How to create an automatic Shopify cart discount?

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Creating a Shopify cart discount is a powerful way to motivate customers to spend more. In fact, one study showed that 47% of shoppers abandon their carts due to unexpected costs, such as shipping fees or lack of discounts. 

A cart discount can reduce cart abandonment and increase your store’s average order value. This blog post will cover everything you need about Shopify cart discounts, including types, creation steps, and best practices for maximizing your sales.

Whether you’re new to Shopify or looking to optimize your discount strategies, this article covers you.

1. What is a Shopify Cart Discount?

A Shopify cart discount is a promotional tool that applies discounts at checkout based on the items in a customer’s cart, either by total value or quantity. These discounts encourage customers to make larger purchases and enhance their shopping experience.

Here’s a breakdown of the different types of cart discounts available on Shopify: 

1.1 Basic Cart Discounts 

• Minimum Purchase/Minimum Quantity Discount 

This discount activates when a customer’s cart meets a minimum spend or item quantity, such as “Get $10 off when you spend $50.” It’s useful for encouraging higher spending.

• Fixed Value Discount 

A straightforward discount where a fixed amount, like “$5 off,” is applied to the cart total. It’s effective for drawing in budget-conscious shoppers. 

• Percentage Discount 

A percentage is taken off the cart total, such as “20% off your entire order.” This discount is versatile and works well for a wide range of products. 

• Shipping Discount 

Offers free or discounted shipping when specific criteria are met, such as “Free shipping on orders over $50.” It’s effective for reducing cart abandonment. 

• Buy X Get Y 

Provides a free or discounted item when a customer buys a specific product, like “Buy 2, Get 1 Free.” The “Buy X, get Y” promotion is great for promoting product bundles or clearing out inventory. 

1.2 Advanced Cart Discounts 

• Tier Cart Discount 

Tier discount offers different levels of discounts based on the minimum order value or quantity. For example, “10% off orders between $100-$200, 15% off orders between $200-$500, and 20% off orders over $500”. This type of discount rewards customers for buying more. 

• Bundle Discount 

Discounts are applied when certain products are purchased together, such as “Buy 3 skincare products and get 15% off.” Product bundle discount is best used to promote complementary products and boost the sales of related items. 

• Buy a Bundle to Get a Gift 

Customers receive a free gift when purchasing a specific bundle, like “Buy a hair care set and get a free brush.” This is excellent for increasing the perceived value of a purchase and encouraging customers to buy bundled products. 

These Shopify cart discounts provide a range of strategies to enhance sales, reward customers, and optimize inventory management, making them a vital part of your e-commerce marketing plan.

Read more: How to Combine Multiple Automatic Discounts on Shopify? [2024]

2. Other methods to motivate customers to buy more with cart sliders

After understanding the different types of Shopify cart discounts, the next step is to make those discounts more visible and engaging to customers.

A cart slider is a tool that slides out from the side of the screen when a customer adds items to their cart. It summarizes their order and displays important information like discounts, shipping information, and promotional offers.

Adding features like a progress bar and countdown timer to this slider can really help boost your store’s sales by encouraging customers to increase their order value and complete their purchases faster. Let’s see how they’re used:

2.1 Progress Bar

A progressing bar is a visual indicator that shows customers how close they are to unlocking a reward, such as free shipping or a discount. Here’s how to use it effectively:

• Using Apps: Apps like Free Shipping Bar by Hextom provide an easy way to add progress bars to your cart slider. You can customize these bars to fit your store’s look, and they will automatically update as customers add more items to their cart.
• Custom Development: Consider custom coding if your current apps don’t offer a progressing bar. Contact the developer of your discount or cart app to see if they can add this feature. The cost will vary depending on the complexity, but it can be a worthwhile investment if it significantly boosts your AOV.
• Best Practices:
  • Visibility: Place the progressing bar prominently in the cart slider, using contrasting colors to ensure it stands out.
  • Clear Messaging: Include motivating messages like “Add $10 more for free shipping!” to encourage customers to increase their cart value.
  • A/B Testing: Experiment with different threshold levels and messages to determine what drives the highest increase in average order value.

2.2 Countdown Timer

A countdown timer in the cart slider creates urgency, pushing customers to complete their purchases before time runs out. This can significantly reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions. Here’s how to make the most of it:

• Using Apps: Apps like Countdown Timer Bar allow you to add countdown timers to your cart slider easily. These timers can highlight limited-time offers, flash sales, or other time-sensitive promotions.
• Custom Development: Custom dev will certainly be necessary if you want a timer that matches your store’s specific design or marketing campaigns. This allows for greater flexibility and integration with your overall branding.
• Best Practices:
  • Prominent Placement: Position the countdown timer where it’s immediately visible when the cart slider opens, ensuring it captures the customer’s attention.
  • Effective Language: Use direct and action-oriented language such as “Only 10 minutes left to claim this deal!” to create a sense of urgency.
  • Strategic Use: Avoid overusing timers; they can lose effectiveness if customers feel pressured too often.

In general, adding a progress bar and countdown timer to your cart slider can transform it from a simple cart summary into a dynamic sales tool. This movement can significantly boost your conversion rate and AOV!

