Setting up volume discounts on Shopify is easier than you might think, and is a proven way to maximize your average order value through rewarding customers who buy more. The Quantity Breaks & Discounts app for Shopify lets you get setup with tiered discounts in minutes.
Volume discount’s are a useful discount method that can be applied any combination of products or variants. For example, if you want to apply a discount such as “buy 3 yellow t-shirts for 20% off” you can then choose between:
- Applying the volume discount to the same products regardless of variants, or;
- Applying the volume discount to products of the same variant only, e.g. discounts are only applied if you purchase 3 size M t-shirts.
This enables you to create Shopify progressive discounts based on order quantity or product combinations, giving your store greater opportunities to maximize order value and shift slow-moving inventory.
Table of Contents
- A Step-By-Step Guide to Applying a Shopify Volume Discount
- Benefits of a using a Volume Discounts App for Shopify
- Limitations of Shopify’s Built-in Volume Discounts
There are a number of great benefits to applying a Shopify volume discount throughout your online store. They can increase revenue, add value to your sales, and move excess inventory to solve warehousing issues.
Shopify volume discounts can also be created in a number of different formats. The Corporate Finance Institute provides a helpful breakdown that will help you decide which type of Shopify progressive discounts will work best for your business.
You can offer a Shopify volume discount to your customers in a few simple steps. There are just a couple of factors to consider, whether you do this via the built-in Shopify discount settings or use an integrated Shopify volume discount app.
We’ll run through how to activate a Shopify volume discount using both, so you can decide which will work best for your online store.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Applying a Shopify Volume Discount
Adding Shopify progressive discounts to your online store can be achieved in a few simple steps:
Using A Shopify Discounts App
Follow these steps to set up your Shopify volume discount using the Quantity Breaks & Discounts Shopify app:
Go to Apps in the left-hand menu pane of your admin dashboard and you’ll see ‘Quantity Breaks & Discounts’. When you click on the app, you’ll see your discount dashboard.
Click ‘create tier’ and select ‘volume discount’.
You’ll then get the option to choose from a range of options (there are examples of what each one means if you’re unsure):
- Apply volume discounts to: Same products regardless of variants or same variants only
- Discount setting: Apply discount on each product or apply discount on total value
- Tier Conditions: Choose between applying a discount (by % or $) when a certain number of items are added to the cart OR based on the total value of the cart
- Apply the discount to: Specific products/variants, collections, tags, vendors, all available products, or your entire store
- Select products: Select which products are eligible from the product list
- Customize your discount appearance:
- Restrict by: Locations, timeframes
Select ‘create tiered pricing’ and your discounts will be applied throughout your store, with your visual table on display where the discount is eligible.
Using Shopify Built-In Discounts Settings
In your Shopify admin section, go to ‘Discounts’ in the left-hand menu bar.
Click ‘Create Discount’ and choose between the following discounts:
- Amount off products
- Amount off order
- Buy x get y
Each will apply the discounts to your Shopify volume pricing structure, but there isn’t a streamlined way to do so, unlike using an integrated app.
No matter which option you go for, you will get to pick from the following options:
- Method: discount code or automatic discount
- Value: Apply discount as a percentage or fixed amount
- Purchase Type: Apply discount to specific collections or specific products
- Minimum purchase requirements: Choose between the minimum quantity of items or minimum purchase amount
- Combinations: Combine the discount with other product discounts or shipping discounts (new feature)
- Active days: Set a start and end date
Save your selection and the discounted Shopify volume pricing will be applied throughout your online store.
Benefits of a using a Volume Discounts App for Shopify
You might be wondering why you would choose a third-party app to apply a discount when you can do it directly into settings. Some advantages of using a specialized discount app, such as Quantity Breaks & Discounts, include:
More discount options
With the Shopify Volume Discount app, you’ll also have the option to create cross sells, upsells, free gifts, and buy one get one discounts.
Convert more at checkout
Add a call to action that encourages customers to buy more products to get a discount. 1-Click upsell automatically adds the required number of products to the user’s cart on click and can be fully customized to suit your store.
24/7 Customer Support
On the rare occasion that you face an issue when using the app, the app development team (real humans) will be on hand 24/7 to provide customer support and get it resolved.
Fully Customizable Design
Design how you would like your discount to appear to your customers. You will have access to a template designer that will assist you in creating a discount offer table that matches your company brand. Your table will integrate with all Shopify themes.
More features that help you advertise store discounts
Communicate the value of the applied Shopify volume pricing so customers can see how much they are saving, both as they are selecting products on each product page and in the shopping cart.
Both using Shopify’s built-in settings and using an integrated app will apply Shopify progressive discounts to your online store, you just need to decide whether the additional features of a discount app will benefit your business.
Whichever method you choose, you’ll be adding value to your offer and enjoy a number of benefits in return.
Limitations of Shopify’s Built-in Volume Discounts
As you can see, there are a number of useful features that you’ll get access to by choosing a discount app for your online store. These features not only simplify the management of discounts but also offer great marketing techniques to promote the discount and boost sales.
Some limitations of the built-in Shopify volume pricing discounts include:
Unclear setup
As you will have noticed when we ran through our step-by-step guide to applying a Shopify volume discount, there isn’t one straightforward option to do so. You will essentially get the same effect with any of the options, although there are some variants, and it can be unclear which one will best achieve the Shopify progressive discount structure you’re aiming for.
No discount variants
You can’t apply discounts to specific product variants within the built-in settings. If you have a collection of kid’s t-shirts, you can’t apply a discount to a color variant, for example, purple only because they’re not selling. The discount will be applied to all kid’s t-shirts.
Non-customizable display
Shopify will automatically add the discount text to your product pages. You won’t be able to choose how it appears or add a catchy title to draw the attention of your customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
We can’t speak for all third-party apps, but Quantity Breaks & Discounts is compatible with all Shopify themes. On the off-chance that you were to run into any problems during set-up, Quantity Breaks & Discounts has a customer support team available 24/7 to solve any integration issues.
As there are a number of methods to discount your Shopify volume pricing structure via the built-in settings, we recommend running through each one to see if you notice any differences for the specific product or collection that you’re applying the discount.
Some might work better than others depending on what offer you’re trying to achieve, and you will only find out through trial and error.
Opt for an integrated Shopify app with a simple discounts dashboard to avoid confusion during the set-up process.
Yes, you can do this both using Shopify’s built-in settings and using an integrated Shopify volume discount app.
When using an integrated Shopify app, not only can you run multiple discounts simultaneously, but you can also offer different types of discounts across your products (e.g. Shopify volume discount + free gifts). You can run each discount in conjunction with one another, or limit discounts to one offer per order.
Shopify has also introduced the option for combination discounts within their built-in settings, where you can combine Shopify progressive discounts with other product discounts or shipping discounts.
