How the minimum purchase amount works for Shopify discounts
The minimum purchase amount is the rule customers trip over most: the checkout total is not the test. This tutorial sets up MIN50, worth 15% off orders with $50 of products, then works through the carts that qualify and the ones that do not.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Code | MIN50 |
| Value | 15% off the order |
| Minimum purchase | $50.00, products only |
| Rule | Products $48 + shipping $5 fails |
| Rule | Products $55, product discount $5.50 fails |
| $52.00 of products | $7.80 off, pays $49.20 with shipping |
Download the planner: minimum-purchase-test-carts.csv (234 bytes).
Three test carts for the $50 minimum, with what counts toward it and what the customer pays. Use them to check the rule before you launch the code.
1Create the code with a $50 minimum
From your Shopify admin, go to Discounts, then click Create discount. From the discount type menu, click Amount off orders. Under Method, select Discount code and enter MIN50. In the Value section, select Percentage and enter 15. In the Minimum requirements section, select Minimum purchase amount and enter 50. Then click Save.
2Test a cart under the minimum
Put $48 of products in a cart with $5 shipping. The checkout total is $53, but the minimum counts product prices only, and shipping costs and taxes are not included. The counted total is $48, which is below $50, so the code does not apply and the customer pays $53. Tell customers the minimum is on products, not on the order total.
3Test a cart over the minimum
Put $52 of products in a cart with $5 shipping. The counted total is $52, which meets the $50 minimum, so the code applies: 15% of $52 is $7.80, and the customer pays $52 minus $7.80 plus $5 shipping, which is $49.20.
4Check the after-product-discount total
For an amount off order discount, two totals must meet the minimum: the total before product discounts, and the cart subtotal after product discounts. Take a cart with $55 of products and a $5.50 product discount already applied. Before the product discount the total is $55, which passes. After it the subtotal is $49.50, which fails. The order discount does not apply, and the customer pays $49.50.
5Check gift cards
A gift card bought in the cart does not count toward the minimum purchase amount unless you specifically select the gift card product for the discount. Gift cards and store credit used as payment do not affect the minimum either, because they apply to the order total after discounts are calculated.
The arithmetic
The minimum counts product prices only, before shipping and tax.
| Cart | Counts toward minimum | 15% off | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| $48.00 products + $5.00 shipping | $48.00 | $0.00 | $53.00 |
| $52.00 products + $5.00 shipping | $52.00 | $7.80 | $49.20 |
| $55.00 products, $5.50 product discount | $49.50 | $0.00 | $49.50 |
Shipping and taxes never count toward the minimum, and gift cards used as payment never affect it either, because they apply to the order total after discounts are calculated.
Held at the counter
The checkout total is not the minimum test. A $53 checkout with $48 of products fails a $50 minimum. Customers who add shipping to reach the threshold will still be turned away.
For order discounts, two totals must both pass. The total before product discounts and the cart subtotal after product discounts both have to meet the minimum. A cart that passes one and fails the other does not qualify.
A product discount on one item can knock the cart below the minimum. The $55 cart above loses $5.50 to a product discount, and the order code stops applying. The counted total uses prices after earlier product discounts.
Sources
- Amount off discounts — Shopify's help pages: the minimum purchase amount rules for amount off product and order discounts, and the gift card note.