Promotions
Discounts that apply without a code, how they differ from coupons, and the order several of them resolve in.
Marketing, Promotions. A promotion is a discount that applies by itself, with no code for the shopper to type.
That is the whole difference from a coupon. A coupon is opt in and you can measure who used it. A promotion is automatic, so everybody who qualifies gets it whether or not they knew it existed.
The Five Kinds
| Type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Percentage off cart | Takes a percentage off the whole basket |
| Fixed amount off cart | Takes a set sum off the whole basket |
| Percentage off specific products | Discounts only the named products |
| Free shipping | Removes the carriage charge |
| Buy one get one | Gives a second item free or reduced |
Who It Applies To
A promotion can be limited three ways.
Customer group, so a trade promotion applies to trade accounts and nobody else.
Specific products, which is a sale on a handful of titles.
Specific categories, which is how a whole section goes on offer for a week.
Leave all three blank and it applies to everybody and everything, which is right for something like free delivery over a threshold and dangerous for anything else.
Conditions
A minimum order amount is the usual condition, checked against the goods before shipping is added.
Dates bracket the campaign. A promotion with no end date keeps running, and because there is no code for anybody to notice, nobody will tell you it is still going.
An automatic discount with no end date is the expensive kind of mistake
Nobody types a promotion, so nobody reports it as still working. Set an end date, put a reminder in your diary for the day after, and check the Sales Report for the week either side.
When Several Apply at Once
More than one promotion can match the same basket. The shop applies them in priority order and, where they conflict, the customer gets the better outcome rather than both.
That is deliberate, and it is why a promotion and a group discount do not compound into something you did not intend. It is still worth testing the combination you expect to happen most, because "better for the customer" is not always what you assumed.
Promotion or Coupon?
Use a promotion when you want everybody who qualifies to get it: a seasonal sale, free delivery over an amount, a trade discount.
Use a coupon when you want to know who used it, limit how many times, or give it to particular people: a newsletter offer, an apology, an influencer code.
If you need both, note that a coupon restricted to products already discounted by a promotion will discount the already reduced price, which is usually not what was intended.
Checking One Is Working
Put a qualifying basket together on the shop itself and look at the order summary. A promotion that applies shows as a line in the totals.
If it does not appear, check the dates, then the conditions, then whether the products are actually in the category you named. A promotion restricted to a category that the products were never filed in is the commonest cause of nothing happening.