The Complete Discounts Guide

This guide shows how discounts work in Voucherify. Besides discount types, you will learn how the app applies discounts to customers' orders and what discount campaigns you can launch in the dashboard. 

Contents:

1. Glossary
2. Creating Discounts
3. Discount Types
   1. Amount type
   2. Percentage type
   3. Fixed amount
   4. Unit type
   5. Free shipping
4. Discount Effects
   1. Apply discount to the whole cart
   2. Apply discount to items
   3. Each item subtotal is discounted equally
   4. Split discount proportionally to amount
   5. Split discount proportionally to quantity
   6. Each unit of matched products has the same discount value
   7. Discount selected items – percentage limits
   8. Add missing order items
   9. Add new order items
   10. Add multiple item types
5. Validation Rules

Glossary

Here are some key definitions to grasp when working with discounts:

Campaign Manager

The Campaign Manager enables you to create and attach discounts to particular incentives and campaign types. You can create discount coupons, auto-applied promotions, rewards, or referral codes with attached discounts for invited friends.

Discount Coupon

Digital coupon represented by a unique code. Each coupon code in a single project is unique. Moreover, you can create standalone coupon codes for multi-use or bulk coupon campaigns where each digital coupon has a unique trackable code.

Discount Effect

There are different effects to choose from depending on what discount type you create. In general, effects define how the discount is applied to the order (for example, per order or order items).

Discount Type

Voucherify supports amount, percentage, fixed amount, unit, and free shipping discounts. Fixed discount refers to the total amount and the discount value is counted dynamically based on the customer's order amount. The unit discount refers to item(s) you want to give for free when a customer redeems the discount. 

In-Cart Promotion

In-cart promotion applies discounts without codes. When a customer qualifies for a promotion, the discount can be automatically applied to the order. 

Referral Code

Referral codes are a part of a referral program setup. Each referral code is unique and needs to be published to a referrer (advocate). You can assign a discount to referral codes, and it will be applied to a referred customer's order when redeeming the code. 

Rewards

Rewards are a part of your referral and loyalty campaigns. You can offer material and digital rewards like coupon codes with a predefined discount. 

Validation Rules

Validation rules are optional limits attached to your discounts and checked every time a customer tries to make a redemption.

Creating Discounts

In the Dashboard, go to the Campaigns section and click the Campaign Manager button.

Choose what campaign you would like to create. To launch a campaign with discounts, you can choose between the following types:

• Discount coupon – the discount is attached to unique codes or a single standalone code. Read more about unique coupon campaigns.
• Promotions – the discount is applied automatically when a customer's cart meets promotion rules. Read more about cart-level promotions.
• Referral codes – the discount is attached to unique referral codes and is applied to order when the invited user successfully redeems referral code. Read more about creating referral programs.

You can also create discount coupons that act as rewards in your loyalty and referral campaigns. Learn more about creating rewards in our Rewards catalog article. 

Discount settings cover the discount type (1), effect (2), value (3), and validation rules (optional) (4). 

Discount Value

The discount value can be either a static or dynamic value. For a static value, simply enter the desired value in the discount value field.

To create a dynamic value, click on the Build formula button next to the discount value field. Define the formula and add a fall back value. 

You can create formulas with mathematical and logical operators and assign a dynamic discount value to each of the discount types. The values will be calculated during redemption based on the provided formula and metadata values. The formula builder requires a fallback value in case the dynamic discount value cannot be calculated from the parameters given in the formula. 

You can either use the Formula builder with step-by-step dialogs that you fill out to build the formula from element building blocks or the Expression output with operators and operands. Read more in our dynamic discount value builder guide.

Formula Builder

Expression Output

Discount Types

Campaign Manager supports amount, percentage, fixed amount, unit, and free shipping discounts. 

Amount Type

You can offer your customers a discount in any currency, for example, $20 or £10 off. Before creating amount discounts, go to Project Settings to set the currency for your discounts.

You can also create formulas with mathematical and logical operators and assign a dynamic amount value. The amount values will be calculated during redemption based on the provided formula and metadata values. Read more in our dynamic discount value builder guide. 

Percentage Type

You can offer a percentage discount like 10% or 50% off and secure your budget by defining a  Maximum discount amount per order. 

