A well-timed WooCommerce cart discount can be the difference between a completed order and an abandoned one.
Studies show nearly 70% of online shoppers leave without buying, and unexpected checkout costs are one reason.
That's where cart-level discounts come in.
By automatically applying a percentage discount, a fixed dollar amount, or free shipping once a shopper's cart reaches a certain value, you give them a concrete reason to complete the purchase.
According to Vericast, 78% of consumers say a discount coupon makes them more likely to buy.
Unfortunately, WooCommerce doesn’t have a built-in cart discount feature.
In this guide, we'll compare the three best WooCommerce cart discount plugins, then walk you step by step through setting up milestone-based cart rewards.
Quick answer: WooCommerce can’t apply a cart discount on its own, because its coupons need a code. To make one automatic without a code:
- Install a cart discount or cart rewards plugin
- Create a cart discount rule.
- Set the condition: cart subtotal, item quantity, product, or user role.
- Choose a percentage or fixed amount.
- Turn on cart messaging or a progress bar so shoppers see the savings before checkout.
Here's a quick tutorial to help you reduce abandonment and grow your average order value:
Table of Contents
- 1 What is WooCommerce Cart Discount?
- 2 How to Create a WooCommerce Cart Discount? (Step-by-Step Process)
- 3 8 Cart Discount Rules Worth Copying
- 3.1 1. Give 10% off when the cart reaches $100
- 3.2 2. Offer tiered discounts at $75, $100, and $150
- 3.3 3. Take $10 off orders over $90
- 3.4 4. Give 10% off 8 or more items
- 3.5 5. Welcome first-time buyers with $15 off
- 3.6 6. Give a standing discount to a customer role
- 3.7 7. Add a free gift at $150
- 3.8 8. Send an abandoned cart discount by email
- 4 Best Cart Discount Plugins for WooCommerce
- 5 5 Best Practices to Grow Revenue With Cart Discounts
- 6 Discount Not Showing in Your WooCommerce Cart? 6 Fixes
- 7 Frequently Asked Questions About WooCommerce Cart Discount
- 8 Start Increasing Your Average Order Value With WooCommerce Cart Discounts!
What is WooCommerce Cart Discount?
A WooCommerce cart discount is a promotional coupon code applied to a user’s order before purchase completion.
This discount usually offers attractive deals that encourage customers to buy products and save money.
Discounts can take different forms, such as percentage discounts, fixed-amount discounts, BOGO offers, and free shipping.
Take a look at this WooCommerce cart discount example:
As you can see, the 15% cart discount coupon is automatically applied when the total reaches a certain value.
Another discount is a gift that appears when the shopper adds $41 more to their cart.
A few other examples include:
- Offering a fixed cart discount of $15 on purchases of $199 or more.
- Or offering a 10% discount on orders of $99 or more.
- Or offering free shipping discounts, too.
How to Create a WooCommerce Cart Discount? (Step-by-Step Process)
To set up cart discounts in WooCommerce without code, we’ll use the FunnelKit Cart plugin.
FunnelKit Cart adds a dynamic slide-out cart that lets you skip the default WooCommerce cart page and head straight to checkout.
It brings Ajax's add-to-cart feature and complete mini cart functionality, offers upsells and cross-sells, and sets up smart cart discounts.
FunnelKit Cart offers milestone-based rewards based on cart value. You can set up a maximum of three rewards in your store:
- Free shipping: Exempts the shipping fee when the cart reaches a certain value.
- Coupon discount: Gives a certain discount when the cart total reaches the threshold. It can be based on the coupon you select: a percentage discount, a fixed cart discount, or a fixed product discount.
- Free gift: Offer selected products from your store catalog as a gift when the cart total reaches the pre-set threshold.
Get the premium copy of the plugin (available in the FunnelKit Plus plan and above).
Install and activate FunnelKit Cart on your WordPress website.
Once done, follow the steps to create WooCommerce cart discounts:
Step 1: Enable the FunnelKit side cart in WooCommerce
Go to FunnelKit ⇨ Cart and turn on the toggle to 'Enable Cart' in your WooCommerce store.
This will enable the all-new modern sliding shopping cart in your store.
Now you can configure and match your sliding cart’s key settings to your requirements.
Learn More: Check out our detailed post on WooCommerce side cart here.
