How to Add an Automatic Discount in WooCommerce (Easy Guide)

Coupons are a great way to offer discount promotions. However, shoppers have to collect them and enter them manually on the cart page to avail of the discount amount.

Automatic discounts, on the other hand, simplify this process by seamlessly applying the discount right on the product or cart page, eliminating the extra steps for shoppers. This makes shopping smoother and more enjoyable and encourages customers to complete their purchases without interruption.

In this WooCommerce automatic discount setup guide, I’ll walk you through setting up automatic discounts to create a seamless, customer-friendly shopping experience.

Let’s get started.

How to Setup Automatic Discounts in WooCommerce?

As we stated earlier, automatic discounts in WooCommerce are applied to a customer’s cart automatically without needing a coupon code. These discounts can be based on various conditions, such as the total order amount, specific products, or customer roles.

Unfortunately, there’s no built-in tool in WooCommerce that can generate auto-operating discounts. That doesn’t limit the platform by any bit because, as you might expect, a plethora of discount plugins are available in the repository and on other plugin marketplaces for WooCommerce.

In this article, we will use an all-rounder, flexible, and dynamic plugin that is the best in the market today. It’s called Disco – Dynamic Discount Plugin.

This plugin is absolutely free to use and has powerful features that you only can find on a paid plugin. Be it a complex WooCommerce conditional discount or a simple bulk discount, the plugin makes it incredibly easy to create them.

Overall, you can create a significant number and type of discount strategies using this WooCommerce auto discount plugin. Let us walk you through setting up automatic discounts WooCommerce using Disco.

Step 1: Install the Disco Plugin

• In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins >> Add New.
• Search for Disco, click Install, and then Activate.

Step 2: Access the Disco Menu

After activation, find Disco on the left panel and click it to open.

Step 3: Create a Discount Rule

• Click on Create a Discount in the Disco dashboard.

Step 4: Name Your Discount

We are creating a discount rule offering a 15% discount on all products. Enter a descriptive name like “15% Storewide Discount.”

Step 5: Select All Products

Under Discount Intention, choose Product. And under Discount, select All Products for a storewide discount.

Step 6: Set Discount Validity (Optional)

To make it time-sensitive, set start and end dates here.

Step 7: Define Discount Type & Value

• In Product Rules, select Percentage and enter 15 for a 15% discount.

Step 8: Save the Discount Rule

Click Save to apply.

Step 9: Verify on Storefront

Visit the storefront and Cart page to confirm the discount is active on all products.

This setup ensures your WooCommerce store applies discounts automatically, streamlining the shopping experience!

Exploring Different WooCommerce Automatic Discount Strategies

WooCommerce automatic discounts can simplify the checkout experience and encourage shoppers to buy more. By using strategic discounts, you can increase order values and reduce cart abandonment.

Here are some powerful auto-apply discounts WooCommerce strategies you can apply to boost engagement and sales:

How to Create Fixed Amount WooCommerce Automatic Discount?

• Example: Provide a $10 discount on all products.

WooCommerce fixed discount offers a tangible savings incentive for crossing a certain spending threshold. We have already gone through the percentage option; let’s quickly overview how to set up a fixed discount.

We will keep the top settings as they are.

Select the Fixed or Fixed Per Cart Item option from the Discount Type dropdown.

Insert the discount value in the Discount Value box and save the rule. Here’s how WooCommerce automatically apply discount on the cart page.

How to Setup Quantity-Based WooCommerce Automatic Discount?

• Example: Provide a 15% discount when a customer buys 5 or more of any item.

WooCommerce quantity discounts work well for bulk or repeat purchases. These strategies encourage customers to add more items to their carts.

Disco allows you to set up a WooCommerce auto discount on quantity in multiple ways. We will set up this example using a condition.

In Disco, conditions let you decide exactly when a discount should apply, giving you more control over your offers. For instance, you can set a discount based on how many items a customer buys, the cart subtotal, or even customer’s location.

This flexibility means you can create targeted offers that really match what your customers need—like discounts for buying in bulk, special deals for certain locations, or price breaks for loyal customers. Overall, conditions make setting up powerful, tailored discount strategies easy.

Let’s get back to creating the quantity-based WooCommerce automatic discount.

This time, start with the Cart option. For storewide quantity discount, select All Products.

Enter your percentage value and hit the Add Condition button.

Select the Cart Items Quantity condition from the filters.

To set the 15% off for a minimum 5 or more products, select the Greater Than Or Equal option and insert your value.

Here’s how this automatic discount WooCommerce ​plugin displays the result when conditions are met.

How to Setup Cart Subtotal-Based WooCommerce Automatic Discount?

• Example: Apply a 10% discount when the cart total exceeds $100.

WooCommerce cart discounts encourage customers to spend a bit more to unlock a discount, helping increase the average order value.

As you might have expected, you need to start with the Cart discount intention. Select your products and set the percentage value.

You can only configure cart total-based discount strategies through the Cart Subtotal condition. Select the condition from the filters.

Again, we will go with Greater Than Or Equal for a cart total of $100 or more.

Test the discount rule by adding $100 or more worth of items to the cart. It should automatically apply a 10% off to the cart subtotal.

How to Offer Automatic Bulk Discounts in WooCommerce?

• Example: Offer a 10% discount for 3-5 items, 15% for 6-10 items, and 20% for 11+ items.

WooCommerce bulk discounts encourage customers to buy in larger quantities, which is ideal for stores selling consumables or essentials. Select the Bulk option from the discount intention and select your products.

