Glossary

Shopify discount and pricing glossary

Clear definitions of the discount and pricing terms Shopify merchants run into, from volume discounts and quantity breaks to margin-based pricing and AOV.

Volume discount Quantity break Tiered pricing Tiered unit pricing BOGO (Buy X Get Y)Bulk discount Wholesale pricing B2B pricing Margin-based discount Profit margin Average order value (AOV)Discount stacking and conflicts Free shipping threshold Cart-spend discount

Volume discount: A discount that lowers the price as a customer buys more units, set across quantity tiers (for example 10% off at 3+, 15% off at 6+). It is used to increase average order value and units per order.
Quantity break: Another name for a volume discount: the unit price drops automatically when the cart reaches a set quantity. The available breaks are usually shown on the product page to encourage larger orders.
Tiered pricing: Pricing that changes at different quantity or spend levels. It comes in two forms: tiered quantity discounts (a discount per bracket) and tiered unit pricing (a fixed per-unit price per bracket, common for wholesale).
Tiered unit pricing: A model where each quantity bracket has a specific price per unit (for example $9/unit at 1 to 9, $7/unit at 10+). It is widely used for wholesale and B2B buyers.
BOGO (Buy X Get Y): A promotion where buying one or more items unlocks a reward on others, such as buy one get one free, a percentage off, or a fixed amount off a second product.
Bulk discount: A discount applied across many products at once, often combined with bulk price updates that reprice a large catalog in a single action rather than editing products one by one.
Wholesale pricing: Special prices for trade or B2B buyers, usually unlocked by customer tag, segment, or login. It often uses tiered unit pricing so the per-unit price improves with volume.
B2B pricing: Customer-specific pricing for business buyers, gated by tag, segment, login, or purchase history, so only approved accounts see the trade prices while guests see retail.
Margin-based discount: A discount taken out of your profit margin rather than your selling price, so deeper discounts never touch your cost. A profit floor of cost plus a minimum profit keeps every sale above cost.
Profit margin: The difference between an item's selling price and its cost. Net margin per campaign measures the real profit a promotion produces after discounts and shipping, using your Shopify cost prices.
Average order value (AOV): The average amount a customer spends per order. Volume discounts, quantity breaks, and free-shipping thresholds are common tactics for lifting AOV.
Discount stacking and conflicts: When two or more promotions apply to the same products at once. Without conflict detection, stacked discounts can silently combine and erode margin, so catching overlaps before activation matters.
Free shipping threshold: A minimum cart value that unlocks free shipping (for example free shipping over $50). A progress bar that shows how much more is needed is a proven way to raise average order value.
Cart-spend discount: A discount unlocked by total cart value rather than quantity, often in tiers (spend more, save more). It rewards bigger baskets across different products.

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