Create an order discount

Build automatic cart-level discounts for the whole order, then control who qualifies and which variants stay excluded.

Use an order discount when the whole basket should receive the offer.

This is the right fit for first-order offers, member-wide discounts, and broad cart incentives.

What an order discount changes

An order discount applies at the order level.

It is broader than a product discount.

Use it when the rule should affect the cart as a whole, not only selected lines.

Before you start

Decide these four things first:

• whether the offer should apply to every customer or a defined audience

• whether any variants should stay excluded

• whether the discount should be one flat value or tiered by quantity

• what note shoppers should see in cart

Create the order discount

1

Open the discounts dashboard

Go to Discounts / Gift with Purchase.

Create a new discount and choose Order Discount.

2

Add the internal setup details

Enter a clear Name.

Set the Status to Active when you are ready to run it.

3

Exclude any variants that should never qualify

Use Excluded variants when parts of the catalog must stay out of the offer.

This is useful for low-margin items, gift cards, or products already covered by another promotion.

4

Set the discount value

Add the Discount Note if you want customer-facing cart messaging.

Choose the discount type, then enter the value.

5

Add tiers if needed

Use Add Discount Tier when the discount should change as quantity grows.

If your store shows Tier application method, choose Flat or Cumulative based on how the offer should scale.

6

Choose the qualifying customer group

Set Customer Eligibility.

Common options include All customers, First time customers, Logged in only customers, tagged customers, Members, and Non-members.

7

Set dates, save, and test

Choose the Active Dates, save the discount, then test with a fresh cart.

When to use excluded variants

Use exclusions when the order discount should stay broad but not truly sitewide.

This is often cleaner than building a narrow product rule from scratch.

Examples:

• keep gift cards out of the offer

• keep clearance variants out of the offer

• protect products already in a bundle or GWP campaign

Flat vs cumulative tiers

Use Flat when the highest qualifying tier should control the whole discount.

Use Cumulative when the discount should step up progressively across bands.

If the campaign message is simple, start with Flat.

It is easier to explain and easier to test.

Use order discounts when

Choose an order discount when you want:

• one offer across most of the basket

• first-order or segment-wide incentives

• a simpler setup than product-by-product discount rules

If only selected items should change price, use a product discount instead.

Shopify vs Roadmap for order discounts

Roadmap is best when the discount should be automatic and audience-aware.

Shopify is usually better when the shopper must enter a code or the rule should live fully inside Shopify's native discount stack.

Test before launch

Run these three tests:

1. a cart that should not qualify

2. a cart that should qualify

3. a cart containing an excluded variant

If eligibility uses first-order status, tags, membership, or login status, test with a real customer account.

Related guides

• When to use Roadmap or Shopify for discounts

• Use tags for discount eligibility

• Run multiple discounts & GWPs

• Discounts not applying correctly