Conditional Discount

Overview

The Conditional Discount function follows a straightforward “if X is true, apply discount Y” pattern. It is the simplest and most common discount type in Advance Discount Function, covering the majority of promotion scenarios merchants encounter.

Discount Classes: Product, Order, Shipping
Billing: Starter plan and above
Condition Support: Full set — all 18 conditions (9 cart-level + 9 product-level)

Because the Conditional Discount supports all three discount classes and the complete condition library, it is the go-to function for most promotions. If your discount logic does not require escalating tiers, buy/get mechanics, or bundle validation, the Conditional Discount is the right choice.

Real-Life Use Cases

1. 10% Off Orders Over $100

A classic order-level promotion. When the cart subtotal exceeds $100, every customer receives a flat 10% order discount.

Condition: cartSubtotal greater than or equal to 100
Target: Order
Discount: Percentage, 10%

2. Free Shipping for VIP Customers

Reward loyalty program members with free shipping on every order. Customers tagged “VIP” in Shopify automatically qualify.

Condition: customerTag hasAny ["VIP"]
Target: Shipping, scope “all”
Discount: Percentage, 100%

3. 15% Off All “Sale” Tagged Items

Run a site-wide sale that only applies to products you have tagged. Non-sale items in the same cart remain full price.

Condition: productTag hasAny ["Sale"]
Target: Product, scope “filtered” (only tagged items receive the discount)
Discount: Percentage, 15%

4. $5 Off for First-Time Customers

Welcome new shoppers with a small incentive. Shopify exposes the customer’s historical order count, so you can target those who have never placed an order.

Condition: customerOrderCount equals 0
Target: Order
Discount: Fixed amount, $5

5. 20% Off a Specific Collection When Cart Has 3+ Items

Combine cart-level and product-level conditions using AND logic. The customer must have at least 3 items in the cart, and the discount applies only to products in the designated collection.

Conditions (AND):
- cartTotalQuantity greater than or equal to 3
- collection hasAny ["Summer Essentials"]
Target: Product, scope “filtered”
Discount: Percentage, 20%

How It Works

Execution Flow for Cart Lines (Product and Order Discounts)

Read configuration — The function loads the JSON metafield containing version, strategy, rule groups, and rejection rules.
Evaluate rejection rules — If any rejection rule matches, the function exits early with no discount.
Check discount classes — Determine whether the current run targets product discounts, order discounts, or both.
For each rule group:
- Evaluate the group’s conditions against the cart and customer context.
- Filter eligible cart lines based on product-level conditions (tags, collections, etc.).
- Build discount candidates for each qualifying line or the order total.
Strategy check — Apply the configured strategy (first, best, or all) to determine which rule group’s discounts are returned.

Execution Flow for Delivery Options (Shipping Discounts)

Check shipping class — Confirm the discount is configured to apply to shipping.
For each rule group:
- Evaluate cart-level conditions (product-level conditions do not apply to shipping).
- Resolve the shipping scope (all delivery options or specific ones).
- Build the delivery discount output.

Step-by-Step Setup

The following walkthrough creates a “Summer Sale 20% Off Tagged Products” discount.

Step 1: Create the Discount

Navigate to Shopify Admin > Discounts > Create discount. Choose either Automatic discount or Discount code. In the app selection, pick Conditional Discount Function.

Step 2: Add Conditions

In the rule builder, add a product-level condition:

Type: productTag
Operator: hasAny
Value: ["summer-sale"]

This ensures only products carrying the “summer-sale” tag are eligible.

Step 3: Set the Target

Configure the discount target:

Class: Product
Scope: Filtered (only items matching the condition receive the discount)

Step 4: Set the Discount Value

Type: Percentage
Value: 20
Message: “Summer Sale 20% OFF”

The message appears in the cart and checkout UI so customers understand why the price changed.

Step 5: Save

Click Save to activate the discount. It takes effect immediately for automatic discounts or when the code is entered for code-based discounts.

Configuration Example

The following JSON represents the complete configuration for the Summer Sale discount described above.

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "strategy": "first",
  "productTags": ["summer-sale"],
  "ruleGroups": [
    {
      "id": "rg_001",
      "name": "Summer Sale",
      "enabled": true,
      "conditionLogic": "and",
      "conditions": [
        {
          "type": "productTag",
          "operator": "hasAny",
          "tags": ["summer-sale"]
        }
      ],
      "targets": {
        "product": { "scope": "filtered" }
      },
      "discount": {
        "type": "percentage",
        "value": 20,
        "message": "Summer Sale 20% OFF"
      }
    }
  ],
  "rejectionRules": []
}

Key Fields

Field	Purpose
`version`	Configuration schema version. Always `"1.0"` for current releases.
`strategy`	How to handle multiple matching rule groups: `"first"` (stop at the first match), `"best"` (pick the largest discount), or `"all"` (apply all matches).
`productTags`	Top-level declaration of tags the function needs to query. Required for Shopify’s input query.
`ruleGroups`	Array of rule group objects, each containing conditions, targets, and discount definitions.
`conditionLogic`	`"and"` requires all conditions to pass. `"or"` requires at least one.
`rejectionRules`	Array of conditions that, if matched, prevent any discount from being applied.

Multi-Rule Example: VIP + General Discount

This configuration demonstrates two rule groups within a single discount function. The strategy is set to "first", meaning the function evaluates rule groups in order and stops at the first match. VIP customers receive 30% off; everyone else gets 10% off orders over $50.

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "strategy": "first",
  "ruleGroups": [
    {
      "id": "rg_001",
      "name": "VIP 30% Off",
      "enabled": true,
      "conditionLogic": "and",
      "conditions": [
        {
          "type": "customerTag",
          "operator": "hasAny",
          "tags": ["VIP"]
        }
      ],
      "targets": {
        "order": {}
      },
      "discount": {
        "type": "percentage",
        "value": 30,
        "message": "VIP Exclusive 30% OFF"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "rg_002",
      "name": "General 10% Off $50+",
      "enabled": true,
      "conditionLogic": "and",
      "conditions": [
        {
          "type": "cartSubtotal",
          "operator": "greaterThanOrEqualTo",
          "value": 50
        }
      ],
      "targets": {
        "order": {}
      },
      "discount": {
        "type": "percentage",
        "value": 10,
        "message": "10% OFF orders over $50"
      }
    }
  ],
  "rejectionRules": []
}

Because the strategy is "first", a VIP customer with a $60 cart receives 30% off (rule group 1 matches and evaluation stops). A non-VIP customer with a $60 cart skips rule group 1 and receives 10% off from rule group 2. A non-VIP customer with a $30 cart receives no discount.

Shipping Discount Example

Free shipping for orders over $75.

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "strategy": "first",
  "ruleGroups": [
    {
      "id": "rg_001",
      "name": "Free Shipping Over $75",
      "enabled": true,
      "conditionLogic": "and",
      "conditions": [
        {
          "type": "cartSubtotal",
          "operator": "greaterThanOrEqualTo",
          "value": 75
        }
      ],
      "targets": {
        "shipping": { "scope": "all" }
      },
      "discount": {
        "type": "percentage",
        "value": 100,
        "message": "Free Shipping on $75+"
      }
    }
  ],
  "rejectionRules": []
}

This applies a 100% shipping discount to all delivery options when the cart subtotal is $75 or more. The scope "all" ensures every shipping method is discounted, not just the cheapest one.

Next Steps

Tiered Discount — Escalate discounts based on quantity or spending thresholds.
Buy X Get Y — Create buy-one-get-one and promotional bundle offers.
Bundle Discount — Require specific product combinations for a discount.