Percentage discounts are the most common type of discount among Shopify stores. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is that they’re both user-friendly and a familiar discount format for customers, especially those used to offline shopping.
Like any marketing campaign, for a percentage discount to be effective, it needs to excite your customers and make them feel like they’ve found an unmissable offer. In this article, I’ll share the details of how to effectively run percentage discount campaigns in your Shopify store.
Understanding Percentage Discounts
There are three main discount types in Shopify:
1.Percentage discounts
2.Fixed amount discounts
3.Free shipping discount code
Unless you make a special choice otherwise, percentage discounts are applied to the customer’s entire cart. For example, if your customer’s cart totals $100 and you offer a 10% discount, you’ll be giving them $10 off, and they’ll pay $90.
With fixed amount discounts, you set a certain amount off regardless of the customer’s total. For example, if you run a campaign offering a $10 discount, customers with a $100 cart pay $90, while customers with a $200 cart pay $190.
Free shipping discounts don’t change the product amounts in the cart at all; they only apply a discount to shipping costs.
Advantages of Percentage Discount Campaigns
The biggest advantage of percentage discounts is that they’re easy for customers to understand. Before making a purchase decision, shoppers can quickly assess how much they’re saving with a percentage discount.
Additionally, they offer a nice incentive for customers to choose more expensive products. Imagine your favorite store is running a special sale where all items are 25% off. You’d be more inclined to go for the pricier item on your wish list.
However, this is also where potential problems can arise for stores and marketers. If you don’t design your campaign carefully, you risk giving away too big of a discount and ending up at a loss.
Setting Up Percentage Discounts in Shopify
Now, let’s look at how to set up percentage discounts step by step in Shopify.
Shopify allows you to create discounts in a very user-friendly way. First, go to your Shopify admin panel and click “Discounts” from the left menu. On the page that opens, click the “Add discount” button at the top right to create a new discount code.
You’ll see four different options:
•Amount off products
•Buy X get Y
•Amount off order
•Free shipping
If you want the discount to apply storewide, choose “Amount off order.” If you only want it to apply to specific collections or products, select “Amount off products.” Since we’re focusing on percentage discount codes in this article, let’s proceed with storewide discount campaigns.
Step-by-Step Setup
1.Choose the discount method. If you select an automatic discount, then once it’s active, everyone visiting your store automatically gets the discount at checkout without needing to enter a code. If you select the “discount code” method, your customers will need to enter a specific code at checkout to apply the discount.
2.Name your discount code. If you choose a discount code rather than an automatic discount, you’ll need to specify what text customers should enter at checkout (e.g., “MOTHERSDAYSPECIAL10%”). Customers will see this code and the applied discount on the checkout page.
3.Set the discount amount and eligible payment methods. If you sell subscriptions in your store, you can decide which type of orders will be eligible. In most stores, it’s for one-time purchases only, so you can leave this as is if that’s the case.
4.Minimum purchase requirements. Shopify allows you to set a minimum purchase quantity or cart total for the discount code to activate. If you want to increase your average order value or have very low-priced items, setting a minimum quantity or cart total can ensure that only customers meeting those conditions can use the code.
Important note: When creating percentage discount codes in Shopify, you can set minimum requirements, but unfortunately, you cannot set maximum limits. So, keep in mind that people who want to shop in large quantities can also use the code. If you offer a significant discount rate on products with low profit margins, large orders may cause you to lose money.
5.Eligibility options (if it’s not automatic). If you’re not creating an automatic discount code, you can limit it to specific customer segments in the “Eligibility” section. This is useful for marketing campaigns targeting only those who have previously bought certain products or reached a certain spending threshold.
6.Set start and end dates. Always make sure your discount code has a definite end date. A discount that’s always active and never expires doesn’t create a sense of urgency for your customers, and over time, it can damage your brand perception. Make sure you truly end it on the stated date.
Combination Settings
One of the most important areas when creating discount codes is combination settings. By default, if combination settings are disabled, only one discount code can be applied per order. If a customer tries to apply a second code, Shopify will only keep the one offering the greatest discount.
