When creating a fixed / flat discount in CartGenie (for example, $15 off), you can choose whether the discount is applied once per item or once per order.
This setting gives you more control over how your promotions work and can significantly impact customer purchasing behavior.
When a discount is applied once per order, the fixed amount is deducted a single time, regardless of how many items are in the cart.
Promotion: $15 off
Customer purchases:
1 product → $15 off total
3 products → $15 off total
10 products → $15 off total
Applying a discount once per order is ideal when you want to:
Offer a simple promotion without dramatically increasing discount value
Encourage customers to make a purchase without heavily discounting large orders
Run storewide promotions with predictable discount costs
Offer incentives such as “$15 off orders over $100”
This option helps protect margins while still providing customers with a meaningful incentive.
When a discount is applied once per item, the fixed amount is deducted for every item in the cart.
Promotion: $15 off all products
Customer purchases:
1 product → $15 off total
3 products → $45 off total
10 products → $150 off total
Applying a discount once per item is useful when you want to:
Encourage customers to purchase larger quantities
Increase average order value
Reward customers for adding more qualifying products
Create promotions such as “Buy more, save more”
This approach can be especially effective for consumable products, accessories, apparel, and other product categories where increasing quantity per order is a primary goal.
If you restrict the discount code to specific products, then it will not be applied unless at least one of those items are added to the cart:
Once Per Order: If at least 1 of the qualifying products is added, the discount is applied to the order
Once Per Item: The discount is applied once for each qualifying item added to the cart (products that are not in the ‘selected products’ list will not have the discount applied)
