. A tailored plugin could enable direct price editing that reflects on the order summary without triggering WooCommerce’s built-in discount mechanism.
Conclusion
For store owners seeking a seamless and professional customer experience, it’s worth considering a custom solution to ensure price adjustments display as intended. With a carefully designed approach, you can streamline order editing in WooCommerce without unnecessary discount displays, providing clarity for both your team and your customers. This strategy not only enhances the user experience but also maintains a polished, professional appearance on all customer-facing pages.