Step 2: Create a discount coupon in WooCommerce
Go to Marketing ⇨ Coupons, click on 'Add new coupon', and enter the coupon code and its description.
The coupon description is optional.
Now, set up your coupon discount rules in WooCommerce. Select the discount type, coupon amount, expiry date, and free shipping to enable this coupon code.
Here, we’ve set up a 15% discount with no expiration date, and it doesn’t include free shipping.
You can also set usage restrictions and limits in the other coupon tabs.
When you're done, click the ‘Publish’ button on the right-hand side of your screen. Your discount coupon will become active in your store.
Step 3: Set up your WooCommerce cart discount reward
Next, go to the FunnelKit Cart and open the Rewards section.
Then, hit the ‘Create Reward’ button.
Select the Reward Type - Discount from the drop-down.
Next, specify the following details:
- Icon title: The title of your reward. We’ll simply write it as ‘Discount Reward’ here.
- Message: Enter the message that will be displayed to notify users of this reward. By default, the message is already written. We’ll edit it to a 15% discount, as required.
- Amount to get reward: Set the WooCommerce cart amount to get this discount. Here, we’ll set the threshold to 50.
- Coupon: Enter the coupon code you've created in the above step.
Click on 'Save' when done and it’ll set up your WooCommerce cart discount reward!
Now, when a user's total cart value reaches $150, the WooCommerce add-to-cart discount code will be applied programmatically.
Step 4: Configure additional WooCommerce cart rewards
FunnelKit Cart lets you set up to 3 rewards. You can add more rewards by clicking the 'Create Another Reward' button.
Free Shipping WooCommerce cart discount reward
You can offer your shoppers a free shipping discount when their cart reaches a certain minimum price.
You must configure the shipping method in WooCommerce settings (shipping zones) for the free shipping reward.
Add the free shipping method to the zone where you serve your customers.
After that, specify the minimum order amount to enable free shipping.
Learn More: Check out our post to set up the free shipping method in your store.
Free Gift WooCommerce cart discount reward
Offer one of your products as a gift to customers when the cart value reaches a certain amount.
You can even offer samples or new-arrival products for free! This is a great way to promote and introduce new products to your users.
To set up the free gift reward, set the cart value threshold and specify the product you want to offer as the gift.
Click on ‘Save’ when everything is all set!
Well done! This is how you can set up WooCommerce cart discounts in your store.
Here’s how WooCommerce will show all three discount rewards in your cart:
FunnelKit Cart gamifies your shopping cart and brightens the user experience in your WooCommerce store.
Smart in-cart recommendations offer a great opportunity to suggest relevant products.
Learn More: Refer to our WooCommerce cart upsell post to configure upsells and cross-sells in your side cart.
8 Cart Discount Rules Worth Copying
Here are some cart discount rules you can use in your own business.
1. Give 10% off when the cart reaches $100
Rule: Cart subtotal $100 or more → 10% off the cart.
This is the classic cart-total discount. The $100 target is $40 above the store’s average order, so it gives shoppers a reason to add more without setting the bar too far out of reach.
2. Offer tiered discounts at $75, $100, and $150
Rule: Subtotal $75+ → 5% off, $100+ → 10% off, $150+ → 15% off. Only the highest tier applies.
Tiered discounts use a simple “spend more, save more” structure.
Someone with a $50 cart has a reason to reach $75, while someone already at $120 has another target at $150.
Three tiers are usually enough. Add too many and the cart message becomes harder to understand at a glance.
3. Take $10 off orders over $90
Rule: Subtotal $90+ → $10 fixed cart discount.
A fixed discount costs the same amount on every qualifying order, which makes the numbers easier to predict.
For this store, $10 off starts cutting too far into the margin below $85, as we’ll show in the math section later.
Setting the threshold at $90 gives it a little more breathing room.
4. Give 10% off 8 or more items
Rule: 8 or more items in the cart → 10% off. At $12 each, that’s a $96 cart.
Quantity-based discounts make sense when customers regularly buy several units at once.
Eight $12 items make a $96 cart. If you’d rather give customers an extra item instead of taking 10% off, the same types of plugins can also handle Buy X Get Y deals.
5. Welcome first-time buyers with $15 off
Rule: Customer has no previous orders → $15 off the cart.
