In wholesale the price changes with quantity, so this is the discount you will use most. It is built with tiers: you load thresholds with their benefit and the engine applies the highest tier the customer reaches.
Step by step
- In the side menu, go to Catalog → Discounts and click New discount.
- In Basics, set the name and the Customer-facing label.
- In What discount, choose Percent off (or Fixed amount off, or Fixed price). This is the "model" that will later price each tier.
- In Products, choose the scope. If you want the ladder visible on the product page, do not leave it on "Whole cart": choose Specific products, Categories or Price list.
- In Condition, choose Volume tiers.
- Set How is each tier reached? — By unit count or By cart amount.
- Set Where is the minimum counted? — see the table further down.
- Set How do the tiers apply? — Retroactive, Closed pack or Bracketed.
- With Add tier, load each step: Minimum threshold and Discount for this tier.
- Continue to Review and click Save.
A classic example
| Minimum threshold | Discount for this tier |
|---|---|
| 5 units | 10% |
| 10 units | 15% |
| 50 units | 20% |
| 100 units | 25% |
A customer buying 12 units falls into the 10 tier (15%); one buying 60 falls into the 50 tier (20%).
How is each tier reached?
- By unit count: the threshold is measured in units.
- By cart amount: the threshold is measured in money. This is how you build "$500,000 → 10%, $1,000,000 → 15%, $2,000,000 → 20%".
With an amount-based tier you also get the option Compute the threshold on already-discounted prices. Off (the normal setting), the threshold is compared against list prices: the tier activates even if other promotions already brought the total down. On, it is compared against what the customer actually pays.
This selector is only shown in Retroactive mode. Closed pack and Bracketed are always calculated by unit count.
Where is the minimum counted?
There are four options. With a threshold of 10 units they give very different results:
| Option | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Across the discount's products | Adds up the units of every product the discount reaches. The 10 can be spread across several items. This is the default. |
| Within a single line | Takes the largest line in scope and uses that quantity to pick one tier, which then applies to the whole scope. It is not "each product on its own". |
| Over the whole cart | Adds up every unit in the order, whether or not it is in the promotion. Useful for rewarding total order size. |
| Per each product separately | Only available with Volume tiers. Evaluates the tiers product by product: each product adds up its own units, reaches its own tier, and that tier applies only to its lines. |
For "quantity discount on a product", the right option is "Per each product separately". "Within a single line" looks like it does that and it does not: it measures with the largest line and then discounts the whole scope with that single tier.
How do the tiers apply?
| Mode | How it works | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Retroactive (all units at the tier price) | On reaching a tier, all units take that discount. With 10 units and 15%, all 10 go at 15%. | Standard wholesale ladders. This is the default mode. |
| Closed pack (price per pack) | Built from packs: 111 units = 1×100 + 1×10 + 1 loose, each block at its own price. The loose remainder goes at the normal price. | Distribution by pack or box. This is the platform's pack mechanism. |
| Bracketed (marginal) | Each range takes its own discount: the first N at one percentage, the next ones at another. | When you want to reward only the extra units. |
In Closed pack each row asks for Pack size (units) and Price per unit. In Bracketed, each row asks for From unit.
Closed pack example
| Pack size | Price per unit |
|---|---|
| 100 | $800 |
| 10 | $900 |
An order of 111 units breaks down into 1 pack of 100 + 1 pack of 10 + 1 loose; the loose one is charged at the normal price.
Which effects a tier can have
Only percent off, fixed amount off and fixed price can price a tier. Tiers cannot be combined with 2x1, cross-sell, shipping or combo price: if you picked one of those on the What discount step, the wizard shows the error and will not let you save.
Volume on a single product
You have two routes:
- One rule per product: in Products pick that single product and build the tiers normally. It is more work, but it is what makes the ladder show on that product's page.
- A single rule for many products, counting per product: scope by Categories or Price list + Where is the minimum counted? = Per each product separately. One rule instead of a copy per product, and the ladder still shows on the product page. If instead you leave the scope on Whole cart, the rule still works but the ladder is not shown on the product.
To see which discounts a product takes part in and what its final price is, open it in Catalog → Products and go to its Discounts tab. From there you can also create a quick discount for that product, although the quick creator only offers percent off, fixed amount off and fixed price: for tiers use the full wizard.
If you cannot find it
- You set up the ladder and the buyer does not see it on the product page. This is the most frequent one, and it is almost always the scope. A tiered rule only puts the ladder, the struck-through price and the percentage on the product page when its scope is Specific products, Categories, Price list or variants. With a Whole cart scope there is no per-product ladder: it is communicated in the cart and in the benefits rail. Watch out for this, because the Volume discount and Volume per product templates come with a Whole cart scope: change it on the Products step if you want it on the product page.
- It also does not show on the product page if the rule has a coupon, is tied to a payment method, counts the minimum Over the whole cart, is a shipping discount, is a cross-sell or is a bundle. All of those are communicated in the cart. See What your customer sees.
- You cannot find "Per each product separately". That fourth chip only exists when the condition is Volume tiers. With minimum quantity or minimum amount there are three options.
- The wizard will not let you save. Check that every tier has a value greater than 0, that no tier goes over 100%, and that the effect type chosen in What discount is percent off, fixed amount off or fixed price.
- You do not see "Discounts" in the menu. Sellers do not manage discounts. See Introduction.