You can also create formulas with mathematical and logical operators and assign a dynamic percent value. Percent values will be calculated during redemption based on the provided formula and metadata values. Read more in our dynamic discount value builder guide. 

Maximum discount amount per order and per order line

If the discount is applied to the whole cart (total order amount), you can limit the maximum discount given to the whole order in Maximum discount amount per order. Additionally, if the discount is applied to items, you can limit the maximum amount of the discount given per discounted item subtotal in Maximum discount amount per order line. The detailed information on the ways the discount can be applied to items is described in Apply discount to items.

Fixed amount

Fixed amount discount has two variants. Depending on the chosen discount effect Apply to order or Apply to items, you can set a fixed total amount or new price for particular items.

Fixed amount – apply to order

When redeeming the discount, the total amount of the order will be set to the value of the Fixed amount. The discount value is calculated during the redemption as it is a difference between the total amount of the customer's order and the Fixed amount.

You can also create formulas with mathematical and logical operators and assign a dynamic fixed amount value. Fixed amount values will be calculated during redemption based on the provided formula and metadata values. Read more in our dynamic discount value builder guide.

Fixed amount – apply to items

When you choose the Apply to items effect, you need define which order items will have new prices when redeeming the discount. You can add products from the list or choose or create a collection with product filters. 

Scroll down to select items or collections of items that you want to include in the promotion. Next, define a new price for each added item or collection.

As a result, all added items will have a new predefined price when redeeming the discount. The total discount amount is calculated during the redemption and it is a difference between the initial item price and the item price set in the discount settings. Read more on applying discounts to cheapest or most expensive items in the Discount Cheapest or Most Expensive Items article.

You can also apply the the  Capped by option. Capped by puts a limit on the number of order line items that can be discounted both on the line item and across all matched order line items:

• Max units per order line defines the maximum units of a particular product that are allowed to be discounted per order line.
• Max units combined for all matched order lines defines the maximum number of units that are allowed to be discounted combined for all order lines matching the constrained item.

As a result, the discount is applied to predefined products and, by default, each of them is discounted equally up to the maximum limit allowed.

You can also create formulas with mathematical and logical operators and assign a dynamic fixed amount value for each of the items. Fixed amount values will be calculated during redemption based on the provided formula and metadata values. Read more in our dynamic discount value builder guide. 

Unit type

Unit discount lets you offer items from your inventory for free. First, choose the discount effect. You can choose between:

• Add missing order items
• Add new order items
• Add multiple item types
  

Then, choose how many free items you want to offer with the coupon code (Unit value) and finally, choose the free product (Select unit type).

You can create formulas with mathematical and logical operators and assign a dynamic unit value. Unit values will be calculated during redemption based on the provided formula and metadata values. Read more in our dynamic discount value builder guide.

Free shipping

You can also offer a free shipping discount to your customers.

Shipping is added as a built-in item in the Products section in your dashboard. 

Discount Effects

After defining the discount type and its value, you can decide how the discount is applied to the cart. Here are the discount effects you can choose from.

Apply discount to the whole cart

Available for the Amount type, Percentage type, and Fixed amount discounts.

Discount is applied to the total order amount. Using validation rules, you can set the required cart structure and volume, but the discount will always be applied to the sum of all products in the order (total order amount). 

Apply discount to items

Available for the Amount type and Percentage type discounts.

The discount is applied only to particular items defined as a validation rule. For amount discounts, the Items effect type can be set to:

• Each item subtotal is discounted equally (default setting)
• Split discount proportionally to amount
  
• Split discount proportionally to quantity
  
• Each unit of matched products has the same discount value
  

For amount type discounts with Each item subtotal is discounted equally or Each unit of matched products has the same discount value effect, you can also limit the discount amount by providing Maximum discount amount per order. This setting limits the total amount of the discount that is applied to the cart. As a result, the customers will not be able to receive a higher discount than that maximum amount even if more item subtotals or units of matched products could apply.

For percentage type discounts, you can also limit the discount amount for ordered items by providing  Maximum discount amount per order and Maximum discount amount per order line. Maximum discount amount per order limits the discount in the same way as for amount type discounts. Maximum discount amount per order line limits the amount of the discount for one item subtotal. As a result, the customers will not be able to receive a higher discount than that maximum amount even if the discount calculated with the applicable percentage resulted in a higher discount amount.

