What is a Discount?

A Discount is a commercial price reduction applied to a line item, shipping charge, or cart subtotal during checkout.

Discounts are deployed strategically to increase average order value (AOV), acquire new customers, or liquidate slow-moving inventory.

Discount Types

  1. Percentage Off: Reduces price by a fixed percentage (e.g. 20% OFF).
  2. Fixed Amount Off: Reduces price by a flat monetary value (e.g. $10 OFF).
  3. Buy X Get Y (BOGO): Free or discounted item awarded when purchasing qualifying prerequisite items.
  4. Free Shipping: Waives shipping charges when order subtotals meet threshold rules (e.g. Free Shipping over $50).

Automatic vs. Code-Based Discounts

  • Automatic Discount: Evaluates rules automatically in the cart without requiring user input (e.g. Automatic 15% discount applied at checkout for orders > $100).
  • Code-Based Discount: Requires the shopper to manually enter a promo code (e.g. SUMMER2026).

Developer Takeaway

Discount Stacking Rules: Implement strict discount combination logic in your cart engine to control whether multiple discounts can be applied simultaneously (e.g. preventing a customer from combining a 30% VIP promo code with an automatic 20% sale discount).