This article describes how to create multiple automatic discounts on Shopify
The problem with Shopify automatic discounts
By default, Shopify provides an interface to create automatic discounts
It allows to create simple offers like 15% off on the whole store or 5% off on product X and apply it automatically at checkout.
Problem
This interface provides the very basic features for discount management, the main limitation being that you can’t apply more than one discount ( automatic or coupon code ) at checkout.
It means that if you have a global discount offer configured on your store ( let’s say 15% off on all products ), and you want to create a new offer only for a specific collection, Shopify will not allow you to apply both discounts at checkout.
How to apply multiple automatic discounts at checkout ?
So, how can you apply multiple automatic discounts at checkout with Shopify? Even though they don’t support it natively, Shopify offers two solutions to this problem.
Shopify scripts
The first solution, if you have a Shopify Plus plan, is to use Shopify scripts.
Shopify scripts is a very powerful tool, the script editor allows you to create almost any kind of offer :
- Buy product X get product Y FREE
- Buy product X get 10% off on all cart
- Automatic 10% off on all products
- Dynamic discount based on cart value or number of items in cart
- Bulk discounts
All the offers can be configured with a $ or % discount or even a combination of both
The screenshot above is a sample script to offer free shipping when the cart value is > $20.
A full description of Shopify scripts can be found in the Shopify documentation: Shopify script editor documentation
Limitations
Even though Shopify scripts are very powerful, they have some limitations :
- Only accessible for Shopify Plus plans
- Programming experience is required
- Can be very complex to manage
- Does not support coupon codes
Install an app
The second solution to apply multiple discounts at checkout is to install an application on your store. One of the biggest strengths of Shopify is its applications store with more than 6000 apps designed to help you expand your store’s functionality without limits.
Using an app is the easiest and fastest solution to create multiple automatic discounts and apply them at checkout. Some apps even allow you to stack a coupon code or another type of discount ( like quantity breaks offer ) on top of your automatic discounts, all in the same app.
You can find a full demo on how to create multiple automatic discounts with one app in this article:
How to create two automatic discounts on Shopify with an application ( step by step ).
Limitations
- Discount management is a critical feature so you should choose the app carefully.
- You can install only one discount management app on your store ( using more than one will create conflicts ), so choose one with all the features you need right from the start ( automatic discounts, coupon code, quantity breaks … ) it will be more difficult to change later.
- Depending of the app, custom integration for your theme may be required but is usually included in the price of the app.