WooCommerce: How to Give Discounts on Multiple Items – A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’re running a WooCommerce store and want to reward your loyal customers (or attract new ones) with discounts when they buy more than one item? Great! Offering discounts on multiple items is a powerful way to boost sales, clear inventory, and increase average order value. This guide will walk you through different ways to set up these discounts in WooCommerce, even if you’re a complete newbie. No code wizardry required (initially, we’ll get to that later!).
Why Offer Discounts on Multiple Items?
Think about your own shopping habits. Have you ever bought something just because there was a “Buy one, get one half off” deal? That’s the power of multi-item discounts! Here’s why they work:
- Increased Sales Volume: Customers are more likely to buy more when they know they’re getting a better deal.
- Higher Average Order Value (AOV): Instead of buying just one item, customers might buy two, three, or even more to unlock the discount.
- Clearing Inventory: Stuck with a slow-moving product? A multi-item discount can help you shift stock quickly. Think of a clothing store offering “Buy 2 shirts, get the 3rd free” to clear out seasonal items.
- Attracting New Customers: Discounts are a great way to entice new customers to try your products.
- Rewarding Loyalty: Offering exclusive multi-item discounts to registered customers shows them you appreciate their business.
- Percentage discount: Give a percentage off the entire cart (e.g., 10% off). This works best for a general “spend more, save more” promotion.
- Fixed cart discount: Give a fixed amount off the entire cart (e.g., $20 off). This is good for creating a sense of urgency.
- Fixed product discount: This option is the important one. If you want to give a fix discount on each item, select this option.
- Super easy to set up.
- WooCommerce’s built-in functionality.
- Great for simple promotions.
- Limited flexibility for complex discount rules.
- Discount Rules for WooCommerce: A very powerful plugin with tons of options for creating complex discount rules, including “buy one get one free,” tiered pricing, and discounts based on user roles.
- WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing & Discounts: Another highly rated plugin that lets you create dynamic pricing rules based on product quantity, category, user roles, and more.
- Highly flexible and customizable.
- Handles complex discount scenarios easily.
- Often offers advanced features like user role-based discounts.
- Requires installing and configuring a plugin.
- Paid plugins can be an additional expense.
Method 1: Using WooCommerce Coupons (The Simplest Way)
The easiest way to offer discounts on multiple items is by using WooCommerce coupons. Here’s how:
1. Go to WooCommerce > Coupons > Add New.
2. Generate a coupon code or create your own memorable one (like “SAVEBIG”).
3. Under “Coupon Data,” go to the “Usage Restriction” tab.
4. Set “Minimum spend”: If you want your coupon to only work when minimum cart value is reached. For example if you set it to $50, it will be activated for orders valued $50 or more.
5. Now, navigate to the “Usage Limit” tab. Here we’ll limit the usages per customer.
6. Under “Coupon Data,” go to the “General” tab.
7. Set “Discount type” : Here, the key is to choose the right discount type:
8. Set the “Coupon amount” This is the discount applied to the item.
9. Go to “Usage Restriction” and set “Product”: It is where you chose the products that are under the discount when purchased as multiple items.
Example:
Let’s say you want to offer $5 off each T-shirt when a customer buys at least 2 T-shirts.
* You’d create a coupon code, select “Fixed product discount”, set the “Coupon amount” to $5 and then in the “Usage Restriction” under “Products” tab you’ll need to pick the “T-shirt” product. Then set the “Minumum spend” amount that matches the number of items you want to offer. In this case, you set the “Minimum Spend” amount to: the product’s price multiplied by 2. For instance: if the price is $20, you set it to $40. This means the coupon will only work when two or more items from this product are added to the cart.
Pros:
Cons:
Method 2: Using WooCommerce Plugins (For More Advanced Scenarios)
For more complex “buy X get Y” scenarios, or tiered discounts, you’ll likely need a plugin. There are many excellent WooCommerce discount plugins available, both free and paid. Here are a couple of popular options:
Example (using a theoretical plugin – steps may vary based on the actual plugin):
Let’s imagine you’re using a “Buy X Get Y” plugin. You want to offer “Buy 2 mugs, get 1 free.”
