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Creating Product Discount Promotions

Product level discounts are one of the discount types you can utilize to encourage shoppers into making a specific purchase, and they are an effective method in raising a customer's average order value. They can also be used to reward and excite repeat shoppers through the use of customer groups. Discounts will automatically process when customers place the appropriate product in their cart.

 
 

What are Product Discount Promotions?

Product discount promotions are set on individual products and trigger when a shopper adds that product to their cart. There are currently four types of product discount promotions:

  • Buy one get one free (BOGOF) — the shopper buys a product and receives an additional unit of that product for free
  • Buy one get something else free (BOGSEF)  — the shopper buys a product and gets another product of the merchant's choosing for free
  • Buy (x units) of Product A, get (y units) of Product B for $ or % off per unit — the shopper buys two products, and receives a dollar amount or percentage off each unit product B (up to y units), based on a qualifying number of units of Product A
  • Apply a $ or % off to Product X — the shopper will receive the specified discount when they add the selected product to the cart
 

Need additional discount options? The standard editor supports promotion types not available on the legacy editor, such as "Spend $ on Product X, get Product Y for free" and offering a free gift with every order.

 
 

Discount Behavior

When a product discount promotion is triggered, the shopper should see a banner informing them that they qualify for the discount. Text needs to be added to the banner for it to appear. See Automatic Promotions for information about customizing the location and messaging of the banner.

Cart Banner

Free Product Behavior

If the 'free' or '100% off' product is:

  • A product (with no options) (e.g. Tweezers), THEN:
    • This free product will be automatically added to the cart if the shopper qualifies for the discount; and
    • If you added text to the congratulations banner, it will show in the cart; and
    • The shopper will not be able to remove the product from the cart unless they remove the triggering product as well.
  • A specific SKU or variant (e.g. A blue t-shirt), THEN:
    • This free product will be automatically added to the cart if the shopper qualifies for the discount; and
    • If you added text to the congratulations banner, it will show in the cart; and
    • The shopper will not be able to remove the product from the cart unless they remove the triggering product as well.
  • A base product (which has multiple SKUs or variants) (e.g. a t-shirt available in multiple colors), THEN
    • This free product cannot be automatically added to the cart, as the shopper has to select the specific option (e.g. SPF 15+, SPF 35+ or SFP 50+); and
    • If you added text to the eligibility banner, it will show in the cart with a link to the product (for which the shopper has to choose their specific option); and
    • The shopper can remove the product from the cart.

If the free product has variants to choose from, be sure to enter a link in the banner, so when they click on it, they are taken to the product page. This allows shoppers to select options on their free/discounted product.

For example, you may have a discount set up for when a shopper buys a scrub brush; they get a free bottle of cleaner in either lemon-scented or unscented. When a shopper adds that scrub brush to their cart, they will see that they are eligible for a free bottle of cleaner.

Example product discount banner

When the shopper clicks the link, they'll be taken to the free product where they can select whether they want a lemon-scented or unscented version of the cleaner and add it to the cart.

When the shopper goes to check out, the free items should be listed with a price of $0. It also works this way if you are creating a manual order that includes a product that qualifies for the discount.

 

Pro Tip! If you have multiple promotions applied to products in a cart, you can choose how they are calculated with Promotion Settings.

 
 

Setting up Product Discounts

To set up a product discount, navigate to Marketing › Promotions. Click + New automatic promotion.

1. Type in a Promotion Name. This will not be visible to shoppers but should be used as an internal reference. Select a currency and pick Product Discount from the Choose a Promotion Type drop-down menu and select one of the four options. In this example, we are creating a Buy one get something else free discount.

Highlighted Product discount rule types

2. Select a quantity that a shopper has to purchase before the discount triggers and specify the products by clicking this product (none selected).

Highlighted quantity field in a BOGSEF rule

The (or more) checkbox next to the first quantity box will limit the number of times the discount will trigger to one.

For example, if you set the quantity box to 5 and leave the (or more) checkbox unchecked, then when a shopper purchases 10, it will set off the discount twice, so they will receive two free items. If the box is checked, this will trigger the discount only once, so they will only receive one free item, even if they purchased 10.

 

Pro Tip! If you want to incentivize shoppers to purchase large quantities, try using Bulk Pricing or a Bulk/Tiered Promotion. Variant bulk pricing can also be managed through price lists.

3. A pop-up will appear with a list of your categories. Select a category to see the products listed in it or search by product name/SKU. Here you can select a base product (which includes all variants) or a specific variant. Do the same thing for the free product they will receive.

Select Product window

 

Which SKU should you pick? When you select a product, it will list all the option SKUs. If you want to limit the discount to only one option, choose the appropriate SKU. To apply the discount to all of a product's SKUs, select the base product name at the top.

4. Select the other limits you want to apply for the discount, such as duration, usage, or if specific customers can only use it. Check the box to Activate the discount, then Save.

Other discount options with the Activate option highlighted

5. If your discount makes use of banners, set them up accordingly in the Promotion Options section.

For example, if your free product has variants (like a t-shirt available in multiple colors), it's recommended that you create an Eligibility Banner which links to the free product by using the Link to Store feature when creating your link. See the Promotion Banner section to learn more about using banners.

Link to Store button highlighted in an Eligible Banner Message.

 
 

FAQ

Can a product with SKUs be added to a cart automatically?

Yes. If you select a specific SKU, the items will be added to the cart automatically when the discount triggers. The shopper cannot remove the item from the cart unless they remove the product that triggered the discount.

Are free items added to the shipping cost?

Yes, the weight of the free item is still calculated when added to the cart if you have real-time shipping quotes set up.

Can I customize the banners?

The text content is customized through Marketing › Promotions. The look and feel of the banner is controlled through the theme. You can make changes to color and font in the Page Builder editor. More in-depth customization would require editing the theme's code.

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