The way you define custom discount rules in Shopify depends on the type of discount you want to use: for standard scenarios, the Discounts section in the admin panel is enough, while for more advanced and conditional rules such as customer tags, B2B status, or order count, the Checkout Blocks app is used.
What Are the Discount Types in Shopify?
The Shopify admin panel offers several basic discount types that can respond to different needs. These types are selected based on which scenario your store requires.
Discount Type | Description |
Amount off products | Applies an amount/percentage discount to specific products or collections |
Amount off orders | Applies a discount across the entire order |
Buy X get Y | Gives another product at a discount or for free when a specific product is purchased |
Free shipping | Provides free shipping |
Where Are Standard Discounts Created?
To create a standard discount rule, the following steps are followed:
Go to the Discounts section in the Shopify admin panel.
Click the Create discount option.
Select one of the discount types listed in the table above.
Configure the discount rules.
These four steps are the common starting point for all standard discounts in Shopify. In the next step, the detailed settings that determine how the discount will work come into play.
How Are Discount Rules Configured?
After selecting the discount type, the settings that determine under which conditions and for whom the discount will be valid appear. These settings are as follows:
Method: Determines whether the discount will be applied via a code (Discount code) or automatically (Automatic discount).
Applies to: Determines whether the discount applies to specific products, collections, or the entire order.
Minimum requirements: Defines the minimum cart amount or minimum number of items required for the discount to be valid.
Eligibility: Determines who can benefit from the discount; all customers, specific customers, customer segments, or specific markets can be selected.
Combinations: Sets whether the discount can be used together with other discounts.
Active dates: Determines the start and, if applicable, end date of the discount.
These six settings give store owners broad flexibility, and they cover most discount scenarios.
What Is the Difference Between Automatic Discounts and Code-Based Discounts?
Automatic discounts are automatically reflected in the cart when the specified conditions are met, without the customer entering any code. Code-based discounts, on the other hand, require the customer to enter a coupon code during checkout. Depending on your campaign goal, one of these two methods can be preferred; for example, an automatic discount is more suitable for campaigns aiming to reach a wide audience, while a code-based discount is more suitable for campaigns tracking a specific marketing channel.
What Can Be Done for More Advanced Custom Rules?
Although standard discount settings meet most needs, some stores may want to define more complex conditions. For example, rules that vary by customer tags, B2B status, order count, or market aren't available in the standard panel. This is where Checkout Blocks comes in.
What Are Checkout Blocks and When Is It Used?
Checkout Blocks is an app that allows you to add custom components to the Shopify checkout flow and is used to set up advanced discount logic. It is preferred when you need conditional rules that are not found in the standard panel. When creating a rule set via Checkout Blocks, two different logics can be selected:
All rules must be met: All defined conditions must be valid at the same time.
Any of the rules must be met: It is sufficient for only one of the conditions to be met.
How Is a Custom Discount Created with Checkout Blocks?
To create a new custom discount via Checkout Blocks, the following steps are followed:
Go to Apps > Checkout Blocks in the Shopify admin panel.
Click Discounts > Add discount.
Select Amount off order or the discount type suitable for your needs.
In the Discount configuration section, make the following settings:
Discount value: Determine whether it will be a fixed amount or a percentage.
Discount rules: Add conditions using the Add rule option.
Set Minimum purchase requirements if needed.
Set Customer eligibility if needed.
Set Combinations if needed.
Fill in the Active dates section.
Click the Save button to save the discount.
Which Advanced Rule Examples Are Supported?
Checkout Blocks supports many conditions not found in the standard panel. Some supported advanced rule examples are as follows:
Shopify Market (a specific market/region)
Cart has a selling plan (having a subscription plan in the cart)
Company (a specific company account)
Customer is B2B (the customer having a B2B account)
Customer order count (the customer's total number of orders)
Customer tag (a tag assigned to the customer)
These conditions can be used on their own, or a multi-layered discount structure can be created by combining them with the "All rules must be met" or "Any of the rules must be met" logic.
How Are Discount Rules Edited in Shopify?
To edit a standard discount:
Go to the Discounts section in the Shopify admin panel.
