BigCommerce provides powerful promotion tools to attract new customers. Use promotions to boost average order value, and incentivize return customers and shared experiences with friends, family and social posts. These tools are grouped into two primary categories, out-of-the-box: Automatic Promotions and Coupon-Based Promotions. There are also many apps on the BigCommerce App Marketplace that you can use to enhance your promotion capabilities as well.

Automatic Promotions

Automatic promotions are applied at checkout when predefined conditions are met—without requiring the customer to enter a code. They streamline the shopping experience while driving conversions through built-in incentives.

Types of Promotions:

• Buy One, Get One 50% Off
• 10% Off Orders Over $100
• Free Shipping on Orders Over $75
• Buy 3, Get the 4th Free

You can also build custom promotions!

Features:

• Control stacking with other promotions
• Target specific customer groups
• Set start/end schedules for timed campaigns
• Filter by product, brand, or category

Strategic Applications:

• Increase AOV with threshold-based discounts
• Offer wholesale pricing to logged-in users
• Enable auto-triggered seasonal sales sitewide

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Coupon-Based Promotions

Coupon-based promotions require customers to enter a discount code at checkout. These codes are ideal for targeted campaigns, loyalty programs, or promotions run via social media, email, or paid ads.

Examples:

• WELCOME10 – 10% Off First Purchase
• EMAIL25 – 25% for Newsletter Subscribers
• FREESHIP – Free Shipping Code
• SOCIAL20 – 20% via Instagram Promotion

Features:

• Create single-use or bulk-generated codes
• Apply usage limits (per user, global cap)
• Schedule expiration dates
• Allow or restrict stacking with other offers

Strategic Applications:

• Track marketing attribution (email, influencer, ad)
• Incentivize abandoned cart recovery
• Reward VIP or returning customers

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When to Use Each Type

Scenario	Recommended Promotion Type
Sitewide Holiday Sale	Automatic
New Customer Discount via Email	Coupon
Loyalty Program Exclusive Offer	Coupon
“Spend $100 Get 15% Off” Offer	Automatic
Social Media Influencer Promo	Coupon

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Best Practices

• Test stacking logic thoroughly before launch
• Use promotional labels to clarify discounts in cart
• Pair offers with banner ads for higher visibility
• Use clear expiration dates to drive urgency
• Monitor performance via BigCommerce Analytics or Google Analytics

Let's Build a Promotion

Custom promotions are for those who need something that is a little less standard then the pre-defined promotion types that BigCommerce offers out-of-the-box. Let's take a look at the custom rules you can set up for your own promotion.

Step 1 - Create a Promotion: Summary

There are a few settings in the summary that you can set to determine when your promotion runs. Here they are:

• Promotion Name - Any name you want to set for the promotion (Make it easy to understand for reference when auditing)
• Display name - How the promotion will be viewed
• Schedule [Starting] - Like a business's open schedule, set when the promotion is open for use
• Schedule [Ending] - If there is an ending date and time, set it here

Step 2 - Create a Promotion: Targeting

Targeting allows you to select the classification of customer that gets to receive the rewards of the promotion. There are three options:

1. Customer Group
2. Customer Segment
3. Shipping Destination

Step 3 - Create a Promotion: Rules

Within the rule generation engine is where the "Custom" vs "Pre-built" Automatic Promotions differ. For reference, here are all the rule types you can configure by default:

Step 4 - Set Usage Limits

BigCommerce promotion usage limits allow you to do a few things:

• Limit the total number of times that a user can use a promotion [either No Limit, or a defined number of times
• Set the stackable nature of the promotion (whether it can be used in combination with other promotions)

Step 5 - Save the Promotion

Once you save the promotion it will be available on the Promotions > Automatic tab of the Marketing > Promotions space. From here you can toggle it on and off, delete, or edit it the promotion.

Final Thoughts on BigCommerce Promotions

BigCommerce Promotions are a powerful way to drive growth, boost conversions, and deliver personalized shopping experiences at scale. Whether using automatic rules to streamline seasonal campaigns or targeted coupon codes for loyalty programs, BigCommerce provides merchants with the flexibility to craft strategies that align with business goals. By mastering both pre-built and custom promotion types, businesses can create more engaging, rewarding, and profitable storefronts. Looking to elevate your promotional strategies even further? Contact Collin & Company for expert guidance on building high-converting promotions tailored to your unique brand and customer base.