When selecting discounted (included) items, you can choose to discount each item in the cart or only the selected items defined by validation rules. 

Discount each item

If you choose to discount Each item, discounts will be applied to every item in the cart excluding products or collections selected in Exclude tab.

Discount selected items

If you choose to discount Selected items, you need to define them with validation rules. You can do it here when creating a new discount or by using the dedicated Validation Rules section in the Voucherify dashboard. 

After choosing products or collections, you can decide if the discount will be applied to all qualified items or only to the cheapest or most expensive of the qualified products.

Note that you can add additional components defining discounted items and combine many effects. For example, the discount can be applied to the cheapest and most expensive product in the cart.

You can define excluded products with the Add items button. You can add multiple items or whole collections. As a result, the discount will not be applied to the selected items.

For example, you can select Discount Each instead of Discount Selected to discount all products with the exception of the excluded products.

After saving the campaign, Voucherify will store the list of selected or excluded products as a Validation Rule. This can be combined with additional rules created with the Rules Builder to complete the Validation Rule. During the redemption, the discount is applied only to the items added to the discounted products list.

However, the excluded product rule will take priority over the included product rule. If a collection is excluded and it contains products listed as included items, the discount will not be applied to those products. 

Each item subtotal is discounted equally

Items effect type available for the Amount type discount only.

This effect applies the discount to the order lines of the items defined in the validation rules.

For example, a $10 coupon code is applied to a cart with two mugs (worth $10 each), three posters (worth $15 each), and three beanies (worth $20 each). These items are eligible for this coupon. The $10 discount is applied to each order line once, so the total discount is $30: $10 discount for the mugs, $10 for the posters, and $10 discount for the beanies.

You can limit the total discount your customers can apply with the Maximum discount amount per order setting. Continuing the example above, if this limit is set to $20, the customer will not get a third $10 discount for the beanies.

Select the items that qualify for a discount as described in the Discount selected items section above.

Redemption example

During the redemption, the discount is applied to the items defined in the validation rules. In the example shown in the image, these are the first three Voucherify branded items. Each of the included order lines is discounted equally. Here is an example of a redemption of a €10 discount code (each of the three discounted order lines is €10 off) that applies a €30 discount in total:

Split discount proportionally to amount

Items effect type available for Amount type discounts only.

This effect splits and applies the discount to the chosen items proportionally to their share in the total discounted items amount.

For example, if a coupon code gives $10 off, no matter how many discounted items a customer has in the cart, the total discount applied to a single order is $10.

Select the items that qualify for a discount as described in the Discount selected items section above. 

Redemption example

During the redemption, the discount is applied only to the items defined in the validation rules. In the example shown in the image, these are the first three Voucherify branded items. The discount is divided and applied proportionally to all qualified items in the order. Here is an example of a redemption of a €50 discount code (three items are discounted, and the total discount amount is €50):

How to count the discount per item?

This effect splits the discount proportionally among the discounted products, per line item. Each product will be counted as an individual line item whether there is one unit of the product, or multiple. In the example above:

• The order contains 5 order lines: mug, poster, beanie, thermal bottle, and shipping.
• The mug, poster, and beanie are discounted.
• The discount applied to the mug (€7.15):

€50 discount value x (€20 total amount for the mug / (€20 total amount for the mug + €45 total amount for the poster + €75 total amount for the beanie))

• The discount applied to the poster (€16.07):

€50 discount value x (€45 total amount for the poster / (€20 total amount for the mug + €45 total amount for the poster + €75 total amount for the beanie))

• The discount applied to the beanie (€26.78):
  

€50 discount value x (€75 total amount for the beanie / (€20 total amount for the mug + €45 total amount for the poster + €75 total amount for the beanie))

Split discount proportionally to quantity

Items effect type available for Amount type discounts only.

This effect splits and applies the discount to the chosen items proportionally to their share in the total discounted items quantity, per line item. Each product will be counted as an individual line item whether there is one unit of the product, or multiple. In the case of multiple products in the line item, the quantity will be higher and therefore the proportional discount by quantity will be higher as well.

For example, if a coupon code gives $10 off, no matter how many discounted items a customer has in the cart, the total discount applied to a single order is $10.

Select the items that qualify for a discount as described in the Discount selected items section above. 

