Skip to main content
A merchandising rule only reorders a collection when a shopper browses that collection with the sort order the rule is tied to. Most “my rule does nothing” reports come from a mismatch between the rule’s sort order and the sort order the collection page actually loads with.

​
How Layers picks the sort for a collection page

When a shopper opens a collection without choosing a sort, Layers uses the first default it finds:
  1. The collection’s own Default Sort Order.
  2. The store default (the sort order with the Default badge on Sort Orders).
If the shopper picks a different option from the sort dropdown, that option wins for the rest of their visit. A merchandising rule doesn’t change which sort order a collection uses. It extends one sort order: its pins and expressions are layered on top of that sort, and the rule is ignored whenever the shopper is on any other sort. For the full priority order, see Merchandising rules.

​
Checklist

1

Compare the rule's sort order with the collection default

Open the rule and note the sort order in the Settings tab. Then go to Catalog → Collections, open the collection, and check its Default Sort Order. If the collection has no default, check which sort order has the Default badge on Sort Orders.If the two differ, for example a rule built on Newest while the collection defaults to Best Selling, the rule never applies to shoppers who don’t change the sort. Fix it one of two ways:
  • Change the rule’s sort order in the Settings tab to match the collection default.
  • Change the collection’s Default Sort Order to the sort the rule uses.
See How to set a default sort order and Store default.
2

Check the rule's status

On Merchandise → Merchandising Rules, the Status column must show Published. Draft rules and Ended rules (end date passed) don’t serve, and Scheduled rules wait for their start date. See Publication states.
3

Check the rule's conditions

A rule with contextual conditions only applies to shoppers who match them, such as a specific UTM source, audience, or country. Open the Conditions tab and confirm you are testing as a matching shopper. If several rules target the same collection and sort, see Multiple rules per collection for which one wins.
4

Preview the live storefront

Use Preview from the rule’s overflow menu to open the collection with the rule applied. If the preview looks right but the live page doesn’t, continue with the next step. See Preview.
5

Rule out a theme-level default sort

Some themes send their own default sort with every collection request, for example from a theme setting or hard-coded value. When that happens, the theme’s sort wins over the collection and store defaults you set in Layers. Ask your developer to remove the theme default so the Layers default applies, or build the rule on the sort the theme sends.

​
Does Shopify’s manual collection sort carry over?

No. Layers doesn’t read the product order you set with Shopify’s Manually sort option on a collection. To hand-place products on a Layers-powered collection page, create a merchandising rule for that collection and its default sort order, then pin the products. See Create a merchandising rule. If your theme has a setting that lists selected collections straight from Shopify (some Layers theme integrations offer this for drop or launch pages), those collections follow Shopify’s sort instead, and Layers merchandising rules don’t apply to them.

​
Next steps