Why can't I base a discount on the subtotal after other discounts?

Shopify doesn’t allow discounts to be applied in a specific order. This means you can’t create a product discount that depends on the subtotal after another discount has already been applied.

Common Questions and Use Cases

• “Can I trigger an auto add to cart discount only if the order subtotal is $50 after other discounts?”
• “Can I apply a discount based on the final price in the cart?”

Why this happens

Shopify runs product discounts and order discounts in parallel using their Functions API. That means:

• Product discounts (e.g. auto add to cart) are calculated at the same time as order discounts
• No discount can "see" the effect of another
• You cannot apply one discount based on the result of another

This is a Shopify platform limitation — not something our app can override.

What about order or shipping discounts?

Order discounts can now use the Stack Discounts on Top of Sale Price And Product Discounts Option.

There is an open feature request for supporting discounts based on the subtotal after product discounts in shipping and order discounts. Please upvote it here: https://regios-technologies-inc.canny.io/feature-requests/p/have-a-discount-be-triggered-by-a-certain-total-and-not-by-a-subtotal

Workarounds

There’s no way to make discounts apply in sequence, but here are tips:

• Set clear eligibility rules based on pre-discount subtotal
• Use customer tags, cart contents, or other conditions to control when discounts apply
• Add explanatory messages or labels to help customers understand what triggered the discount

Updated on: 21/10/2025