A sold counter may look simple, but it plays a significant role in shoppers’ behavior.
On a BigCommerce store, it shows that people are actively buying, and that builds trust fast.
When visitors see real product activity, they feel more confident and are more likely to purchase.
It also adds urgency. If a product has been selling quickly, shoppers feel pressured to act before it’s gone.
This slight nudge often differentiates between buying now and leaving to think about it.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to use a sold counter correctly.
We’ll cover the top benefits, how to set it up using the WiserNotify app, best practices for placement and messaging, and common mistakes to avoid.
This is a good place to start if you want to build trust and drive more conversions without changing much in your store.
Build trust & FOMO
Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
Why Add a Sold Counter to BigCommerce
Here’s how it improves shopper confidence, increases urgency, and highlights your most popular items.
1. Builds Trust with Shoppers
Displaying the number of items sold on your BigCommerce store signals that others consistently buy from you.
This visible proof of demand reassures new visitors that your store is active and trusted by real customers.
When people see that others are already making purchases, it lowers the feeling of risk.
This builds immediate trust, especially for first-time visitors who might be unsure about your brand or product quality.
It acts as a quiet reassurance that others found value and moved forward, helping to ease any hesitation.
2. Creates a Sense of Urgency
It creates urgency when shoppers see that a product has already sold many units.
It tells them this item is moving fast, and they might miss out if they wait too long.
This subtle pressure can lead to faster decisions and quicker purchases.
The sense of urgency becomes even stronger when the item is a limited stock product or part of a special offer.
Many customers delay checkout due to overthinking. A sold counter nudges them to act quickly before it’s too late, making it an excellent tool for reducing cart abandonment and speeding up conversions.
3. Highlights Popular Products
A sold counter easily identifies which products are popular among other buyers.
This can guide new visitors who are unsure of what to choose, helping them focus on what’s trending or trusted.
Showing that certain products are in high demand increases buyer confidence and interest in those items.
It’s a smart way to promote best-sellers without using aggressive marketing.
You can also pair sold counters with related product suggestions to increase cart value and cross-sell effectively.
Boost Conversion Instantly
Add Social Proof & Urgency to your website
Add Sold Counter to BigCommerece
First, Install the WiserNotify App On BigCommerece
- Go to the BigCommerce App Marketplace.
- To find the WiserNotify App in BigCommerce, click here.
- Click “Get This App” and follow the prompts to install it.
Configure the Wisernotify Integration:
- Open the Wisernotify app from your BigCommerce dashboard.
- Complete the integration setup to connect Wisernotify with your store.
Next, click on inline social proof – Explore
Two places where you can show the inline real sold counter in store
- Product detail page
- Collection page.
Next lets create it for product detail page.
1. Copy the Installation code
- Once the code is generated, click Copy Code for later use.
2. Add the Code to the Product Detail Page
- Edit the product detail page template in your theme editor
- Paste the code into the desired section (e.g., below product descriptions or near the CTA) & Save Changes
3. Create the notification- live, recent sales & sold counter by entering the website.
- Choose the Sales Counter notification & click on customize to change the color, design & text.
- Modify the notification to include relevant text like “100 Sold Today!” or “5 Purchases in the Last Hour.”
- Adjust colors, fonts, and styles to align with your website theme.
- Use the preview option to see how the sales count notification will appear.
- Use the display section to hide or show the sold counter on specific pages, by default it is set to appear on all product pages.
- Publish it.
Similar way, you can create the sold counter for collection page as well.
Real example: Sold counter at Product detail page
Real example: Sold counter at Collection page
Here, is detail video about how wisernotify works.
6 Best Practices for Using a Sold Counter
A sold counter can do more than display numbers—it’s a smart way to increase urgency, build trust, and highlight what’s working in your store.
But to get the best results, how you use it matters just as much as having it.
Below are tested practices that make your counter effective without being distracting or misleading.
1. Display Real Sales Data
Your sold counter should always reflect actual purchases from your store.
Pull the numbers directly from your order history or real-time sales data.
Avoid using fake numbers or guesswork—customers are quick to spot inconsistencies.
If they feel something isn’t genuine, it damages trust and credibility.
Today’s shoppers are more aware and cautious than ever, especially regarding newer brands.
Real sales numbers also give you a better understanding of product performance over time.
This helps you make smarter inventory decisions, launch more targeted promotions, and fine-tune which products get extra visibility.
2. Strategic Placement
Placement can make or break the impact of your sold counter.
It should appear where buying decisions are made or influenced the most.
