What is a discount or promotion?
Discounts and promotions are pricing incentives you offer customers — a percentage off, a fixed amount deducted, free shipping, or a special price for a limited time. On Cartva, you create discount codes customers enter at checkout, or configure automatic discounts that apply when conditions are met.
Promotions are a standard ecommerce tool for launching products, clearing inventory, rewarding repeat customers, and measuring marketing campaign effectiveness.
Discount types
- Percentage off — e.g., 20% off the order or specific items
- Fixed amount off — e.g., $10 off orders over $50
- Free shipping — Waive shipping cost when conditions are met
- Buy X get Y — Structured promotions for bundles (where supported)
How it works on Cartva
Discount management is in the Products or Discounts section of your dashboard.
Creating a discount
- Name and code — Internal name plus the customer-facing code (e.g.,
SUMMER20) - Value — Percentage or fixed amount to deduct
- Applies to — Entire order, specific products, collections, or categories
- Conditions — Minimum order value, maximum uses, start and end dates
- Save — Active discounts are valid when conditions are met
At checkout
Customers enter the code in the discount field. Cartva validates the code against current conditions and adjusts the order total before payment. Invalid, expired, or ineligible codes show an error message.
Automatic discounts
Some promotions apply without a code — for example, 10% off all items during a date range. These appear in the order summary automatically when the cart qualifies.
Tracking
Discount usage appears on individual orders. Review analytics to see how promotions affect revenue and order volume during campaigns.
Who it's for
Discounts serve merchants running intentional promotions, not as a default pricing strategy.
Good fit:
- Launch promotions for new product lines or seasonal sales
- Influencer or affiliate campaigns with unique trackable codes
- First-order incentives to convert new customers
- Clearing end-of-season inventory
Use carefully when:
- Constant discounting trains customers to never pay full price
- Margins on dropship or POD products are too thin for deep discounts
What you control vs what Cartva handles
| You control | Cartva handles |
|---|---|
| Discount values, codes, and eligibility rules | Code validation at checkout |
| Which products or collections qualify | Order total recalculation |
| Start/end dates and usage limits | Preventing expired or over-limit redemptions |
| Marketing and distribution of codes | Recording discount amount on order records |
| Whether to run automatic vs code-based promos | Display of savings in checkout summary |
You design the promotion strategy. Cartva enforces rules and applies discounts accurately at purchase time.
Pricing model
Discount tools are included in your Cartva subscription. The cost of discounts is borne by your margin:
- Revenue impact — A 20% discount reduces your revenue per order by that amount
- No per-redemption platform fee — Cartva does not charge extra each time a code is used
- Payment processing — Gateway fees typically apply to the discounted total, not the pre-discount amount
Calculate whether discounted orders still cover product cost, shipping, and fees — especially for low-margin imported or POD products.