3. How to create Shopify cart discounts?

With basic offers only (Minimum purchase /Minimum quantity discount, Fixed value, Percentage discount, Shipping discount, Buy X Get Y), Shopify offers several built-in features that allow you to create them.

These basic discounts can be set up directly within Shopify’s admin panel. However, it’s worth noting that the Buy X Get Y discount has a limitation – it doesn’t automatically add the free or discounted product to the cart.

For more advanced offers, such as tier cart discounts, bundle discounts, and “Buy a Bundle to Get Gift” promotions, you may need to look beyond Shopify’s native features. This is where the BOGOS app comes in handy.

BOGOS is a powerful app developed by Secomapp and launched in 2014. It’s designed specifically to help Shopify merchants create complicated cart discounts and promotions. There are some noting points convincing you to seek BOGOS:

• Variety of discounts: BOGO, Buy X Get Y, Free Gift With Purchase, Product Bundles, Quantity Breaks, and Volume Discounts. 
• Custom rules: Set rules based on URLs, customer location, order history, and tags. 
• Flexible display: Gifts and discounts can be added to the cart or shown with a gift slider. 
• Real-time insights: Merchants can see data to improve offers. 
• High ratings: 4.9/5 ⭐ from 2,027 reviews, showing its value to Shopify merchants.

Moreover, the BOGOS app also allows you to add sub-conditions. These are the conditions customers need to meet to receive the gifts. You can set specific conditions, such as requiring customers to access via a special link, tagging customers, basing gifts on customers’ order history, or even limiting gifts to customers in certain locations. 

Additionally, conditions can be applied for purchases made through a mobile app channel or tied to subscription products, providing flexibility in tailoring promotions to meet specific business goals.

BOGOS offers 4 pricing tiers to suit different business needs:

• Basic: $29.99/month
• Professional: $49.99/month
• Unlimited: $69.99/month
• Plus: $99.99/month

Each plan comes with a 7-day free trial, allowing you to test the features before committing.

While BOGOS offers comprehensive features and excellent support, it’s worth mentioning that the higher pricing plans may be a shortcoming for smaller businesses or those just starting out. However, for many of you, the increased sales and improved customer satisfaction often outweigh the cost.

4. Benefits of using cart discount on Shopify

4.1 Build Stronger Customer Relationships

Offering personalized discounts can really make customers feel valued and understood, which encourages them to come back.

Spongellé, a personal care brand, created a fun quiz to get to know customer preferences better and offered tailored discounts based on their answers. This little touch resulted in a noticeable increase in repeat purchases, proving that a bit of personalization can make a big difference.

4.2 Drive Larger Purchases

Cart discounts are a smart way to nudge customers to add just one more item to their cart.

Boll & Branch, a luxury bedding brand, used a strategy where customers got a discount only if they spent $150 or more. This approach helped them increase the size of each sale, turning a simple discount into a powerful sales tool.

4.3 Increase Average Order Value (AOV)

By bundling products or offering deals on multiple purchases, you can naturally encourage customers to spend more.

Lush Décor did this by letting customers create their own product bundles with special discounts. The result? A 50% jump in average order value and a 32x return on their investment.

4.4 Stand Out in a Crowded Market

Standing out in a sea of online stores can be tough. Strategic discounts displayed right in the cart can make your store the obvious choice. These discounts help reduce cart abandonment and can be the deciding factor when customers are choosing between you and a competitor.

By focusing on these practical benefits and case studies, you can see how using cart discounts on Shopify isn’t just about giving away a few dollars – it’s about strategically driving growth and deepening customer relationships.

5. Shopify cart discount best practices

Here are some unique Shopify cart discount practices that are easy to apply but can significantly impact your store’s performance:

• Gamified Discounts

Adding gamified features like spin-the-wheel popups or scratch cards right on the cart page can make shopping more fun for customers and offer them discounts at the same time. This can boost engagement and make customers more likely to complete their purchase since they feel like they’re winning something extra.

• “Community Goal” Discount

This idea involves setting a sales goal for the whole community, like selling a specific number of items weekly. If the goal is met, everyone who shops during that time gets an extra discount on their next purchase.

• AI-Powered Mood-Based Discounts

Using AI, the store could analyze the customer’s browsing behavior and purchase history to determine their “shopping mood” (e.g., looking for deals, exploring new products, or buying essentials).

With that in mind, the cart could dish out personalized discounts based on your mood. For instance, if the AI picks up on a deal-hunting vibe, it might throw a surprise discount on items already on sale.

• “Social Sharing” Discount

Create a system where customers earn discounts for their purchases and share their cart or wish list on social media platforms. For instance, sharing their cart on Instagram could unlock a 10% discount, while sharing on Twitter might offer free shipping. This taps into social proof and encourages brand visibility.

6. Final words

I hope you find this guide on creating a Shopify cart discount helpful in boosting your sales and enhancing customer satisfaction. To take your discount strategies to the next level, I highly recommend trying the BOGOS app, which offers advanced discount options tailored to your needs. Don’t miss out on the chance to make the most of your promotions – give it a try immediately!

7. FAQs