Click the title of the discount you want to edit.
Make changes as needed in the Method, Discount value, Applies to, Minimum requirements, Eligibility, Combinations, Active dates, and Tags fields.
Click the Save button to save the changes.
For custom rule discounts created with Checkout Blocks:
Go to Apps > Checkout Blocks in the Shopify admin panel.
Open the Discounts tab.
Click the title of the custom discount you want to edit.
Update the Discount value, Discount rules, Minimum purchase requirements, Customer eligibility, Combinations, and Active dates fields in the Discount configuration section.
Save the changes with Save.
Advanced rules such as Shopify Market, Cart has a selling plan, Company, Customer is B2B, Customer order count, and Customer tag can also be edited from this screen. In addition, the ability to create and edit custom discounts with Checkout Blocks is only available to stores on the Shopify Plus plan.
The standard Discounts section is sufficient for editing basic eligibility and combination rules; when more advanced conditional logic is required, these edits are made via Checkout Blocks. In more complex scenarios, Shopify recommends using app-based discount solutions.
How does combining discounts work?
On Shopify, whether more than one discount can apply to an order at the same time is set in the Combinations section of each discount's own settings. Discounts fall into three classes: product discounts, order discounts and shipping discounts.
Product + shipping: for example, a 20% discount on a product and a free shipping discount can apply together.
Order + shipping: a discount based on cart value and free shipping can work together.
Discounts in the same class: multiple product discounts don't apply to the same product; Shopify chooses the one most favourable to the customer.
When setting up combinations, make sure campaigns don't stack and unexpectedly cut your margin. Testing different cart scenarios with test orders before busy campaign periods is good practice.
Showing discounts on product pages and collections
By default, automatic discounts often only appear in the cart or at checkout. Letting customers see the discount on the product page and in collection lists increases click and add-to-cart rates. You can do this by editing your theme to show the discounted price and a discount label, or by using apps built for this purpose. You can find the Discount Text & Label app we developed at Byte, and our other recommendations, in our best Shopify apps article.
Common mistakes in discount setups
Not setting an end date: campaign codes left without an end date spread on social media and coupon sites and keep being used for a long time.
Not setting a usage limit: codes without a one-use-per-customer or total usage limit lead to uncontrolled costs.
Not calculating the minimum cart value: the threshold for free shipping or a cart discount should be slightly above your average order value; otherwise the discount doesn't raise the average order value.
Not measuring the campaign: using a separate code or tag for each campaign shows you which campaign actually drove sales.
What Should Be Done When Standard Discounts Are Insufficient?
Shopify's built-in discount features successfully cover most scenarios. However, the needs of some stores may go beyond these limits. If you need tiered discounts (the discount rate increasing as the cart amount increases), campaigns requiring multi-step logic, or advanced eligibility rules not found in the standard panel, according to Shopify's documentation, you may need to use an app, add a third-party discount app, or consider Checkout Blocks. Which of these options is suitable varies depending on the size of the store, the complexity of the campaign, and technical needs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shopify Discount Rules
How Do You Set Up an Automatic Discount?
When creating a new discount in the Discounts section, the "Automatic discount" option is selected in the Method step. This way, the discount is applied automatically when the conditions are met, without the customer entering a code.
How Do You Apply a Discount to a Customer Segment?
The "Specific customer segments" option is selected from the Eligibility section on the discount creation screen, and the relevant customer segment is determined. The discount is applied only to customers in this segment.
What Is a Checkout Blocks Discount and How Is It Done?
A Checkout Blocks discount is a custom discount type that supports advanced conditions not found in the standard panel (such as B2B, customer tag, order count). It is created from the Apps > Checkout Blocks > Discounts section.
How Do You Create a Custom Discount Code?
When creating a new discount in the Discounts section, the "Discount code" option is selected in the Method step, and the desired code text is entered. This code is used by the customer by entering it during checkout.
How Do Discount Combinations Work?
The Combinations setting determines whether a discount can be used together with product discounts, order discounts, or shipping discounts. If this setting is not left open, discounts may conflict with each other or may not be applied at all.
