Bundles with POS, subscriptions and pre-orders: what works on Shopify

Updated November 2, 2026 · SMART Bundles App & Upsells (E-TRADE PARTNER)

Shopify's own Bundles app doesn't work with purchase options such as subscriptions and pre-orders, and automatic discounts apply in POS only at POS Pro locations. In SMART Bundles App & Upsells, a bundle's discount runs in POS only when you untick Exclude POS (it's ticked for new bundles), Free gift never applies in POS, and a bundle's Subscribe and save option uses your subscription app's selling plans and discounts the first subscription order only.

The short version

Sources: Shopify Bundles, Eligibility and considerations, Discounts in Shopify POS, Subscription discounts, Pre-orders and TBYB. The sections below give the details.

POS

Shopify's rules

• Automatic discounts apply to POS orders only at locations with a POS Pro subscription (Discounts in Shopify POS). In Shopify's own discount editor that's the Apply on POS Pro locations option, or a Retail market (Buy X get Y).
• Discounts from an app built with Discount Functions can apply in Shopify POS, so the discounts you run online can also run at the register (Discounts in Shopify POS). Shopify's developer docs add that app discounts apply automatically at POS for Pro locations (DiscountAutomaticAppInput).
• Staff can remove an automatic discount for one sale from the POS cart: More actions > Automatic discounts (Applying discounts).
• POS follows the same combination rules as online orders, and discounts must be set as combinable in your admin (Combining discounts in POS).
• Products made with the Shopify Bundles app can be sold on the Online Store, Shop and Shopify POS channels (Shopify Bundles).

SMART Bundles in POS

• Bundles: the Settings tab > Eligibility has Exclude POS ("No discount on sales in your retail store (Shopify POS)"). It's ticked for new bundles. An older bundle may show it unticked, so check each bundle you sell in store.
• With Exclude POS unticked, the bundle's discount can apply to a POS cart that holds the qualifying items, under Shopify's POS Pro rule for automatic discounts. The widget itself (offer cards, gifts, add-ons) is an online store feature.
• Free gift: never applies in POS. A gift rung up at the register is charged.
• Volume discount, Order goal, Buy X get Y, Shipping discount, Advanced discount: these are Shopify Functions too. The app has no POS setting for them, so Shopify's POS rules decide where they apply.

More: POS support.

Subscriptions

Shopify's rules

• Shopify Bundles aren't compatible with purchase options (subscriptions, pre-orders, try before you buy) or with the Shopify Subscriptions app (Eligibility and considerations).
• When you sell subscriptions, a Buy X get Y, amount off or free shipping discount can apply to subscription purchases, one-time purchases or both. In Buy X get Y, the "get" item must be a one-time purchase. Free shipping can be limited to the first payment or a number of payments (Subscription discounts).
• App discounts carry a recurring cycle limit: the number of billing cycles the discount can apply to (DiscountAutomaticAppInput).
• Subscriptions are supported in Shopify POS, and subscriptions can't be used with B2B (Pre-orders and TBYB).

SMART Bundles with subscriptions

• Bundles: Extras tab > Subscriptions adds a "Subscribe and save" / "One-time purchase" choice above or below the offers. It uses the product's own selling plans from whatever subscription app your shop uses. Only recurring plans count; a product without one shows no Subscribe option.
• Once the extra is on, each offer has Allow subscription. It works on Quantity breaks, Buy X, get Y and Mix and match offers, but not on Complete the bundle, Alternative product or a Mix and match offer whose shoppers pick the products. Upsell add-ons are always one-time.
• The bundle discount covers the first subscription order only. The app saves bundles with a recurring cycle limit of 1, and the bundle editor has no setting to change it.
• Volume, Order goal, Buy X get Y, Shipping and Advanced discounts have a Purchase types card: Applies on one time purchases, Applies on subscription purchases (off by default) and Recurring cycle limit (1 by default; 0 means every billing cycle).
• With Applies on subscription purchases off, Volume, Order goal, Buy X get Y and Shipping discounts don't apply to a cart that holds any item with a selling plan. Advanced discount can also target lines with the Has selling plan product group.

Setup: Subscriptions in a bundle.

Pre-orders

Shopify's rules

• You sell pre-orders through a pre-order app (Pre-orders). Developers build them as selling plans with pricing, delivery, inventory and billing policies (Pre-orders and TBYB).
• Pre-orders can't be used through Shopify POS or on draft orders, don't support Buy X get Y discounts, and can't be used with B2B (Pre-orders and TBYB).
• Shopify Bundles aren't compatible with pre-orders (Eligibility and considerations).

SMART Bundles with pre-orders

• Volume, Order goal, Buy X get Y and Shipping check whether a cart line has a selling plan. A pre-order sold with a selling plan therefore counts as a subscription purchase, and the app can't tell the two apart. Tick Applies on subscription purchases if those discounts should apply to carts with pre-order items.
• The bundle widget's Subscribe option lists only recurring plans. Pre-order and try before you buy plans never show there.
• Quantity breaks, Buy X, get Y and Mix and match (without the picker) keep the purchase option the shopper chose in your theme's product form, such as a pre-order option, unless the widget shows its own Subscribe and save choice on that product. Complete the bundle, Alternative product and Mix and match with shoppers picking the products always add one-time items.
• Pre-order apps differ, so test a real cart with a pre-order item before you launch a bundle on that product.

Checklist before you launch

1. Selling in store? Decide per bundle whether Exclude POS stays ticked, and test at a POS Pro location.
2. Running Free gift? Tell store staff the gift isn't free at the register.
3. Selling subscriptions in a bundle? Turn on the Subscriptions extra and Allow subscription on the offers, and tell shoppers the bundle saving applies to the first order.
4. Using Volume, Order goal, Buy X get Y or Shipping with subscriptions or selling plan pre-orders? Set Purchase types on each one.
5. Test a real cart in the online store for each case: a one-time cart, a subscription cart and a cart with a pre-order item.

Frequently asked questions