However, if you do want multiple discount codes to be used together, you need to enable combination settings for all codes that can be combined. Be very cautious with this setting, as your customers might end up stacking multiple discounts and reduce your profit margin substantially if you’re not careful.
Crafting an Effective Percentage Discount Strategy
Next, let’s consider how to create an effective percentage discount campaign that boosts your sales and profitability while protecting your brand. Here are some key points to keep in mind:
1. Deciding on the Discount Rate
First, determine your discount rates. Every campaign is an opportunity to attract new customers or encourage past customers to purchase again, but it also brings two major threats:
1.If you get your customers used to high discount rates, your brand might become synonymous with discounting. It could become incredibly difficult—even impossible—to sell at full price later on.
2.If you don’t keep an eye on profit margins, you may find yourself operating at a loss, making it increasingly challenging to sustain your business in the long run.
To handle these risks, carefully analyze your discount rates. Look at last year’s sales trends for the same period, the discount rates you offered, and what percentage of your customers took advantage of those offers.
If you don’t have enough data or if this is your first time running such campaigns, I suggest setting your discount rate above 10%. Especially if you haven’t yet reached your first 10, 100, or 500 customers, consider running a thematic campaign like a “grand opening” with a larger discount of around 20–25%. If your profit margin is too slim, you might even adjust your product prices first. A 10% discount is so common these days that it might not give your customers a strong sense of a “real” campaign.
2. Timing and Seasonality
Another key aspect is the timing of your campaign. Certain special occasions and shopping seasons practically require discount campaigns—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.
Pay attention to when you start and end these campaigns in relation to your competitors. For example, if most of your competitors are running promotions during Black Friday, you could start your campaign one week earlier—maybe as a “Pre-Black Friday” event—offering an additional 5–10% discount to capture shoppers’ budgets before they spend elsewhere.
Once you map out your campaigns for these major shopping holidays, you can plan for non-peak periods. I don’t recommend running other discounts too close to major promotions because it can dilute your brand’s perceived value.
For most Shopify stores using Growth Suite, we recommend following a “20% rule”: The number of days you run percentage discount campaigns in a month should not exceed 20% of that month.
3. Bundling and Upselling
During major campaigns, it’s smart to include certain conditions to protect your margins and ensure your store benefits. The goal here is to boost average order value (AOV) and the average number of items per cart during the campaign period by offering an extra incentive.
For instance, if you’re offering a 10% discount storewide and your average order value is around $75, you could structure the campaign so that orders over $100 get a 15% discount. This might raise your average order value to at least $85.
Promotional Tactics for Maximum Impact
Once you’ve planned your percentage discount campaign, it’s time to promote it and ensure as many customers as possible take advantage of it. Here are some marketing channels you should definitely use:
1. Email Marketing
Email marketing is critical for any campaign. In Growth Suite, we recommend the following framework:
•First Email: 5–7 days before the campaign starts, send an email announcing the launch date and discount rate. Exclude customers who have purchased in the last 15 days to avoid annoying them or prompting them to return purchases to buy again at a discount.
•Second Email: 24 hours before the campaign goes live, send a reminder to those who received the first email. Let them know the exact day and time it starts, and emphasize that stock is limited—encouraging them not to miss out.
•Third Email: The moment the campaign goes live, send a third email stating that the campaign is now active. Include direct links to products that are trending or best-sellers during this period.
•Fourth Email: If your campaign runs four days or longer, send this email 24 hours before it ends. Let customers know exactly when it finishes, and once again highlight your most popular products.
2. Social Media & Influencer Marketing
Follow a similar approach to your email marketing on social media. Post content before, during, and near the end of the campaign—reminding people and showcasing popular products.
If you have the budget, align your influencer marketing initiatives with major promotional periods. After posting content about your products and brand, influencers can mention your active campaign. This helps you reach potential customers who don’t yet follow you or aren’t on your email list.