Redemption example

During the redemption, the discount is applied only to the items defined in the validation rules. In the example shown in the image, these are the first tree Voucherify branded items. The discount is divided and applied proportionally to all qualified items in the order. Here is an example of a redemption of a €50 discount code (8 items are discounted, and the total discount amount is €50):

How to count the discount per item?

This effect splits the discount proportionally among the discounted products, per line item. Each product will be counted as an individual line item whether there is one unit of the product, or multiple. In the example above:

• The order contains 5 order lines: mug, poster, beanie, thermal bottle, and shipping.
• The mug, poster, and beanie are discounted.
• The discount applied to the mug (€12.50):

€50 discount value x (2 as the total quantity of mugs / (2 as the total quantity of mugs + 3 as the total quantity of posters + 3 as the total quantity of beanies))

• The discount applied to the poster (€18.75):

€50 discount value x (3 as the total quantity of posters / (2 as the total quantity of mugs + 3 as the total quantity of posters + 3 as the total quantity of beanies))

• The discount applied to the beanie (€18.75):

€50 Discount value x (3 as the total quantity of beanies / (2 as the total quantity of mugs + 3 as the total quantity of posters + 3 as the total quantity of beanies))

Each unit of matched products has the same discount value

Items effect type available for the Amount type discount only.

This effect applies the discount to each item unit.

For example, a $10 coupon code is applied to a cart with two mugs (worth $10 each), three posters (worth $15 each), and three beanies (worth $20 each). These items are eligible for this coupon. The $10 discount is applied to each order line item, so the total discount is $80: $20 discount for the two mugs, $30 for the three posters, and $30 discount for the three beanies.

You can limit the total discount your customers can apply with the Maximum discount amount per order setting. Continuing the example above, if this limit is set to $20, the customer will not get a $60 discount for the remaining item units.

Select the items that qualify for a discount as described in the Discount selected items section above.

Redemption example

During the redemption, the discount is applied to the items defined in the validation rules. In the example shown in the image, these are the first three Voucherify branded items. Each of the included item units is discounted equally. Here is an example of a redemption of a €10 discount code (each discounted item unit is €10 off):

Discount selected items – percentage limits

Available for the Percentage type discount only.

For item discounts in the percentage type, you can cap the discount with additional limits presented in the table below.

Redemption example

During the redemption, the discount is applied to the items defined in the validation rules. In the example shown in the image, these are Voucherify items. The percentage discount is capped as shown in the example above: only 3 units are discounted because the Max units combined for all matched order lines is set to 3. Here is an example of a redemption of a 50% discount code for a company_merch collection:

Add missing order items

Available for Unit type discounts only.

This effect adds items to the cart only if a customer has fewer free items than offered by the code (items in the cart < unit value). 

For example, the code gives one free t-shirt:

• If a customer does not have the t-shirt already in the cart, then a free t-shirt will be added to the order and discounted. 
• If a customer already has the t-shirt in their cart, then the number of t-shirts already matches the units count. After applying the code, a discount will be applied to the item already in the cart and no extra items will be added. 

When you offer coupons on more items, for example, four free item units:

• With the Add missing order items effect, items will be added in the number that results in four items in the customer's cart. If a customer has two discounted items in the cart, Voucherify will add two more. If a customer has no free items in the cart, Voucherify will add four items to the cart and discount them.
• With the Add new order items effect, these four items will always be added (and discounted) to the cart even if a customer already has these items in the cart. 

Add new order items

Available for Unit type discounts only.

This effect adds items to the cart in the number defined by the unit value. For example, if the code adds one free t-shirt, then even if a customer has the t-shirt already in the cart, a free t-shirt will always be added to the order.

Add multiple item types

Available for Unit type discounts only.

This effect adds multiple items to the cart, each with a custom effect: either Add missing order items or Add new order items. 

Validation rules

If you choose to create more validation rules, all of them need to be met to apply the discount. Using order-related rules, you can set the required order volume or specify what items are required in the cart and what number. As a result, the products will be discounted only if all rules attached to the discount are met.

Validation rules with discounted products and other limits can be set up in a validation rule builder when creating a new campaign in the Campaign Manager or by using the Validation Rules section in the dashboard.

You can create a new validation rule by scrolling down to the bottom of the screen and clicking the  Add rules button.

You can also re-use existing validation rules.