However you may feel about Black Friday and the chaos it creates, there’s no denying the power of combining urgency and our human proclivity for saving a buck. In a single minute on Black Friday 2016, Shopify processed $555,716 in sales.
Discounts have impact, but how do you make them work for your brand?
Yes, certain brands never go on sale. Maybe you're a very high end brand, attracting and retaining your wealthy customer base because of the exclusivity of the price points, never widely attainable for the masses. Or, maybe you’re Apple.
If you’re reading this post, however, let me assume that you are not the ghost of Steve Jobs. Let me also assume that you’re here because you thought, “Hey, discounts might help me sell more.” And you’re probably not wrong.
There’s science behind it: deals actually make people happier. But while we’d all love for the world to be a happier place, your ultimate objective is more sales, right?
The psychological effect of deals as part of your pricing strategy can do that, too. The important term to note is “psychology”. Hacking deep into your margin isn’t necessary (or smart) as part of a sustainable strategy, but there are several clever ways to tap into the customer purchasing psyche without sabotaging your profits.
Discount badges: Freepix via Flaticon
Improved discounts in Shopify
Recently at our Unite conference in San Francisco last month, we announced, among many other exciting things, that in the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out improved discounts within Shopify. Soon you’ll be able to create, manage, edit, and track discounts more easily.
To complement the native discount functionality in Shopify, our App Store contains dozens of discount-focused apps that plug seamlessly into your ecommerce store. If you choose to use discounts, coupons, and deals as part of your strategy to drive sales, we’re about to make the task a little easier.
The right app can help automate your processes, letting you focus on the areas of your business where you shine.
11 discount apps for your Shopify store
We’ve handpicked a cross-section of top-rated discount apps to suit a range of budgets from free to premium. Whether you’re running a BOGO (buy one, get one) deal, trying to grow your student audience, or counting down to a massive site wide sale, there’s a niche app to help you do just that.
Where possible, we’ve also linked to a real store where you can see a live example of each app in action.
Let’s make a deal!
1. Product Discount
A popular, top-rated app by Bold, Product Discount offers a blend of a few of the apps on our list. Create site wide sales or discount products by brand, collection, or type—there’s no need for coupon codes. The app also allows you to schedule daily deals, and notify your customers via a countdown clock.
Cost: $14.99 (14-day free trial)
See it in action: Jem Organic Nut Butters, Alley & Rae Apparel on Shopify
2. Upsell on Exit & Visit
Hit your customers with incentive to stick around when they first visit or attempt to leave your store. New customers will see a pop-up with a special offer, and as customers move the cursor to close, another pop-up will do the same. Offer a coupon, free shipping, a special price, or a gift, along with customized messaging.
Cost: Free (Advanced Plan $13.95/month)
3. Daily Deal
Create promotions for your products or collections in one click. You can add a customizable countdown bar, to create anticipation for your deal. The app also lets you set up a daily deals page, where all of your rotating promos can live together.
Cost: Free to $9.95/month
Free Reading List: Ecommerce Motivation
Having trouble focusing on growing your small business? Get access to our free, curated list of high-impact productivity articles.
Get our Ecommerce Motivation reading list delivered right to your inbox.
Almost there: please enter your email below to gain instant access.
We'll also send you updates on new educational guides and success stories from the Shopify newsletter. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.
4. Military Discount
This discount app works to verify the military status of your customers, and provide them with a unique discount code. Customers with a .mil email address will automatically qualify, and a verification process matches non-sensitive information against a DOD database. Target an audience of more than 22 million eligible customers.
Cost: $9.99/month
See it in action: Brave Star Selvage on Shopify
5. Wheelio
Self-proclaimed “lead generation on steroids”, Wheelio is an interactive app that gamifies the exit intent pop-up experience. You can customize when (time on site) and why (exit intent, visiting a specific page) the pop-up appears. Going beyond a simple discount offer, Wheelio allows customers the chance to engage to “win” an even better discount.
Cost: $14.92/month
6. Product Label and Product Badge
Attract customers to sale items with customizable badges or labels that appear on collections and product pages. Badges can be used for other purposes, such as highlighting new or trending products. Badges and labels come in several sizes, shapes, and colors to fit your theme and can be customized with dynamic text.
Cost: $7.99/month
7. Birthday Reminder
New to the Shopify app store is Birthday Reminder, an app that allows you to send automated and customizable birthday greetings to surprise and delight your customers. Use the email feature to send a special gift or discount encouraging them to re-engage with your brand.
Cost: $4.00/month
Note: Currently in Beta
8. Countdown Discount
Similar to Daily Deal, Countdown Discount creates urgency with a limited time offer. A countdown bar at the top of your site can signal the start and end of your promotion, and a sliding scale feature (discount decreases over time), encourages customers to buy now. Set up Countdown Discount with no coding, and pre-schedule future promotions.
Cost: $14.95/month
9. Student Discount
Similar to Military Discount, Student Discount verifies the ID of your customers to automatically apply a unique discount code. Students in the US alone are responsible for $417 billion per year in online sales.
Cost: $9.99/month
10. Bulk Discounts
Shopify’s own classic discount app is completely free. With it, you can create thousands of single use, limited use, or unlimited use codes with expiry dates, in just a few clicks. The app integrates with Groupon and Living Social to allow you to import discount codes in bulk, and you can easily export them, too.
Cost: Free
Recommended by: Boom Candy on Shopify
11. Swagify
Swagify is an upselling and cross-selling app that automatically bundles or discounts products when they’re added to the cart. Run BOGO campaigns or offer a percentage discount if a customer purchases multiple items or hits a set cart dollar value.
Cost: $19.99/month (note: price will be increasing as of May 2017)
See it in action: Regal Rose on Shopify
What has been your most successful discount promotion? Did you use an app? Tell us about it in the comments below.