For Shopify store owners struggling with "sales that won't grow" or "difficulty gaining repeat customers" — this article comprehensively explains the latest discount strategies and how to make the most of each one.
From "free shipping," which even beginners can implement, to "bulk discounts" that increase average order value, to "membership-rank-based perks" that nurture customer loyalty — we introduce concrete coupon strategies you can put into practice. Find the best strategy for your store, and boost both today's sales and tomorrow's customer loyalty at the same time.
2 Ways to Implement Discount Strategies
1. Using Shopify's Built-in Features
This method uses the discount features built into Shopify by default. You can set up the following four types of discounts at no extra cost.
Available Discount Types
- A discount amount on products (Product discount)
- A discount amount on the order (Order discount)
- Free shipping (Shipping discount)
- Buy X, get Y as a gift (Product discount)
Benefits
- No extra cost at all
- Can be set up intuitively from the admin
- Combines smoothly with other Shopify features
Drawbacks
- Limited ability to set complex eligibility conditions
- Condition settings are limited for automatic discounts
For more details, please refer to the article below:
2. Introducing a Shopify App
This method uses a specialized discount app offered through the Shopify App Store. It lets you implement more advanced marketing strategies.
Benefits
- Advanced condition settings are possible, such as customer segments, purchase history, and membership rank
- Implement complex discount logic with no code
Drawbacks
- A monthly fee applies (typically a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of yen per month)
- You need to consider compatibility between apps and the impact on site loading speed
- Setup can be somewhat more complex
Which Should You Choose?
- If a simple discount is enough: Shopify's built-in features
- If you want to implement an advanced marketing strategy: a Shopify app
17 Discount Strategies You Can Implement on Shopify
1. Volume Discount (Bulk-Purchase Discount)
This strategy applies a discount when a customer purchases a certain quantity or more of a product. It's typically set up as "10% off when you buy 3 or more" or "15% off when you buy 5 or more" (you create a separate campaign for each quantity threshold — see the related article for detailed steps).
It gives customers a sense of getting a good deal, while allowing the merchant to improve inventory turnover and increase average order value.
The blog article below introduces how to implement a volume discount using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
2. Birthday Coupon
This strategy uses customers' date-of-birth information to distribute discount coupons timed to their birth month or birthday. Examples include "For customers born in March: a 20% off coupon valid throughout March" or "Birthday perk: free shipping."
The exclusive feeling of a coupon that only that person can use can be expected to boost customer satisfaction and encourage repeat purchases.
The blog article below introduces how to run a birthday coupon campaign. Please use it as a reference.
3. Free Shipping on First Order
This strategy offers free shipping only on the first order for first-time customers or users who have just registered an account.
It lowers the barrier to a first purchase, helping you smoothly acquire new customers and encourage trial purchases.
The blog article below introduces how to offer free shipping on the first order using Shopify's native features. Please use it as a reference.
The blog article below introduces how to offer free shipping on the first order using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
4. Conditional Shipping Discount
This strategy discounts or waives shipping fees when specific conditions are met. It's typically set up as "free shipping on orders of ¥10,000 or more" or "half-price shipping for 5 or more items, free shipping for 10 or more" (to achieve multiple quantity-based tiers, you create multiple campaigns with different conditions and discount rates).
The blog article below introduces how to implement a conditional shipping discount using Shopify's native features. Please use it as a reference.
The blog article below introduces how to implement a conditional shipping discount using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
5. Members-Only Sale (Members-Only Discount)
This strategy allows only registered members to purchase at a discounted price. It's set up so that "guest users pay the regular price, while logged-in users get the discounted price."
This strategy not only increases customers' purchase intent, but can also be expected to increase the number of member sign-ups.
The blog article below introduces how to run a members-only sale using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
6. VIP-Members-Only Sale (Discount Limited to Top Customers)
This strategy allows only VIP members (top customers) to purchase at a discounted price. It's set up so that "guest users and general members pay the regular price, while VIP members get the discounted price."
The difference from a regular members-only sale is that it aims to boost loyalty and nurture high-LTV customers by offering deeper discounts and perks to the VIP tier.
The blog article below introduces how to run a VIP-members-only sale using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
7. Sale by Membership Rank (Discount by Membership Rank)
For stores that have a membership rank system in place, this strategy offers better deals the higher a customer's rank. It's implemented as, for example, "5% for Bronze members, 10% for Silver members, 15% for Gold members."
These tiered discounts can encourage continued purchases and improve customer LTV.
The blog article below introduces how to run a sale by membership rank using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
8. LINE-Linked-Members-Only Sale
This strategy offers a discount only to users who have linked a LINE Official Account with the Shopify store.
It can be expected to increase member sign-ups and the number of LINE account links, and it also increases the value of using LINE as a CRM tool.
The blog articles below introduce how to run a LINE-linked-members-only sale using a Shopify app. Please use them as a reference.
For Those Using CRM PLUS on LINE for LINE Integration
For Those Using Lipify for LINE Integration
9. Newsletter-Subscribers-Only Coupon
This strategy distributes a discount coupon that only people subscribed to the store's email newsletter can use.