1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Go to the plugin’s settings page (usually under WooCommerce or a dedicated menu item).
3. Create a new rule.
4. Set the “Buy” condition to “2 mugs.”
5. Set the “Get” condition to “1 mug (free).
6. Specify the mug product.
7. Save the rule.
Pros:
Cons:
Method 3: Custom Code (For the Tech-Savvy)
If you’re comfortable with PHP and WooCommerce’s hooks, you can create custom code to implement your own discount rules. This is the most flexible option but also the most complex.
Important: Incorrect code can break your store. Always back up your site before making code changes and consider using a staging environment for testing.
Here’s a basic example of how you might add a discount to the cart total when a customer buys at least 3 of a specific product:
/**
function woo_add_multibuy_discount( $cart ) {
if ( is_admin() && ! defined( ‘DOING_AJAX’ ) ) {
return;
}
$product_id = 123; // Replace with the actual product ID
$quantity = 0;
foreach ( $cart->get_cart() as $cart_item ) {
if ( $cart_item[‘product_id’] == $product_id ) {
$quantity += $cart_item[‘quantity’];
}
}
if ( $quantity >= 3 ) {
$discount = -10; // Discount amount (negative value for a discount)
$cart->add_fee( ‘Multibuy Discount’, $discount );
}
}
Explanation:
1. `add_action( ‘woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees’, ‘woo_add_multibuy_discount’ );`: This line hooks into the `woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees` action, which Read more about How To Delete Woocommerce In Footer is triggered when WooCommerce calculates cart totals.
2. `woo_add_multibuy_discount( $cart )`: This is our custom function. It takes the `$cart` object as an argument.
3. `$product_id = 123;`: Replace `123` with the actual ID of the product you want to apply the discount to.
4. The code loops through the cart items to count how many of the specified product are in the cart.
5. `if ( $quantity >= 3 )`: If the quantity is greater than or equal to 3, we apply the discount.
6. `$discount = -10;`: The discount amount. Use a negative value to subtract from the total.
7. `$cart->add_fee( ‘Multibuy Discount’, $discount );`: Adds a fee to the cart with the label “Multibuy Discount” and the discount amount.
How to add the code:
1. Child Theme: The best practice is to add this code to your child theme’s `functions.php` file. This ensures your changes won’t be overwritten when you update your main theme.
2. Code Snippets Plugin: You can also use a plugin like “Code Snippets” to add the code. This is a safer alternative to directly editing your theme’s files.
Pros:
- Maximum flexibility and control.
- No need to rely on third-party plugins.
Cons:
- Requires PHP coding knowledge.
- Higher risk of errors if not implemented correctly.
- More complex to maintain.
Choosing the Right Method
- Simple Promotions (e.g., 10% off for orders over $50): Use WooCommerce coupons.
- Complex “Buy X Get Y” or Tiered Pricing: Use a WooCommerce discount plugin.
- Highly Customized Solutions: Consider custom code (but only if you have the necessary technical skills).
Tips for Effective Multi-Item Discounts
- Promote Your Discounts Clearly: Make sure customers are aware of your discounts. Use banners, product page notices, and email marketing to spread the word.
- Keep it Simple: Don’t make the discount rules too complicated. Customers should easily understand how to qualify for the discount.
- Track Your Results: Monitor your sales to see if the discounts are actually driving the desired results. Adjust your strategy as needed.
- Consider A/B Testing: Test different discount strategies to see which ones perform best. For example, try offering a percentage discount versus a fixed amount discount.
- Use Urgency: Add urgency! Use phrases like “Limited Time Offer” to encourage customers to take advantage of the discount now.
By using these strategies, you can effectively leverage multi-item discounts to increase sales, boost your average order value, and provide a better shopping experience for your customers. Good luck!