Common high-performing areas include product detail pages, near the Add to Cart button, quick-view popups, or within a featured product carousel on the homepage.
Each of these placements plays a different role in the customer journey.
Product pages help build confidence. Homepage spots drive curiosity.
Cart-page counters reduce hesitation. You can even test different placements with A/B experiments to see which increases engagement, scroll time, or conversions.
3. Highlight Popular Products
The sold counter is most useful when used selectively. Don’t place it on every product.
Instead, reserve it for top performers, trending products, limited editions, or seasonal best-sellers.
These items benefit the most from extra visibility and can influence other product views.
Highlighting popular items builds instant social proof. It signals to visitors that many others are buying and valuing those items.
You can also align this with filters like “Most Popular,” “Staff Picks,” or “Trending Now.”
These connections create a more focused and trust-driven shopping experience.
4. Maintain a Simple Design
Your design should enhance, not distract from, the shopping experience.
Match your sold counter to your store’s font, color theme, and layout. Stick with minimal styling.
Avoid using attention-grabbing colors or oversized fonts that break your product grid or slow down page speed.
The goal is to make the counter visible without stealing attention from product photos or CTAs.
Icons or text tags like “# sold” or “Sold Today” should look clean, sharp, and mobile-friendly.
Responsive behavior matters—what looks good on desktop must also work well on mobile and tablets.
5. Use Dynamic Messaging
Plain numbers aren’t always enough. Add simple but effective text that creates urgency based on timing or volume.
For example, “23 sold in the last 48 hours,” or “Selling fast: 12 orders today.” This kind of messaging gives context and helps trigger action.
Adjust the message to match if you sell in batches or have seasonal inventory. Highlighting recent trends—like a sudden spike in demand—also increases the fear of missing out.
Some tools let you customize dynamic messaging by time zones or traffic spikes, which makes the message even more relevant.
6. Combine with Other Features
The real strength of a sold counter shows when it’s used along with other proven CRO features.
Combine it with countdown timers on product or checkout pages to show urgency.
Add low stock alerts like “Only 4 left” beside the counter. Use real-time visitor counts to show demand.
Together, these cues build a sense of motion—products are selling, people are viewing, and time is running out.
This blend creates a momentum that pushes users to decide faster, especially for impulse buyers.
Try pairing this combo with upsell modules or recommended add-ons to lift average order value.
Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid
Sold counters can boost trust and urgency—but only if used correctly.
If misused, they can do more harm than good.
Here are three mistakes you should avoid to ensure your counter supports conversions.
1. Displaying Fake or Inflated Sales Numbers
Faking sales numbers might seem quick to make your store look busy, but it often leads to the opposite effect.
Shoppers are quick to judge unrealistic figures, especially when they don’t see supporting signs like reviews, ratings, or real-time activity.
Once they start questioning one part of your store, it casts doubt on everything else.
Once that trust is broken, most will not return. Always use real, trackable sales data pulled from your actual store performance.
This helps maintain trust and provides accurate insights into which products are really moving, helping you plan future promotions and stock levels more effectively.
2. Placing the Counter in Low-Visibility Areas
Even a great sales counter won’t help if it’s buried out of sight.
Tucking it below the fold, at the bottom of a long page, or in a sidebar where few users look dramatically reduces its impact.
You need to place it where shoppers make decisions—right next to the product title, price, image, or Add to Cart button.
This way, when someone is thinking about whether to buy, the sold count reinforces demand and pushes them a little closer to action.
Consider testing placements using heatmaps or A/B tools to find where your audience pays attention.
Optimizing placement alone can make the counter significantly more effective without changing any other design element.
3. Using It on Every Product
Adding a sold counter to every item on your site might feel like covering all bases, but it quickly becomes noise.
If low-selling or brand-new products show low numbers—or worse, zero—it can work against you.
Instead of building urgency, it highlights a lack of demand. It can even cause hesitation and increase bounce rates.
Be selective. Focus on your bestsellers, trending items, or limited-edition launches.
This makes the social proof stronger and more credible.
You can also rotate counters across different products based on seasonal pushes, sales campaigns, or stock availability to keep things fresh and authentic without overwhelming your visitors.
Conclusion
A sold counter can help your BigCommerce store build trust, add urgency, and draw attention to popular products—but only if used correctly.
Show real sales numbers. Place the counter where people make decisions.
Use it on products that are already in demand. Avoid faking numbers or showing them on every item just for the sake of it.
Keep the design simple, and pair it with other valuable tools like stock alerts or countdown timers.
Done right, a sold counter becomes a quiet push that turns more visitors into buyers.
