Managing inventory in WooCommerce becomes challenging when multiple products share the same attribute — for example, several products available in the same color or material but stored as separate items.

A common question I get as a WooCommerce Developer and WordPress Custom Plugin Developer is:

How can multiple products share the same stock quantity based on an attribute like color or size?

In this guide, I’ll walk you through a custom WooCommerce solution that allows you to manage shared stock at the attribute level, instead of per product.

This approach is ideal for:

• Apparel stores (shared color stock)
• Manufacturing inventories
• Multi-product bundles
• Custom WooCommerce logic without bloated plugins

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The Concept: Attribute-Level Stock Management

Let’s say:

• You sell multiple products
• Each product uses the attribute Color = Blue
• All “Blue” products should reduce from one shared stock pool

Instead of managing stock individually, we’ll store stock directly inside the attribute term itself.

This tutorial demonstrates how to:

1. Add stock fields to WooCommerce attribute terms
2. Display stock in the admin attribute list
3. Override WooCommerce stock logic
4. Reduce attribute stock after purchase

This is a custom WordPress + WooCommerce solution, typically built by a WooCommerce Developer or Full Stack Developer.

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Step 1: Add Attribute Stock Custom Fields

We’ll store the stock quantity inside the attribute term using term meta.

Hooks Used

• pa_color_edit_form_fields
• edited_pa_color

⚠️ Replace pa_color with your attribute taxonomy if needed.

Code: Add Stock Field to Attribute Terms

<?php
add_action( 'pa_color_edit_form_fields', 'dk_attribute_stock_field', 25, 2 );

function dk_attribute_stock_field( $term ) {
	$stock_qty = get_term_meta( $term->term_id, '_stock_qty', true );
	?>
	<tr class="form-field">
		<th scope="row">
			<label for="stock_qty">Stock Quantity</label>
		</th>
		<td>
			<input type="number" name="stock_qty" id="stock_qty" value="<?php echo esc_attr( $stock_qty ); ?>">
		</td>
	</tr>
	<?php
}

add_action( 'edited_pa_color', 'dk_save_attribute_stock' );

function dk_save_attribute_stock( $term_id ) {
	$stock_qty = isset( $_POST['stock_qty'] ) ? absint( $_POST['stock_qty'] ) : 0;
	update_term_meta( $term_id, '_stock_qty', $stock_qty );
}

Now every Color attribute can have its own stock quantity.

Here is the result:

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Step 2: Display Attribute Stock in Admin Columns

For better visibility, it’s helpful to see stock directly in the attribute list.

Kind of like this way:

Hooks Used

• manage_edit-pa_color_columns
• manage_pa_color_custom_column

Code: Add Admin Column

add_filter( 'manage_edit-pa_color_columns', 'dk_add_stock_column' );
function dk_add_stock_column( $columns ) {
	$columns['stock_qty'] = 'Stock';
	return $columns;
}

add_action( 'manage_pa_color_custom_column', 'dk_display_stock_column', 10, 3 );
function dk_display_stock_column( $html, $column_name, $term_id ) {

	if ( 'stock_qty' === $column_name ) {
		$stock_qty = get_term_meta( $term_id, '_stock_qty', true );

		if ( $stock_qty > 0 ) {
			$html = "<mark class='instock'>In stock</mark> ({$stock_qty})";
		} else {
			$html = "<mark class='outofstock'>Out of stock</mark>";
		}
	}

	return $html;
}

This gives you a clear inventory snapshot inside WooCommerce.

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Step 3: Override WooCommerce Product Stock Logic

Now comes the key part.

We want WooCommerce to use attribute stock instead of product stock.

Hook Used

• woocommerce_product_get_stock_quantity

This example supports:

• Simple products only
• One attribute (Color)
• Shared stock logic

Code: Use Attribute Stock as Product Stock

add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_get_stock_quantity', 'dk_use_attribute_stock', 25, 2 );

function dk_use_attribute_stock( $stock_quantity, $product ) {

	if ( ! $product->is_type( 'simple' ) ) {
		return $stock_quantity;
	}

	$attribute_name = $product->get_attribute( 'pa_color' );
	if ( ! $attribute_name ) {
		return $stock_quantity;
	}

	$term = get_term_by( 'name', $attribute_name, 'pa_color' );
	if ( ! $term ) {
		return $stock_quantity;
	}

	$attribute_stock = get_term_meta( $term->term_id, '_stock_qty', true );
	if ( isset( $attribute_stock ) ) {
		$stock_quantity = $attribute_stock;
	}

	return $stock_quantity;
}

Result

The shared stock now applies across:

• Product pages
• Shop & category pages
• Cart & checkout
• Frontend availability checks

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Step 4: Reduce Attribute Stock After Purchase

Stock must decrease when an order is placed.

Hooks Used

• woocommerce_reduce_order_item_stock
• woocommerce_restore_order_item_stock

Code: Reduce Attribute Stock on Purchase

add_action( 'woocommerce_reduce_order_item_stock', 'dk_reduce_attribute_stock', 25, 3 );

function dk_reduce_attribute_stock( $item, $change, $order ) {

	$product = $item->get_product();
	if ( ! $product || ! $product->is_type( 'simple' ) ) {
		return;
	}

	$attribute_name = $product->get_attribute( 'pa_color' );
	if ( ! $attribute_name ) {
		return;
	}

	$term = get_term_by( 'name', $attribute_name, 'pa_color' );
	if ( ! $term ) {
		return;
	}

	$current_stock = (int) get_term_meta( $term->term_id, '_stock_qty', true );
	$new_stock = max( 0, $current_stock - $change );

	update_term_meta( $term->term_id, '_stock_qty', $new_stock );
}

Now stock is accurately reduced across all products using that attribute.

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Important Notes from a WooCommerce Developer

As a DK Gupta – WooCommerce Developer & Full Stack Developer, here are key considerations:

• This logic is best for simple products
• Variations require additional handling
• Attribute taxonomies must be consistent
• Custom logic should be wrapped in a plugin for maintainability
• Admin stock display can be disabled using ! is_admin()

This approach avoids:

• Duplicate SKU hacks
• Heavy inventory plugins
• Sync conflicts
• Performance bottlenecks

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When Should You Use This Approach?

✅ Shared physical inventory
✅ Manufacturing-based products
✅ Color/Material-based stock
✅ Custom WooCommerce workflows

❌ Standard stores with isolated products

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Final Thoughts

Shared attribute stock is not something WooCommerce supports out of the box — but with custom WordPress plugin development, it becomes both powerful and reliable.

This type of solution is typically built by an experienced:

• WooCommerce Developer
• WordPress Developer
• Full Stack Developer
• Custom Plugin Developer

If you need help implementing advanced WooCommerce inventory logic, custom plugins, or performance-focused solutions:

👉 Explore more at:
https://www.dk-gupta.com/