An automatic first-order discount saves new customers from having to find and enter a welcome code.
You are giving up some profit on that first purchase, though. On a $60 order, $15 off cuts the gross profit from $24 to $9.
That can still make sense if those customers come back and buy again.
Before making the discount permanent, check your repeat purchase rate and see whether the extra first-order conversions make up for the initial discount.
For more first-order setups, see our guide to WooCommerce first order discounts.
6. Give a standing discount to a customer role
Rule: User role is Wholesale → 20% off the cart.
A user-role discount lets you give certain logged-in customers a permanent discount without creating a coupon anyone can use.
For a yarn store, that could mean knitting teachers or wholesale buyers who supply local craft shops.
7. Add a free gift at $150
Rule: Subtotal $150+ → add a selected product free.
A $3 mini skein can feel like a better reward than 2% off a $150 cart, even though both cost the store about $3.
That makes free gifts worth testing alongside a percentage-based WooCommerce cart discount.
For more gift ideas, see our guide to WooCommerce free gifts.
8. Send an abandoned cart discount by email
Rule: Cart abandoned with no order after 2 days → email a unique 10% coupon that expires in 48 hours.
Not every shopper will see your cart message before leaving.
For those customers, a small, one-time coupon in an abandoned cart email can give them a reason to come back.
Save it for the last email in the sequence so you don't discount shoppers who were already going to return.
Set it up with an email tool that creates dynamic coupon codes.
FunnelKit Automations can generate one inside an abandoned cart recovery workflow.
Best Cart Discount Plugins for WooCommerce
We compared six plugins based on how they apply the discount, the conditions they support, and whether they offer a free version. Two are paid only.
Since pricing can change, check each vendor’s site for the latest plans.
| Plugin | Best for | How the discount applies | Main conditions | Standout feature | Free version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FunnelKit Cart | Spend-based rewards shoppers can see | Auto-applies a WooCommerce coupon | Cart value milestones | Side cart progress bar for discount, free shipping, and free gift milestones | Yes, rewards need Pro |
| Discount Rules for WooCommerce | Flexible rule-based discounts | Automatic rule, applied as a coupon or fee | Subtotal, quantity, products, categories, user roles | Discount bar, “You saved” message, and bulk pricing tables | Yes, Pro adds more conditions |
| Disco | Free automatic discount rules | Automatic rule | Cart subtotal, products, user role, order count, lifetime spend | Cart, bulk, bundle, BOGO, and free shipping rules in the free version | Yes |
| Advanced Coupons | Coupon campaigns with cart conditions | Coupon code, with auto-apply in Premium | Cart conditions, user roles, BOGO | Builds on native coupons, with URL coupons and store credit | Yes |
| Cart Discounts for WooCommerce | Conditional cart discounts | Automatic rule | Cart amount, quantity, products, categories, weight, abandonment time | Popup that explains discount conditions to shoppers | No |
| Discount On Cart | Quantity or subtotal tiers | Automatic negative cart fee | Quantity tiers, subtotal tiers, products | Live tier table on the cart page, Cart block and HPOS support | No |
What sets FunnelKit Cart apart is where shoppers see the discount.
Most rules plugins add the discount to the cart totals after the shopper qualifies.
FunnelKit Cart shows the target before they reach it, right in the cart, along with product suggestions that can help them reach the threshold.
It also lets you skip the cart page and go straight to checkout.
If your discount depends on quantity, user roles, or specific product combinations, a rules plugin gives you more control.
5 Best Practices to Grow Revenue With Cart Discounts
Review proven tips to maximize revenue from cart discounts in WooCommerce.
- Set discount thresholds 20-40% above your current average order value
To increase your average order value with discounts, set your thresholds carefully.
If your average cart is $60, set your first discount tier at $75-$85. It gives them a reason to add one more item without feeling out of reach.
According to Smartrr, 93% of US shoppers will add extra items just to hit a free shipping or discount tier.
- Use multi-tiered discounts
Flat discounts are a bad idea. Giving everyone 10% off just leaves money on the table. Instead, use a tiered structure.
Give them 5% off at $50, 10% at $100, and 15% at $150. That way, whether they were going to spend $40 or $120, they have an incentive to stretch.
