Rules for applying and combining discounts

Rules for applying and combining discounts

false

Last updated January 29, 2026 17:31

Technical details and limitations on using and combining discounts.

To avoid over-discounting, we've built-in combination rules for discounts. While we have these basic rules in place to help, try limiting the number of discounts you offer at a time. Offering only one or two promotions at once ensures that customers can't “stack” them and helps keep your promotions clear and memorable.

Rules for applying discounts

Discounts apply to order subtotals. They don't apply to taxes or shipping (except free shipping discounts).
A discount can’t exceed the order subtotal. If it does, customers can’t use it.
Customers can’t apply expired discounts. If a customer tries to use an expired discount, an error message appears that says, “Unable to redeem coupon: this coupon is no longer available.”
Customers can't buy a gift card using a discount. However, they can use a discount when making a purchase with the gift card.

You can combine these discount types


Discount types	Example
Single product + Amount off any order	$10 off a specific model of sunglasses, and $10 off any order
Single product + Orders over	$10 off a specific model of sunglasses, and 10% off orders over $200
Product by category + Amount off any order	$10 off summer accessories, and $10 off any order
Product by category + Amount off orders over	$10 off summer accessories, and $10 off orders over $200
Product by category + Product by category (for different items)	$10 off summer accessories, and $10 off winter accessories for an order containing items from each category
Free shipping	You can combine Free shipping with any discount or combination of discounts

Combining total usage and subscription limits

These example discounts combine total order limits and subscription discount limits. Use this as a reference when creating more restrictive discounts.

10% off all orders of a specific subscription product, available to the first 10 subscribers.

Promotion: Percent off
Applies to: Single product
Limit total orders: Limit Usage - 10
Limit Subscription Discounts: Unlimited

$15 off single-purchase products in a certain category, which can be used an unlimited number of times.

Promotion: Fixed amount - $15.00
Applies to: Products by category
Limit total orders: Unlimited
Limit Subscription Discounts: Exclude Subscription Products

20% off the first payment of the recurring membership for the Yoga 101 member site.

Promotion: Percent off
Applies to: Member site
Member Site: Yoga 101
Limit Subscription Discounts: First Payments

You can't combine these discount types

If customers try to combine incompatible discounts, they'll see an error message.


Discount types	Example
Single product + Product by category	$10 off a specific model of sunglasses, and $25 off summer accessories (including the same pair of sunglasses)
Single product + Single product (for the same item)	$10 off a specific model of sunglasses, and $25 off the same pair of sunglasses
Product by category + Product by category (for the same item)	If a customer is buying a black leather wallet, they can’t take $10 off leather goods and another $10 off wallets
Orders over + Any order, if at least one discount is a percentage discount	$10 off any order, and 20% off orders over $100
Amount off any order (automatic) + Percent off any order (automatic). If both exist, the Amount off discount applies, regardless of which is larger.	$10 off any order and 10% off any order, applied automatically.

Rules for combining discounts

If multiple automatic discounts of different types can apply to the same order, the Amount off discount will apply at checkout. For example, if an Amount off and Percent off discount could both apply, the Amount off discount is preferred, even if it's smaller.
If two automatic Percent off discounts ‌apply but can't be combined, the larger discount is preferred.
Free shipping discounts will always apply.
Discounts can't be combined if an order has only one product.
You can only combine Percent off any order discounts with Free shipping, unless the other discounts don't apply to all products in the cart. For example, if you offer 10% off any order and 10% off products in Category 1, and a customer checks out with a product from Category 1and a product from Category 2, they can use both discounts. In this example, the 10% off any order discount will only apply to the value of the product in Category 2.

Was this article helpful?

Yes No

142 out of 445 found this helpful

Yes No

Rules for applying and combining discounts