We have 3 sets of discount rules we need to apply in the Bulk Rules section.

• 3-5 items: Offer a 10% discount.
• 6-10 items: Offer a 15% discount.
• 11+ items: Offer a 20% discount.

So we will need to add a total of 3 rows. Let’s input the first set of values in the initial row.

Type 3 in the Minimum Quantity box, 5 in the Maximum Quantity box, select the percentage option and enter your value. Next, click on Add More.

Enter your next set of values and add another row.

Similarly, input your final set of values. Note that leaving a quantity box empty allows unlimited entries.

In this case, for items over 11, we have kept the Maximum Quantity field empty so that any number over 11 gets the 20% discount.

Let’s add items between 3-5 and check the result.

For products between 6-10 items, here’s how the automatic cart discount WooCommerce rule applies.

Lastly, for 11+ items, here’s the result.

How to Create Category-Based WooCommerce Automatic Discount?

• Example: Apply a 15% discount on all products within the “Summer Collection” category.

Through a WooCommerce category discount strategy, you can target specific categories to promote seasonal items or reduce excess inventory.

You can select either the Product or the Cart option for this discount rule. Specify your product settings and set your percentage value.

Add the condition called Categories from the condition filters.

Search and select the category you are targeting.

After saving the rule, the plugin will automatically start displaying the discounted rates in the target category and relevant product pages.

How to Setup WooCommerce Automatic Discount Using Custom Codes?

The only built-in WooCommerce discount tool is the coupon feature, which requires customers to enter coupon codes manually at checkout. Unfortunately, WooCommerce doesn’t have a default setting for automatic discounts.

However, you can apply custom codes to set up an automatic WooCommerce discount. You can even apply custom codes to auto-apply coupon codes on the cart page, which we have covered previously..

• How to Automatically Apply Coupon in WooCommerce

For this article, we will create a complete automatic discount rule without coupons or plugins using custom codes in WooCommerce. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a $10 fixed WooCommerce automatic discount when the cart subtotal is $100 or more.

Step 1: Access Your Theme’s Functions File

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance > Theme Editor.

3. Select the functions.php file in your active theme.

Step 2: Add Custom Code

Copy and paste the following code at the end of the functions.php file:

add_action( 'woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees', 'apply_fixed_discount', 10, 1 );

function apply_fixed_discount( $cart ) {

if ( is_admin() || ! is_cart() && ! is_checkout() ) return;

// Define the cart subtotal condition and discount amount

$required_subtotal = 100;

$discount_amount = 10;

if ( $cart->subtotal >= $required_subtotal ) {

     // Apply a fixed discount of $10

     $cart->add_fee( __( 'Automatic Discount', 'woocommerce' ), -$discount_amount );

}

}

Step 3: Save the File

After adding the code, save the functions.php file. This code will automatically apply a $10 discount at checkout if the cart subtotal is $100 or more.

Step 4: Test the Discount

Visit your store’s cart or checkout page, add items totaling $100 or more, and check if the discount is applied.

This method allows you to implement WooCommerce automatic discounts without relying on plugins. Feel free to adjust the $required_subtotal and $discount_amount variables to match your desired discount criteria.

Benefits of WooCommerce Automatic Discount Strategies

Automatic discounts in WooCommerce can be a game-changer for your online store. By streamlining the checkout process, incentivizing purchases, and fostering customer loyalty, these dynamic tools can significantly boost your sales and revenue.

Let’s explore the benefits in detail.

Enhanced Customer Experience

• Seamless Checkout: By automating the discount application process, you eliminate customers’ need to enter coupon codes manually. This reduces friction and encourages more purchases.
• Personalized Shopping Experience: Automatic discounts can be tailored to individual customers based on their purchase history, loyalty status, or other criteria. This level of personalization enhances customer satisfaction and fosters loyalty.

Increased Sales and Revenue

• Higher Average Order Value: Implement tiered discounts to encourage customers to spend more. For example, offer a 5% discount for orders over $50 and a 10% discount for orders over $100.
• Reduced Cart Abandonment: Automatically applying discounts to cart totals can incentivize customers to complete their purchases, reducing cart abandonment rates.
• Improved Conversion Rates: Streamlining the checkout process and offering attractive discounts can significantly improve your conversion rates.

Strategic Marketing

• Targeted Promotions: Use automatic discounts to target specific customer segments, such as first-time buyers, repeat customers, or members of a loyalty program. For instance, you can offer a welcome discount to new customers or a birthday discount to returning customers.
• Seasonal Sales: Implement time-based automatic discounts to capitalize on seasonal trends and holidays. For example, you can offer a 20% discount on all winter clothing during the holiday season.
• Inventory Management: Clear out excess stock by offering automatic discounts on slow-moving products. This can help you free up storage space and improve your cash flow.
• Customer Loyalty: Reward loyal customers with exclusive discounts based on their purchase history or membership status. This can help you build a strong customer base and encourage repeat business.

Wrap up

Adding automatic discounts in WooCommerce can make shopping more convenient and enjoyable for customers by removing the need for manual coupon codes.

This guide has covered simple ways to set up automatic discounts, whether using plugins or custom code. With these tools, you can tailor promotions that drive sales and encourage larger orders.

Implementing WooCommerce automatic discount is a straightforward way to enhance the customer experience, boost engagement, and ultimately improve your store’s conversion rates.

However, remember to analyze your sales data, experiment with different discount strategies, and continuously optimize your approach to maximize the impact of automatic discounts on your business.