Show the Number of Sold Products on WooCommerce Product Page

WooCommerce tracks the total number of units sold for each product. Displaying this number on the product page can serve as social proof and help increase conversions. Let’s see how to show the sold count next to the “Add to Cart” button in WooCommerce stores.

Keep in mind that displaying the sold count can work against you if a product has very few sales. We will add a threshold so the number only appears when sales exceed a minimum you define.

Display the Sold Count on the Product Page

Add the following code to the functions.php file of your child theme:

function sv_product_sold_count() {
    global $product;

    $units_sold = $product->get_total_sales();

    if ( $units_sold > 50 ) {
        echo '<p class="units-sold">' . esc_html( $units_sold ) . ' sold</p>';
    }
}
add_action( 'woocommerce_single_product_summary', 'sv_product_sold_count', 11 );

Line 4 uses the WooCommerce CRUD method get_total_sales() to retrieve the total number of units sold. This is the recommended approach since WooCommerce 3.0 – it abstracts the data layer, so your code works regardless of how WooCommerce stores product data internally.

Line 8 outputs the count wrapped in a paragraph with the class units-sold, which you can style with CSS. The esc_html() function ensures the output is properly escaped.

Why get_total_sales() Instead of get_post_meta()

Older tutorials use get_post_meta( $product->get_id(), 'total_sales', true ) to retrieve the sold count. While this still works, it directly queries the wp_postmeta table.

The get_total_sales() method is part of WooCommerce’s CRUD API. It reads from the product object’s data store, which means it will continue to work even if WooCommerce changes how it stores product data internally (similar to how HPOS changed order storage).

Always prefer WooCommerce’s product object methods over direct get_post_meta() calls when working with product data. The CRUD API is the future-proof approach.

Changing the Display Location

The hook woocommerce_single_product_summary with priority 11 places the sold count right after the product title. You can change the position by using a different hook or adjusting the priority.

Common WooCommerce hooks for the product page include:

• woocommerce_before_single_product_summary – before the product summary section
• woocommerce_single_product_summary – within the summary, priority controls position relative to title, price, excerpt, and the add-to-cart button
• woocommerce_after_single_product_summary – after the summary, near the tabs

For example, to display the count right after the price, use priority 15:

add_action( 'woocommerce_single_product_summary', 'sv_product_sold_count', 15 );

Styling the Output

Add CSS to style the sold count. Here is a simple example:

.units-sold {
    font-size: 14px;
    color: #7a7a7a;
    margin: 5px 0;
}

You can also add an icon or badge styling to make the count more prominent, depending on your theme design.

FAQs

Common questions about displaying sold product counts in WooCommerce:

Summary

Displaying the number of sold products on your WooCommerce product page is a simple and effective way to add social proof. Use $product->get_total_sales() to retrieve the count, apply a threshold to avoid showing low numbers, and hook into woocommerce_single_product_summary to control placement. A few lines of code can give your customers the confidence that others have already purchased the product.