Buy X get Y and free gifts in OpenCart.

Why coupons are not enough for OpenCart stores

OpenCart’s marketing tools are coupons and specials. Neither can say "buy 2, get 1 free" or "10% off from 6 items", and neither can add a free gift to the cart. Shoppers also cannot see an offer until they type a code.

Advanced Promotions adds a promotion engine under Marketing, Promotions. Each applied promotion appears as its own line in the order totals, so shoppers see exactly what they saved, and taxes are calculated on the discounted prices.

Five promotion types

Buy X get Y can use the same products or other products, pick cheapest or most expensive first, repeat for every group, and stop at N times per order.

When and for whom

Each promotion can have start and end dates and times, days of the week and happy hours, including past midnight. It can be limited to customer groups, stores and a minimum subtotal, and unlocked with an OpenCart coupon code. Limits cover uses in total, uses per customer and a maximum discount per order.

How shoppers find your offers

A promotion nobody sees sells nothing, so the extension puts offers on the page:

• An Offers on this product box above the add-to-cart form, with the rule in plain words and the end date.
• Badges on product images in categories, search, specials and product modules.
• Cart nudges such as "Add 1 more item to get 1 free" or "Spend $14.00 more to get a free tote".

All three can be turned off, and each promotion can switch its own nudge off.

Stacking, order totals and taxes

Promotions apply in priority order, each on what the earlier ones left. You can stop further promotions for exclusive deals, skip special prices or items already discounted, and combine with coupons or switch off when a coupon is used. Accepted Make an Offer prices are respected, and a line never goes below zero.

Keep the order total sort order below taxes. The default of 3 sits before taxes at 5, so taxes are calculated on the discounted prices.

The list view has status tabs for active, scheduled, ended and disabled, with orders, discount given and revenue per promotion, plus totals for the last 30 days. Copy starts a variant, disabled until you switch it on.

A free item still shows its price on the cart line, and the saving appears in the promotion total. That is how the order total system works.

Advanced Promotions, coupons or several small extensions?

For an occasional code, core coupons are fine. Choose this when promotions are a regular part of how you sell. The extension is in the Sell More Pack, and the Fashion and Gloss store kits, on the packages page. Get Advanced Promotions on the store.

Compatibility

OpenCart 4.0.2.0 to 4.1.x and 3.0.3.x to 3.0.5.x from one licence. Tested on 4.1.0.4 and 3.0.5.1. No core file changes.

Planning a promotion that pays

Start from the goal. To raise items per order, use Buy X get Y or tiers. To raise order value, use spend tiers or a free gift above your average basket. To clear stock, use a product discount with an end date.

• Work out the margin at the deepest discount before you publish.
• Set a maximum discount per order, so a large cart cannot surprise you.
• Use Skip special prices, so a sale item does not get a second discount.
• Use Uses per customer on strong offers.
• Set an end date. Open-ended offers stop feeling like offers.

After the campaign, read the orders, discount given and revenue on the list. A promotion can raise revenue and still lose money, so compare that against your margin. Copy a promotion to test a variant, rather than editing the one you are measuring.