How to Create a Shopify First Order Discount for New Customer?

How to Create a Shopify First Order Discount for New Customer?

You might agree that discounts are essential for reaching out to customers. Indeed, studies indicate that the cost of gaining a new customer is 5 to 25% of the cost of keeping an existing one. That is why creating a Shopify first order discount for new customers is one of the essential tactics for 2024 e-commerce marketing.

This post will explain the potential of the first-order discount for Shopify and help you set it up. We will also cover other customer segments that can help increase your sales and recommend a highly-rated Shopify discount app for more options and customer targeting.

1. Why is offering Shopify first order discount for new customers essential?

Build Customer Loyalty

Offering a Shopify first order discount for new customers opens the door for customers to get acquainted with your business. If it goes well, you can have a loyal customer base and even large orders.

Increase Conversion Rate

Items have been added to the cart, but customers still hesitate to proceed. Offering discounts might encourage them to take the final step: checkout. Shopify has shown that providing discounts can increase conversion rates by up to 20%. This is especially beneficial for new customers considering products from unfamiliar stores.

By offering a discount, you allow them to try your product for the first time and increase their chances of completing their purchase.

Attract New Customers

Price competition is always a problem when there are too many players in a market, but sometimes a discount can go a long way. Access Dev conducted a survey, and the overall result revealed that 93% of consumers claimed coupons were an essential factor in their decision to try a new brand.

By offering a Shopify new customer discount, you’re giving potential customers a reason to choose your store over the competition.

2. How do you create a Shopify First Order Discount using Shopify’s built-in feature?

Step 1:

Shopify's discount built-in feature

Open Discounts > Create Discount

Step 2:

Choose what type of offer you want to promote

You can choose between Amount off products, Amount off order, or Buy X get Y discount. While An “amount off products” means that you will give a discount on a specific product or collection, an “amount off order” means that you will provide a discount based on the customer’s total cart value. Usually, an “amount off order” will be applied to every product on your store.Finally, a ‘Buy X Get Y’ promotion will give a discount or offer product Y for free whenever the customer purchases product X. Product Y can be the same as product X, or you can offer a totally difference product.

Step 3:

Shopify discount method

For the discount method, you can choose between “automatic discount” or “discount code”. For “automatic discount”, the discount will be automatically applied whenever the customer’s order meets your requirements; this can be on specific products or based on the total amount of the order. On the other hand, the điscount code requires the customer to apply the code when checkout to receive the discount manually.

Step 4:

Shopify new customer discount

Next, you will need to set up offer requirements. Each type of offer will have a different setup in this step. Follow Shopify instructions and you will be good to go.
After that, to apply this discount only to new customers, navigate to the “Customer eligibility” section and choose “Specific customer segments”. In this section, you can see that Shopify has covered several customer segments to choose, if you want to target only new customers, click on “Customers who haven’t purchased.”

Step 5:

To limit discount usage, in the Maximum discount uses section, do either of the following:
– Check Limit total uses to set the maximum number of times the discount can be used (e.g., 200 times).
– Check Limit one per customer to allow only one use per customer by tracking their email or phone number.

Step 6:

You can also set up Active dates. If everything seems fine, click Save in the upper right corner.

3. Targeting Other Customer Segments for Increased Revenue with Shopify Discount

Besides attracting new customers, you also need to create discounts for other types of customer segments in Shopify to increase sales. Who are they?

High-Spending Customers

Do you wish to retain the heavy spenders who spend a large amount of money on your products? Give them a Shopify discount to show they made the right decision.

For instance, offering customers a 20% discount for orders worth $500 or more. Once they experience the value and quality of your products, they are likely to return for more.

Returning Customers

Existing clients are already familiar with your company’s brand; therefore, giving them a first-order discount on a new merchandise line or group of products may regain their attention.

For instance, a 15% discount on the first order of one of the newly released collections can tempt them to look into other products and services you offer. It raises their lifetime customer value with your store.

Abandoned Cart Shoppers

Cart abandonment occurs when customers add your products to their cart but leave them without checking out. A targeted Shopify first order discount can help convert these abandoned carts into sales.

An example of such an incentive can be an email with a message that the reader gets 10% off on their first purchase if they complete it within the next 24 hours.

Seasonal Shoppers

Cyber ​​shoppers tend to flock to online stores during major holidays or special events. This is the perfect opportunity to launch great deals, clear part of your inventory, and gain a new customer segment.

For example, an offer of a 25% discount on the first purchase during Christmas.

4. Exploring Advanced Discount Features with Third-Party Shopify Apps

When it comes to developing outstanding discount features, native solutions with Shopify’s framework do not solve many issues as they are not flexible and cannot be easily customized. This is why employing a third-party application to enhance your discount approach is perfect for your business. 

Why Use a Third-Party Discount App Instead of Shopify’s Built-in Features?

Let’s use a discount app for these three main reasons:

  • Advanced features and customization options

With third-party apps, you can freely make the most of complex discount rules like tiered discounts or bundle deals. They may allow you to create discounts based on customer behavior or purchase history, which Shopify’s basic features cannot offer.

  • Flexibility

For instance, merchants can target certain customer attributes, choose specific days/periods for the discount, or set complicated discount mixtures.

  • Better customer support and frequent updates

In general, specific discount app companies often pay too much attention to this option to be able to provide more detailed assistance. They will likely release more frequent updates with new features and bug fixes in response to users’ feedback and market demand.

Tips for Choosing the Right App on the Shopify Store

Given that plenty of discount apps are available in the Shopify store, selecting which app to use can be challenging. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Check its reviews from other merchants to know more about its operation and the support it offers its users.
  • Assess the app’s features and available customization options matching your objectives.
  • Consider apps with a trial or demo version to try the app and see how it works before purchasing a paid plan.

Recommend Shopify discount app.

After comparing various discount apps, we highly recommend BOGOS Free Gift Shopify App. This premium app offers many advanced features to help you create smart promotions.

Bogos.io Free Gift Buy X Get Y
Bogos.io Free Gift Buy X Get Y

Here are some of the advantages of using BOGOS:

  • Great Deals: BOGO, Buy X Get Y, free gifts with purchase, bundles, etc.
  • Custom Rules: Set promotions by URL, location, order history, and customer tags.
  • Gift Options: Add gifts and discounts to the cart automatically or with a slider.
  • Live Analytics: Track and adjust promotions with real-time data.
  • User-friendly Interface: Simple UI to set up and manage offers, no tech skills needed.
  • Dedicated Support: Live chat and tech support 24/7.

You can try it for 7 days free of charge. However, to take advantage of all the app’s most powerful features, you must pay $23.99 – $79.99 monthly. It’s not too expensive for a premium app.

5. Conclusion

Lastly, this is a guide on creating and applying a Shopify first order discount for new customers. By following the very detailed steps, we guarantee that the offer you will develop will appeal to first-time buyers. Are you looking to push your Shopify store to the next level? Don’t wait any longer; download the BOGOS app now!

6. FAQs

​​Can I set the first-order discount for specific products or collections?

You can set up your discount code in the Shopify admin panel to apply to specific products or collections.

How do I let potential customers know about the first-order discount?

Clearly show the discount on your website, ad campaigns, and newsletters. Personalized messages can also be very effective.

Can I check how well my Shopify first-order discount is working?

You can see how well your discount works by looking at the number of discount codes used, the average order value, and customer retention rates in Shopify analytics.