Getting Started with DealCraft: Set Up Your First Discount Rule in 5 Minutes

If you're running a Shopify store, discounts are one of the most powerful levers you can pull to increase conversion rates, boost average order value, and clear slow-moving inventory. But Shopify's built-in discount system only covers the basics — basic percentage codes and manual discounts that don't scale.

DealCraft changes that. It's a Shopify discount management app built on Shopify Functions that gives you 12+ discount types, cart-level calculations in under 50ms, and full campaign management — all without slowing down your checkout.

This guide walks you through installing DealCraft and creating your first discount rule, with real examples you can adapt for your store.

Step 1: Install DealCraft From the Shopify App Store

Head to the Shopify App Store and click Add app. Shopify will prompt you to authorize the app's permissions — DealCraft requests access to products, discounts, and checkout extensions, which are all needed for the discount engine to function.

After installation, you'll land on the DealCraft dashboard. The free plan includes up to 3 discount rules, 3 ready-made templates, and 2 basic widgets (Sale Badge and Cart Goal Bar). No credit card is required to get started.

Step 2: Choose Your Discount Type

Click Create Rule on the dashboard. DealCraft will ask you to select a discount type. Here's what each type is best for:

• Percentage Off — Best for store-wide sales and seasonal promotions. Easy for customers to understand. Works well on high-margin products (50%+ margin) where you can afford 15-25% off. Example: "Summer Sale — 20% off everything."

• Fixed Amount Off — Best for high-ticket items where a percentage would feel too large. "$10 off" feels more concrete than "5% off" on a $200 product. Use for minimum order thresholds like "$15 off orders over $100."

• BOGO (Buy One Get One) — Equivalent to 50% off per unit. Best for clearing inventory or increasing average order value. Works best on low-cost items where you still profit at half price. Example: "Buy 1 Get 1 Free on all socks."

• Buy X Get Y — Encourages bulk purchases. "Buy 3 Get 1 Free" equals a 25% effective discount but moves 4 units instead of 1. Best for consumables and repeat-purchase products. You can also mix products: "Buy 2 shirts, get 1 hat free."

• Free Shipping — Set free shipping thresholds by country, product, or order value. Separate from the discount engine with its own WASM optimizer. Example: "Free shipping on orders over $75 in the US."

• Tiered Pricing — Volume-based pricing that rewards larger orders. "Buy 2 for $18, buy 3 for $25." Ideal for wholesale or bulk-buy scenarios.

Not sure which type maximizes your profit? Use our free Shopify Discount Calculator to compare profit margins across all discount types side-by-side before committing.

Step 3: Configure Conditions and Restrictions

This is where DealCraft separates itself from Shopify's native discount system. For every rule, you can set:

Product targeting:

• Specific products, collections, or product types

• Exclude sale items, new arrivals, or specific variants

Customer targeting:

• All customers, or specific customer segments (VIP, first-time buyers, tagged groups)

• Country/region restrictions for geo-targeted promotions

Cart conditions:

• Minimum purchase amount (e.g., "orders over $50")

• Minimum quantity (e.g., "at least 3 items in cart")

• Specific product combinations required

Usage limits:

• Total usage cap (e.g., "first 100 orders only")

• Per-customer limit (e.g., "1 use per customer")

• Date range for time-limited campaigns

Example configuration:

Let's say you want to run a "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" promotion on your t-shirt collection, but only for orders over $30, limited to 500 total uses:

1. Select Buy X Get Y as the discount type

2. Set X = 2, Y = 1 (buy 2, get 1 free)

3. Apply to: Collection → "T-Shirts"

4. Add condition: Minimum cart value = $30

5. Set usage limit: 500 total uses

6. Set date range: June 1 – June 30

That's it. One rule, fully configured in under 5 minutes.

Step 4: Set Discount Priority and Stacking Rules

If you have multiple active discounts, you need to control how they interact. DealCraft gives you two controls:

Priority order — When multiple discounts could apply to the same cart, the one with higher priority runs first. This matters because discounts are calculated sequentially, and the order affects the final price. Stacking rules — You can define which discounts are allowed to combine and which are mutually exclusive. For example, you might allow a "10% off" code to stack with a "free shipping" rule, but prevent two percentage-off codes from stacking.

Navigate to Settings → Priority & Stacking to configure these rules. The default behavior is "first applicable discount wins," which is safe for most stores.

Step 5: Activate and Monitor Performance

Toggle the rule to Active. Your discount is now live and will automatically apply at checkout when customers meet the conditions.

Monitor performance from the Analytics dashboard:

• Daily revenue impact — How much revenue the discount generated (or cost you)

• Times applied — Number of orders that used this discount

• Average discount per order — The mean discount value across all qualifying orders

• Conversion lift — Compare conversion rates with and without the discount active

These analytics help you answer the most important question: Is this discount actually profitable?

What to Do After Your First Rule

Once you've set up your first rule and seen it in action, here are the next steps to get more value from DealCraft:

Set up Campaigns — Schedule time-limited promotions with automatic activation and deactivation. Perfect for flash sales, holiday promotions, and seasonal clearance events. Configure Free Shipping Rules — Free shipping is the #1 driver of cart abandonment recovery. Set country-specific thresholds (e.g., $75 in the US, $100 in the EU) using DealCraft's dedicated free shipping engine. Enable Customer Segments — Target the right audience with the right discount automatically. VIP customers get exclusive offers, first-time buyers get a welcome discount, and lapsed customers get win-back promotions. Add Storefront Widgets — Display discount codes, FOMO urgency bars, and tiered pricing tables directly on your product pages. Widgets are fully customizable and update in real-time. Try the Discount Calculator — Before launching any new promotion, use the free DealCraft Discount Calculator to compare profit margins across discount types. It takes 30 seconds and could save you from a costly mistake.

Pricing: Start Free, Upgrade When Ready

DealCraft's free plan is genuinely free — no time limit, no credit card required. You get 3 discount rules, 2 widgets, and basic conditions. When you're ready to scale:

• Pro ($9.99/month) — Unlimited rules, all widgets, customer segments, discount code management, and email support.

• Business ($29.99/month) — Campaign management, Flow automation, API access, sandbox testing, and priority support.

Check the full pricing page for details, or install free to try it yourself.

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DealCraft is built on Shopify Functions for sub-50ms cart-level discount calculations. No checkout scripts, no page reloads, no performance impact. Install free from the Shopify App Store.