3. On-Site Urgency Tools
You’ve driven traffic to your store via email and social media. Now you need to show visitors that your campaign is active. It’s helpful to display a non-intrusive pop-up during the campaign period (from start to end). Ideally, it should appear only once per visitor to avoid harming the UX.
Likewise, it’s important to display the time remaining in your campaign, show how long before items run out, and clearly highlight the discounted prices due to the campaign.
Monitoring & Optimizing Your Results
Once your campaign is over, it’s essential to analyze its performance. Here are the key metrics you should look at after running a percentage discount promotion:
• Conversion Rate: Of the users who visited your Shopify store, how many made a purchase? How did your conversion rate change compared to before the campaign?
• Average Order Value (AOV): What was the average cart total of customers who purchased during the campaign? Which direction did it move compared to the period before the campaign, and by how much?
• Funnel Analysis: We recommend a three-step funnel analysis for every Shopify store:
1.The percentage of visitors who view a product and then add it to their cart
2.The percentage of cart additions that start the checkout process
3.The percentage of those who start checkout and then complete the purchase
Look at how these metrics changed during the campaign compared to before. It will help you see how successful your campaign was and what you can improve next time.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
So far, we’ve covered how to set up percentage discounts in Shopify, create a strategy for a successful campaign, promote it, and analyze the results. Now let’s discuss the common mistakes Shopify store owners make with percentage discounts and how to avoid them.
Preventing “Discount Fatigue”
Percentage discount campaigns effectively boost sales. Think about your own shopping behavior: we’re often more motivated to purchase when there’s a sale.
But if you constantly run discounts, you risk turning into a discount brand, where customers stop getting excited about your offers. This gradually lowers the impact of each new sale.
Always make sure your percentage discount campaigns have a clear start and end date—and actually end when you say they will. And remember the 20% rule: Do not run percentage discount campaigns for more than 20% of the days in a month or year.
By planning your campaigns this way, you’ll protect your brand image and give customers a reason to act fast whenever you do run a sale.
Coupon Leakage & Misuse
Be very careful managing your discount codes. Always deactivate codes after their campaign ends.
If you’re running a promotion for a specific customer segment, make sure that code is restricted to just that segment in Shopify. It’s surprising how quickly discount codes can spread via social media and the internet. If you’re not careful, the majority of your customers may start shopping with discounts, making it nearly impossible to maintain healthy profit margins.
Neglecting Post-Purchase Follow-Up
Percentage discount campaigns are a great way to attract new customers who are sensitive to sales. But if you don’t provide a good post-purchase experience or properly introduce them to your brand and other products, you’ll miss the chance to convert them into loyal customers.
After each campaign, identify those who purchased from your store for the first time and create a segment for them. Send personalized emails about your brand story, best-selling products, and relevant items based on their purchase history. This strategy helps you turn campaign-driven shoppers into repeat customers.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Percentage discount campaigns are a great way to boost sales, reach new customers, and reactivate past buyers in your Shopify store. However, they also bring important risks.
Take shopping seasons into account and create a campaign calendar. Always include an end date—and actually end the campaign at that time. Promoting your campaign is just as important as planning it. Focus on email and social media marketing to announce your promotion. Once your campaign is live, ensure your website clearly shows the discounted prices, especially on product pages.
After every campaign, analyze your metrics. Look at changes in your conversion rate, funnel, and average order value. Ideally, you want all three metrics to move in a positive direction. If one of them declines, analyze it carefully and develop strategies to fix the issue in future campaigns.
Finally, don’t forget to follow up with any first-time buyers who came through the campaign. Nurture them into loyal customers.
If you want to handle all these steps—and more—with just a few clicks using AI support, Growth Suite is here for you. Growth Suite lets you manage not just percentage discount campaigns but all sorts of discount offers in your Shopify store with ease. You can install Growth Suite for free in seconds from the Shopify App Store, with no coding or technical changes required—so you can discover a whole new way to run your campaigns! Also don’t forget to check Shopify Time Limited Offer Guide and Fixed Amount Discounts on Shopify Guide.
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