Promotions and discounts
Create percent or amount off, buy X get Y, tiered and free shipping offers, with or without a code, applied on orders, the till and online stores.
What it is
A promotion is an offer that sales orders, the till and your connected online stores apply by themselves while it is live. It can be a discount anyone gets, or one that needs a code. It can be limited to chosen products, categories, customers, segments or loyalty tiers. The Promotions list shows each promotion's state: Live, Scheduled, Paused, Drafts, Ended or Archived.
Who it is for
- Shops running seasonal sales or clearance offers
- Businesses that hand out discount codes
- Wholesalers with quantity or spend tiers
- Online sellers who want the same code to work on their store
Before you start#
- Rights on Promotions: view, add, edit and delete.
- To limit an offer to a group, create the segment or loyalty tiers first.
- For order and line discounts typed by hand, switch on Line discounts and Order discount in Settings › Sales › Pricing and tax. Promotions work alongside them.
Step by step#
- Open Marketing › Promotions and choose New promotion.
- Under What it gives, pick the type and its value. Add a code if customers must type one; leave it empty and the promotion applies by itself.
- Under On what, choose The whole order or Each matching line, and Everything, Chosen products or Chosen categories. Add a minimum amount or quantity if needed.
- Under Who can use it, add rules if it is not for everyone: chosen customers, segments, loyalty tiers or new customers. One match is enough.
- Under When and how often, set the start and end dates and any usage limits. Leave the end empty to run it until you stop it.
- Set the Status to Live (from its start) and save.
Promotion types#
| Type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Percent off | A percentage off, up to 100 % |
| Amount off | A fixed amount off in your currency |
| Buy X get Y | Buy a number of an item or a category, get some of the same, another item or a category free, or at a percentage or amount off |
| Tiered by quantity | Bigger discount at higher quantities |
| Tiered by spend | Bigger discount at higher order values |
| Free shipping | No delivery charge |
How promotions compete#
- Priority: higher goes first when promotions compete.
- Combines with other: choose whether it combines with other product discounts, order discounts and shipping discounts.
- A code is stored in capitals and is unique in your business.
- Usage limits count redemptions; leave them empty for unlimited use.
Statuses#
A promotion starts as a draft, which is not used yet. Live promotions apply from their start date; before it they show as Scheduled, and after the end date as Ended. You can pause and resume a promotion. Archive takes it out of use for good while keeping its history.
Online stores#
After a promotion is saved or its status changes, its code is pushed to a connected WooCommerce or BigCommerce store, or expired there, on a best-effort basis.
Returns#
With the policy release a promotion use when its order is returned (on by default, under Policies…), a returned order gives the use back, so it does not count against the usage limit.
How it posts to the books#
A promotion posts nothing by itself. The discount reduces the order or invoice total, and that document posts as usual.
Limits and what is not there yet#
- Pushing codes to online stores is best-effort and covers WooCommerce and BigCommerce.
- Performance is in the Promotion performance report: redemptions, discount given and orders per campaign.
Questions#
Can a promotion apply without a code?
Yes. Leave the code empty. The promotion applies by itself to every matching order while it is live.
Can I run a promotion for my best customers only?
Yes. Create a segment for them, then add it under Who can use it.
What happens if two promotions match?
The one with the higher priority goes first. Whether the second also applies depends on each promotion's Combines with other choices.
Can the assistant create a promotion?
It can propose one through the assistant or a connected AI app. A person approves the change before it is saved.