- Show the discount savings before checkout
Make sure shoppers actually see the math before they hit checkout. People like seeing the exact dollar amount they are saving right in the cart.
- Limit the number of active cart promotions
Don't run a bunch of promotion discounts at once. It confuses the buyer and wrecks your margins.
Stick to one or two clear, well-communicated offers at a time so shoppers know exactly what deal they are getting.
- A/B test your discount amounts and conditions
You should test whether a percentage (like 10% off) works better than a flat dollar amount ($10 off) for your specific audience.
Test different discount types, thresholds, and messaging to find what drives the highest revenue without cutting too deep into your margins.
Discount Not Showing in Your WooCommerce Cart? 6 Fixes
If a discount isn’t showing in your WooCommerce cart, a setting or conflict is usually the cause.
Check these one by one.
1. Check the coupon’s usage restrictions
A minimum spend, product restriction, allowed email list, or Exclude sale items setting can prevent a coupon-based discount from applying.
2. Look for Individual use only conflicts
A coupon marked Individual use only can’t be combined with other coupons.
If another coupon-based discount is already active, the second one may not apply.
3. Clear your cache
A cached cart or checkout page can show an outdated total.
Exclude both pages from your caching plugin and your host’s cache, then test the cart again.
4. Check Cart block compatibility
Newer WooCommerce stores use the Cart and Checkout blocks by default.
If the discount works on a classic cart page but not on a block-based cart, check whether your discount plugin supports WooCommerce blocks.
5. Check for overlapping discount plugins
Two plugins trying to discount the same cart can cause unexpected results, such as a discount not applying or being applied twice.
Check the rule priorities, or disable one plugin while testing.
6. Review WooCommerce’s calculation settings
The Calculate coupon discounts sequentially option under WooCommerce ⇨ Settings ⇨ General affects how multiple coupons are combined.
Also check whether your free shipping minimum is calculated before or after coupons.
Frequently Asked Questions About WooCommerce Cart Discount
They can, if the discount is always on and available to everyone. A threshold discount asks for something in return, such as a bigger cart, so it feels like a reward for spending more.
Running it for set periods also stops it from becoming the price shoppers expect.
Yes. WooCommerce’s built-in coupon system handles expiry dates, minimum spend, usage limits, and product restrictions.
The catch is that shoppers still have to enter the code themselves.
Discount rules are the conditions that determine when a discount applies, such as a minimum subtotal, item quantity, or user role.
Native coupons support basic restrictions, but automatic rules based on quantity, roles, or order history need a discount rules plugin.
Not by default. Plugins can auto-apply a coupon once the cart qualifies, as FunnelKit Cart does in this post and Advanced Coupons does in its Premium version.
A discount rule is different. It lowers the total without using a coupon.
You can create a cart rule with a first order condition in a discount rules plugin, or email new subscribers a single-use 10% coupon.
The rule is easier for shoppers, while the coupon lets you collect their email address first.
Yes. Discount Rules for WooCommerce and Disco both have free versions with automatic discount rules, and Advanced Coupons Free adds cart conditions and BOGO coupons.
FunnelKit Cart’s free version gives you the sliding cart, but the milestone rewards need Pro.
A cart discount looks at the whole cart, like its subtotal or total item count.
A bulk discount lowers the price of one product as shoppers buy more.
You can offer WooCommerce quantity discounts on funnel checkout pages with FunnelKit Funnel Builder.
Native coupons and fee-based discounts work with the Cart and Checkout blocks.
Plugin support varies, though, so check each plugin’s documentation before you build your rules.
Start Increasing Your Average Order Value With WooCommerce Cart Discounts!
With eCommerce cart abandonment rates soaring, it is crucial to maximize conversions and deliver the best shopping experience.
One of the most effective ways to do that is by introducing WooCommerce cart discounts in your store.
With FunnelKit Cart, you can create attractive shopping cart rewards such as exclusive discounts, free shipping, and item gifts.
It also helps you eliminate redundancy on default cart pages and lets shoppers go straight to checkout for a faster buying experience.
You can even offer upsells and cross-sells from this sliding cart to help boost your store’s average order value.
Use the Cart plugin with FunnelKit Funnel Builder to enhance your checkout pages and maximize your store sales.
So what are you waiting for? It's time to boost your average order value with WooCommerce cart discounts!
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