Guide
Tiered discounts by order value in Shopify
Shopify gives an order discount one minimum purchase amount, which means one tier. Natively you build several tiers as separate automatic discounts, and Shopify applies the one with the bigger advantage. Or you set up one Cart value tiers discount in Hand-E Discounts.
A minimum purchase amount is one tier
The idea is quick to explain: a customer who is already at $180 should add a little more to get the bigger discount. Natively you create an Amount off order discount and set a Minimum purchase amount as the requirement. One value, one tier.
Unlike volume tiers, this isn't about individual products but about the whole order. It's an order discount: it applies to the cart as a whole, not to individual items.
Hand-E Discounts has the Cart value tiers discount type for this: several thresholds in one order discount, as a percentage or a fixed amount. Which tier applies depends on the amount in the cart.
| Shopify native | With Hand-E Discounts | |
|---|---|---|
| Tiers per discount | one minimum purchase amount | several thresholds |
| Effort for three tiers | three automatic discounts | one discount |
| Which tier applies | without combinations, the discount with the bigger advantage | of the tiers reached, the one with the bigger advantage |
| Setting combinations | in each tier separately | once for all tiers |
| Slots of 25 active automatic discounts | one per tier | one |
Natively: one automatic discount per tier
With two or three automatic order discounts you can manage without an app. What matters is how the discounts are set up relative to each other.
- How it works: Discount A gives 5% off from $100, discount B gives 10% off from $200. Both are automatic and can't combine with other order discounts. If a cart is above $200, both conditions are met, and according to Shopify's help center it applies the discount that gives this cart the bigger advantage.
- Combining with codes: If a customer should also be able to redeem a newsletter code on the order, you have to allow the tiers to combine with order discounts. The setting applies per discount class. That means your tiers can also combine with each other, and both can apply at the same time.
- Slots: Every tier counts toward the maximum of 25 active automatic discounts, app discounts included.
- Upkeep: Active dates, markets and customer eligibility are set in each tier separately and have to match. If one tier ends earlier than the other, the whole structure shifts.
- Reporting: In Shopify's Sales by discount report, the tiers show up as separate discounts.
- Good enough if: you have two tiers and no other order discounts should apply alongside them.
How to create Cart value tiers in Hand-E Discounts
All thresholds live in one order discount. You set active dates and combinations once, not per tier.
- Under the discount types, choose Cart value tiers.
- Decide whether the tiers use a percentage or a fixed amount.
- Enter the thresholds, for example 5% from $100, 10% from $200, 15% from $350.
- Give the discount a title you'll recognize in Shopify's discount list.
- On Shopify's Combinations card, set whether codes or product discounts may apply alongside the tiers.
- Check with a test order just below and just above each threshold. This discount type has no cart preview in the form.
Worked example: three tiers and the jumps at the thresholds
Tiers: 5% from $100, 10% from $200, 15% from $350. The discount is rounded down to the cent, the way Shopify handles percentage discounts. Pay close attention to the rows right at the thresholds.
| Cart value | Tier | Discount | Customer pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| $89.90 | none | $0.00 | $89.90 |
| $123.45 | 5% | $6.17 | $117.28 |
| $199.99 | 5% | $9.99 | $190.00 |
| $200.00 | 10% | $20.00 | $180.00 |
| $349.99 | 10% | $34.99 | $315.00 |
| $350.00 | 15% | $52.50 | $297.50 |
What to watch out for
- Cart value tiers is an order discount. Whether product discounts such as Volume tiers apply alongside it is up to you on Shopify's Combinations card.
- With fixed amounts, the jumps at the thresholds can get large. Work out the final amounts just below and just above each threshold before the tiers go live.
- The form has no cart preview. Test with a test order, for example through Shopify's test payment gateway or Shopify Payments test mode.
- The tiers take one of the 25 slots for active automatic discounts.
- If you uninstall the app, Shopify removes the discounts that came from it.
Common questions
Which tier applies when a cart reaches several order value thresholds?
Can I combine order value tiers with a discount code?
Why does a customer with a $200 cart pay less than one with $199.99?
Is there a cart preview for Cart value tiers?
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