In addition to increasing subscribers, you can expect ongoing customer relationship building and sales growth through newsletter distribution.
[Implementation Example]
- Create a customer segment for newsletter subscribers
- Create a coupon code with that customer segment as the condition
10. Time-Limited Sale
This strategy offers products at a lower-than-usual price for a specific short period only. It's especially effective for clearing seasonal inventory (such as an "end-of-season summer sale") or promoting new products (such as a "launch commemorative special price").
The blog article below introduces how to run a time-limited sale using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
11. First-Come-First-Served Discount
This strategy lets earlier buyers get a better deal. Since only a single usage cap can be set per campaign, achieving a multi-tier setup such as "20% off for the first 10 customers, 15% off for the next 20, 10% off for the first 50" requires creating three separate campaigns with different usage caps (10 / 20 / 50), and disabling "Combinations of discounts" for all of them to prevent overlapping application.
This is an effective promotional technique that stimulates purchase intent through a sense of urgency and competitive psychology.
12. Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO)
This discount strategy provides an additional product for free when a customer purchases a specific product. It gives customers a sense of getting a great deal — for example, "buy 2 of the same product and get another one free" — which increases purchase intent.
The blog article below introduces how to implement Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) using Shopify's native features. Please use it as a reference.
13. Buy X, Get Y as a Gift (Buy X Get Y)
This discount strategy provides a different product (Y) for free or at a discounted price when a customer purchases a specific product (X).
It's an effective marketing technique aimed at promoting sales of specific products or clearing inventory, while giving customers a sense of getting a great deal.
The blog article below introduces how to implement Buy X, Get Y as a Gift (Buy X Get Y) using Shopify's native features. Please use it as a reference.
14. Discount Based on Login Status
This strategy varies the discount amount between members and non-members. It's set up as, for example, "20% off for members, 10% off for guest users," and can be expected to increase the number of member sign-ups.
The blog article below explains how to set up different discounts for members and non-members using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
15. Weekly Discount / Monthly Discount
This strategy runs a discount sale on a fixed day of the week or a fixed date. Examples include a "every Sunday, ¥300 off campaign" or "a 7% discount sale on every date containing a 7, each month" — helping to build a regular purchasing habit.
The blog article below introduces how to run a weekly discount sale using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
The blog article below introduces how to run a monthly discount sale using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
16. Half Price on the Second Item Onward
This is a promotional technique that powerfully encourages "bulk buying."
With the conventional "buy 2, get the second item at a discount" strategy, the third item reverts to full price, which triggers a "buying a third item is a loss" mindset — a weakness that made customers hesitant to buy odd numbers of items.
However, by setting it up as "half price on every item from the second onward," a "the more you buy, the better the deal" mindset kicks in, greatly lowering the barrier to buying a third or fourth item.
The blog article below introduces how to implement "half price on the second item onward" using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
17. Rounding Adjustment on Discounted Prices
This strategy adjusts the price after a discount calculation into a cleaner, easier-to-read number. For example, rounding a price that comes to ¥12,750 after a 15% discount down to ¥12,700 — creating a price display that's easy for customers to understand.
This can boost purchase psychology and create a more natural pricing structure.
The blog article below introduces how to apply a rounding adjustment (rounding down or up) to discounted prices using a Shopify app. Please use it as a reference.
Recommended Discount Apps
RuffRuff Order Bonus
RuffRuff Order Bonus is a Shopify app that lets you implement a wide range of promotional strategies — various discounts, gift distribution, and more — based on virtually any condition.
For example, you can implement discounts such as the following:
- Free shipping exclusively for VIP members
- Discount by membership rank
- Volume discount
- Discount when the cart includes a specific product
- Discount for customers with 10 or more past purchases
- First-come-first-served discount (X% off for the first N customers. To split it into tiers, create multiple campaigns — such as "20% off for the first 10 customers" and "15% off for the next 10" — and set a usage cap on each)
- Half price on the second item onward
and more
Many other strategies can also be implemented. Please check the service page for details.
RuffRuff Pre-orders
RuffRuff Pre-orders not only enables pre-orders on your Shopify store, but its discount feature also lets you sell only specific products at a discounted price under specific conditions.It also makes it possible to display the discounted price on the product page and sell directly at that discounted price — something that's difficult to achieve with Shopify's native discount feature.
For example, you can implement discounts such as the following:
- Time-limited sale
- Members-only sale
- VIP-members-only sale
- Early-access sale
- Recurring discount (monthly discount / weekly discount)
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we've taken a deep dive into 17 diverse discount strategies you can implement on Shopify, along with how to make strategic use of each one.
From acquiring new customers with "free shipping," to increasing average order value with a "volume discount," to strengthening loyalty with a "discount by membership rank" — we hope you've found the approach that best fits your business goals.
These strategies are more than simple discounts — they are powerful tools for deepening customer engagement and achieving sustained sales growth.
We encourage you to apply the strategies introduced in this article to fit your own Shopify store's situation, boost customer loyalty, and accelerate your sales growth.
