A good promotion isn’t just a coupon. It’s a well-configured discount that’s visible across your store, announced to your customers and tested before it goes live.
To run a promotion on Shopify you need five things: choose the type of discount that fits your goal, create it in the Discounts section of your admin, test it with a test order, announce it with banners on your homepage and collections, and email it to your customers. In this guide we walk through each step, along with the most common mistakes we see during big seasons like Black Friday Cyber Monday and the holidays.
Step 1: choose the strategy before the discount
The most common mistake is starting with the percentage (“let’s do 20%”) instead of the goal. Ask yourself first what you want to achieve:
- Sell more items per order: use volume discounts or buy X get Y.
- Raise average order value: free shipping or a discount above a minimum spend.
- Clear slow-moving inventory: a direct discount on those products or collections.
- Win new customers: a welcome code for the first purchase.
- Reward loyal customers: early access or an exclusive code.
With a clear goal, you choose the type of promotion:
| Promotion type | Works well for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage off (20% sitewide) | Peak seasons, clearance | Your margin on low-priced items |
| Fixed amount ($20 off) | Higher-priced products | It shouldn’t apply to tiny orders |
| Free shipping over a threshold | Raising order value | Your real shipping cost |
| Buy X get Y | More items per order, consumables | The free item shouldn’t be your most expensive |
| Volume discount (2 for, 3 for) | Products bought in quantity | Enough inventory |
| Gift with purchase | Launches, samples | The gift needs real perceived value |
| Bundles or kits | Complementary products | The bundle price should be easy to grasp |
| Early access | Loyal customers and subscribers | The link getting shared too widely |
A margin tip: before you set the discount, work out what you earn per product after cost, shipping and fees. A 30% discount can sound great and leave you selling at a loss.
Step 2: create the discount in Shopify
In your Shopify admin go to Discounts > Create discount. Shopify has four main types:
- Amount off products: a percentage or fixed amount on specific products or collections.
- Buy X get Y: the customer buys a certain quantity or amount and gets another product free or discounted.
- Amount off order: a discount on the cart total, usually above a minimum spend.
- Free shipping: removes the shipping cost, with or without a minimum.
Each one can work in two ways:
- Discount code: the customer types it at checkout (for example, BFCM20). Ideal for email, influencer or ad campaigns, because you can measure the sales each code brought in.
- Automatic discount: applied in the cart without the customer typing anything. Ideal for store-wide promotions, since it removes the friction of a forgotten code.
When setting it up, always check:
- What it applies to: the whole store, specific collections or specific products.
- Minimum requirements: a minimum purchase amount or quantity.
- Eligibility: all customers, specific segments (for example, returning customers) or specific markets.
- Usage limits: how many times it can be used in total and whether it’s once per customer.
- Combinations: whether it can combine with other product, order or shipping discounts. This is where we see the most mistakes.
- Dates: start and end, in your store’s time zone.
A handy trick: you can share a link that applies the discount automatically when opened, so customers don’t have to type the code. To build one with tracking parameters for Google Analytics, use our free Shopify discount link generator.
Step 3: test everything before launch
A badly configured promotion can cost you money (a discount that stacks too much) or sales (a code that fails on launch day). Before announcing it, run these checks:
- Place a test order. Turn on your payment provider’s test mode or use a test code, and go all the way through checkout.
- Try the code the way a customer would: uppercase, lowercase and with a trailing space.
- Test the minimums: a cart just below the minimum (shouldn’t apply) and one just above (should apply).
- Test combinations: add products that are already discounted and apply another code. Confirm the result is what you expected.
- Test on mobile. Most of your customers will buy from their phone.
- Check the start time: if you scheduled the discount, confirm the time in your store’s time zone.
- Check inventory: make sure promoted products have enough stock and your settings don’t let you sell what you don’t have.
For big promotions (Black Friday, holiday sales), run these tests at least a day ahead, not an hour before.
Step 4: announce the promotion on your store
A discount nobody sees doesn’t sell. These are the places it should appear:
- Announcement bar: the strip at the top of your store, visible on every page. Perfect for the short message: “20% off sitewide with BFCM20”.
- Homepage banner: an image or featured section with the promotion, the code or deadline, and a button straight to the sale collection.
- Collection banners: if the promotion only applies to some collections, add a banner inside them so customers know they’re in the right place.
- Product badges: many themes show a “Sale” badge automatically when a product has a compare-at price. With automatic discounts, check how the final price is displayed.
- Popup or signup form: useful for capturing emails before the promotion (“subscribe for early access”).
These changes are made in the theme editor (Online Store > Themes > Customize). A tip: duplicate your theme and prepare the promotion version in advance, so on launch day you just publish it, and switch back when it ends. In the themes we build at Tebiko, like Bridge, we leave sections ready so seasonal banners can be swapped in minutes.
Most importantly: remove the banners when the promotion ends. Few things generate more frustrated messages than an ad for a discount that no longer applies.
Step 5: send emails
Email is the channel that drives the most sales during a promotion, because you’re talking to people who already know your brand. A typical sequence for a multi-day promotion:
- Teaser (a few days before): what’s coming, when it starts and, if relevant, early access for subscribers.
- Launch: on day one, with the code or discount link and featured products.
- Reminder: midway through, with best sellers or items running low.
- Last chance: on the final day, with real urgency (“ends tonight at midnight”).
Some good practices:
- Segment. Don’t send the same email to someone who bought yesterday and someone who hasn’t bought in a year.
- Exclude recent buyers from “last chance” reminders.
- Check your automations: make sure your abandoned cart flow doesn’t send a different code that stacks with the promotion.
- Send a test to yourself and open it on your phone before scheduling.
If you use Klaviyo, all of this can be automated with segments and flows. If you’d like help, we’re Klaviyo experts and run email marketing for online stores.
A promotions calendar
These are the busiest dates for online stores in the US. Plan them at least a month ahead:
| Season | When | What works |
|---|---|---|
| Valentine’s Day | February 14 | Gifts and bundles |
| Mother’s Day | Second Sunday of May | Gifts, bundles, guaranteed delivery dates |
| Father’s Day | Third Sunday of June | Gifts and kits |
| Back to school | July and August | Volume and bundles |
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday | Late November | Strong sitewide discounts, early access for subscribers |
| Holidays | December | Gifts, shipping cutoff dates, gift cards |
If you also sell in Mexico, add Hot Sale (late May or early June) and El Buen Fin (November) to your calendar.
Common promotion mistakes
- Discounts that stack too much. A 20% code plus a 15% automatic discount plus free shipping can wipe out your margin.
- Leaked codes. A “single-use” code without a usage limit ends up on coupon sites. Limit uses or generate unique codes.
- Launching without stock. Promoting a product that sells out in the first hour frustrates customers.
- Not measuring. Use a different code per channel (email, social, influencers) so you know what worked.
- Permanent sales. If you’re always discounting, customers learn not to buy at full price.
The essentials
A promotion that works starts with a clear goal, is configured carefully, tested before launch, visible across the store and announced by email. Get those five steps right and every season will bring more sales with fewer surprises.
Want us to get your store ready for the next season? With our Ecommerce Accelerator we plan, set up and measure your promotions month after month. And if you’re still choosing which apps help you sell more, read our guide to the best Shopify apps.