Use a price configuration for combining discounts and coupons
When a customer uses a coupon code along with a price rule discount, the final price may be lower than intended. This can happen, for example, if you offer a market-specific discount, such as in Brazil, and also provide a coupon code to a Brazilian customer. The combination of the Brazil-specific discount and the coupon code could result in selling the product at a lower price than planned.
Here's an example of combining a fixed price (using the discount match rule) from our Applicable Price Configurator (APC) in Commerce Assistant (CA) or from Price Rules in our web admin tool, with a fixed price from a coupon code. For ease, let's use price rule (PR) discount to name the applicable price configuration set up either in CA or in our web admin tool.
| PR discount | Coupon discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Original price | 100 EUR | |
| Discount pricing method | Fixed price: 50 EUR | Fixed price: 45 EUR |
| Price difference (from the original price) | 50 EUR | 55 EUR |
| New discounted price (both discounts combined) | 45 EUR (coupon discount overrides the PR discount) | |
The calculation in the cart is as follows: new discounted price = original price (100 EUR) - coupon discount (55 EUR) = 45 EUR
If both discounts were applied (50 EUR + 55 EUR), the discounted price would be lower than 0.
To avoid 0 or unintended lower pricing, a new price rule was introduced (URL parameter pricerule=none) to deactivate the PC discount for a customer.
Allow customers to use combined discounts
A common use case for combined discounts is offering a permanent discount for a specific region, like Brazil (PR discount), alongside an occasional discount, such as Black Week (coupon codes).
To allow customers to combine PR discounts with coupons, leave the Can't be combined with other discounts option unchecked when creating the coupon discount.
The final discount in the cart depends on the pricing methods used in both the PR and coupon discount, which are applied separately.
For more information about the discount limits and price settings, see Implement cart promotions.
Absolute PR discount and absolute coupon discount
In the following example, both the PR discount and the coupon code discount are absolute discounts. This example is also relevant for a combination of a PR discount set as a fixed price and a coupon discount set as an absolute discount.
| PR discount | Coupon discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Original price | 100 EUR | |
| Discount pricing method | Absolute discount: 25 EUR or fixed price: 75 EUR | Absolute discount: 10 EUR |
| Price difference (from the original price) | 25 EUR | 10 EUR |
| New discounted price (both discounts combined) | 65 EUR | |
The calculation in the cart is as follows: new discounted price = 100 EUR – 25 EUR - 10 EUR = 65 EUR
The product costs 65 EUR after applying both the PR discount and the coupon code.
If you set the coupon discount as a fixed price, it will override the PR discount. In this example, it means that the final price will be 90 EUR.
Absolute PR discount and percentage coupon discount
In the following example, the PR discount is either an absolute discount or a fixed price, and the coupon code discount is a percentage discount.
| PR discount | Coupon discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Original price | 100 EUR | |
| Discount pricing method | Absolute discount: 25 EUR or fixed price: 75 EUR | Percentage discount: 10% |
| Price difference (from the original price) | 25 EUR | 10 EUR |
| New discounted price (both discounts combined) | 67.50 EUR | |
The calculation in the cart is as follows: new discounted price = (100 EUR – 25 EUR) - 10% = 75 EUR - 10% = 67.50 EUR
Percentage PR discount and absolute coupon code discount
In the following example, the PR discount is a percentage discount and the coupon code discount is an absolute discount.
| PR discount | Coupon discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Original price | 100 EUR | |
| Discount pricing method | Percentage discount: 25% | Absolute discount: 10 EUR |
| Price difference (from the original price) | 25 EUR | 10 EUR |
| New discounted price (both discounts combined) | 65 EUR | |
The calculation in the cart is as follows: new discounted price = (100 EUR – 25%) - 10% = 75 EUR - 10 EUR = 65 EUR
If you set the coupon discount as a fixed price, it will override the PR discount. In this example, this means that the final price will be 90 EUR.
Percentage PR discount and percentage coupon discount
In the following example, both the PR discount and the coupon code discount are percentage discounts.
| PR discount | Coupon discount | |
|---|---|---|
| Original price | 100 EUR | |
| Discount pricing method | Percentage discount: 25% | Percentage discount: 10% |
| Price difference (from the original price) | 25 EUR | 10 EUR |
| New discounted price (both discounts combined) | 67.50 EUR | |
The calculation in the cart is as follows: new discounted price = (100 EUR – 25%) - 10% = 75 EUR - 10% = 67.50 EUR
For more information on price configurations and price rules, see Add a price configuration.