# Shopify Collection Sort Order

Retail Cloud Connect™ Product Grid App Blocks sort collection pages with AI Commerce Search by default. Merchants who curate collections in Shopify can keep that work: a collection can open in the default sort order chosen in Shopify, and manually ordered collections can open in their curated order as **Featured**.

Two settings control this behavior:

{.compact}
| Setting | Location in the app | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Collection Default Sort Order** | **Layout Settings > Filter Behavior** | Opens each collection in its Shopify price, date, or title sort order |
| **Manual Collection Ordering** | **Advanced Settings** | Imports Shopify's manual product order for up to five collections and offers it as **Featured** |

Both settings apply to collection pages only. Search results pages continue to use their configured sort options.

<br/>

## Use Shopify's Default Sort Order

1. Open **Layout Settings** in the Retail Cloud Connect Shopify App.
2. Under **Filter Behavior**, find **Collection Default Sort Order**.
3. Select **Prioritize Shopify Sort Order**, then save the page.

**Prioritize AI Sort Order** is the default and keeps the first sort option configured for the Product Grid.

When **Prioritize Shopify Sort Order** is selected, each collection opens in the sort order set for that collection in Shopify:

{.compact}
| Sort order | Storefront sort option |
| --- | --- |
| Price, low to high | Price (Low to High) |
| Price, high to low | Price (High to Low) |
| Date, oldest first | Oldest |
| Date, newest first | Newest |
| Title, A to Z | Product Title (A to Z) |
| Title, Z to A | Product Title (Z to A) |

Collections sorted by **Best selling** in Shopify are not supported and keep the configured Product Grid order. Collections sorted **Manually** use [Manual Collection Ordering](#keep-a-manual-collection-order-as-featured) instead.

**Collection Default Sort Order** is part of Layout Settings, so it can be prepared and tested in a [Storefront Settings Profile](../theme-installation/storefront-settings-profiles.md) before it is promoted to Production.

!!!info Date Sorting
**Newest** and **Oldest** use the **Published At** attribute. Merchants can point that attribute at a product date metafield instead of Shopify's published date. See [Published At](/shopify/filters-and-data/catalog-import/#published-at) on the Catalog Import page.
!!!

<br/>

## Keep a Manual Collection Order as Featured

Use **Manual Collection Ordering** when a collection's product order is curated by hand in Shopify, such as a seasonal launch, a campaign landing collection, or a best-of edit.

1. In Shopify, confirm the collection's product sorting is set to **Manually**.
2. In the Retail Cloud Connect Shopify App, open **Filters & Data**, then **Advanced Settings**.
3. Under **Manual Collection Ordering**, enable **Import manual collection ordering**.
4. Select between one and five collections from **Manually sorted collections**, then save.
5. Run a full import, or wait for the next one.

After a successful full import, each selected collection page adds a **Featured** option to its sort dropdown and uses it by default. **Featured** shows products in the same order as the Shopify collection. Its label can be changed for each language on the [Translations](/shopify/translations/) page.

If Shopify has no manually sorted collections, the setting stays unavailable and explains that a collection's product sorting must first be changed to **Manually** in Shopify.

!!!warning Reordering Products
Changes to a manual order in Shopify appear after the next successful full import. If product updates affect the displayed order, run a full import to restore the Shopify order.
!!!

<br/>

## Sort Precedence

When more than one rule could apply to a collection page, Retail Cloud Connect uses the first match:

1. A sort option the shopper has selected
2. **Featured**, when available for a selected manual collection
3. The collection's Shopify default sort, when **Prioritize Shopify Sort Order** is selected
4. The first sort option configured for the Product Grid

When **Featured** is available, it takes precedence over **Prioritize AI Sort Order**. A shopper's own choice always wins.

<br/>

## When Featured Is Available

**Featured** is offered only on a collection page that meets every condition below:

- **Manual Collection Ordering** is enabled and the collection is selected
- Its Shopify product sorting is still **Manually**
- A full import has completed successfully since the selection last changed

**Featured** is not available on search results pages or other collections. If it is missing from a selected collection, confirm that the collection still exists, is sorted manually in Shopify, and has completed a successful full import.

<br/>

## When Changes Take Effect

Enabling manual ordering or changing the selected collections requires a full import before **Featured** is available. Disabling the setting removes **Featured** but keeps the selected collections for later.

Manual ordering applies across all markets of the Shopify store. After changing the selection or adding a market, **Featured** is unavailable until a full import succeeds for every market. If an import reports errors, resolve them and run another full import.

For the rest of the import controls on the same page, see [Advanced Settings](/shopify/advanced-settings/).