Shopify discount not applying: a checklist

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

A discount that doesn't apply almost always fails one of a few checks: it isn't active or is outside its dates, the customer or market isn't eligible, the cart misses a requirement, or it can't combine with a discount already on the cart, in which case Shopify keeps the better one. Work through the checklist below in order. If the discount comes from SMART Bundles, finish with the app checks at the end.

Start with what the customer sees

The checklist

1. Status and dates

• The discount is Active, its start date has passed and its end date hasn't. Start and end times follow the time zone set in your Shopify admin (Buy X get Y discounts).
• Deactivating and reactivating a code, or renaming it, doesn't reset its usage history (Discounts FAQ).

2. Customer eligibility

• Check who the discount is for: All customers, Specific customers, Customer segments or Markets (Amount off discounts).
• Segment discounts apply only to existing customers. A first-time buyer has no customer profile yet, so joins segments only after the first order (Discounts FAQ).

3. Markets

• A discount limited to markets works only for customers in those markets. You can assign B2B, country or region, and retail markets, but not channel markets (Discounts and gift cards in Markets).
• Fixed amounts are converted at checkout at the current exchange rate, so a converted amount can vary slightly over time.

4. Products and minimums

• The items in the cart are the products or collections the discount applies to. For a product discount, only those items count toward a minimum purchase amount (Amount off discounts).
• A minimum purchase amount counts product prices only, never shipping or taxes.
• In a Buy X get Y discount, items count toward the minimum at full price, before other discounts, and an item already discounted by another product discount it combines with doesn't count at all (Buy X get Y discounts).
• Most discounts can't apply to gift cards (Discounts FAQ).
• A discount worth $0 or 0% might not work at checkout. Shopify suggests at least $0.01 or 1% (Combining discounts).

5. Combinations

• Both discounts must allow each other's class (product, order or shipping).
• Outside Shopify Plus, two product discounts never share one item: the better one applies. Items in a Buy X get Y discount can't get another product discount.
• Only one shipping discount applies to an order.
• Details and examples: How to combine discounts on Shopify.

6. Limits

• At most 25 automatic discounts can be active, app discounts included (Automatic discounts).
• A customer can use up to 5 product or order codes and 1 shipping code per order (Combining discounts).

7. Code or automatic

• Automatic: the customer must add every eligible item to the cart, including the promotional ones. Nothing is added for them (Automatic discounts, Buy X get Y discounts).
• Code: the code checkout field appears only while at least 1 code is active. Draft order invoice checkouts don't show it by default, Shop Pay customers must log in first, and some third-party apps hide it (Discounts FAQ).
• Discounts created in the Shopify admin don't apply on the post-purchase page.

8. POS

• Automatic discounts apply on every sales channel except POS unless you turn them on there, and only for locations with a POS Pro subscription: select Apply on POS Pro locations when eligibility is All customers, or assign a Retail market when eligibility is Markets (Managing sales channel settings for discounts).

9. B2B

• In a store that sells to both, a discount set to All customers, Specific customers or Customer segments applies to B2B and direct customers alike. To limit one to B2B, assign a B2B market in its eligibility (Setting up B2B discounts).
• Discounts apply on top of B2B catalog prices.

10. Checkout and channel

• Discounts combine only on Online Store, Storefront API and POS orders. External checkouts such as Facebook, Instagram or Google don't combine them (Combining discounts).
• If the offer comes from an app that shows it on the product page or adds items to the cart, check that the app's theme app embed is on in your published theme.

SMART Bundles checks

In Shopify admin the app is SMART Discounts. Its bundles and other discounts are Shopify discounts, so the checklist above applies first. Then check these:

1. App embed. In Online Store > Themes > Customize > App embeds, turn on the SMART Discounts app embed, listed as Deal widget, and save the theme. The app's Home shows App embed as Active or Inactive, with a Turn on app embed button. Without the embed, shoppers see no bundle widget and Free gift adds no gift (Turn on the app embed).
2. Active and in its dates. The discount shows Active on Home, not Scheduled, Draft, Expired or Inactive. For a bundle, check the dates under Settings tab > Active dates.
3. The product is targeted. Show this bundle on (All products, Products or Collections) includes it, and Exclude products doesn't remove it. Bundles target whole products: every variant counts.
4. Tiers count per product. A Quantity breaks offer counts each product on its own, its variants together, so 2 of shirt A and 1 of shirt B don't reach "Buy 3". To count different products together, use a Mix and match offer. With Only full packs of N get the discount, leftover units pay full price.
5. Eligibility. Settings tab > Eligibility: Markets (outside them the widget hides and checkout gives no discount), Exclude B2B, and Exclude POS, which is on for new bundles, so a new bundle gives no discount on POS sales.
6. Widget-only rule. With Apply the discount only to items added through the widget ticked (it's off by default), items added another way, like a quick add on a collection page, pay full price.
7. Combinations. Settings tab > Combines with on the bundle, plus the matching setting on the other discount.
8. Free gift. The gift product is active on the Online Store sales channel, the tier is reached by the counted products and isn't above a maximum, and the customer passes tags, New customers only and Markets. A code must be in the cart, not typed only at checkout. Buy it now and express buttons skip the cart, so no gift is added. Free gift never applies in POS. More: Free gift not added to the cart.
9. Buy X get Y type. It never adds the Y item. The customer adds it, then the discount applies.
10. Checkout. The app's discounts run in Shopify's own checkout only. A checkout that replaces Shopify's, and headless storefronts, don't run them.
11. Widget missing. A product page shows one bundle, and products with more than 250 variants get no widget. See Bundle widget not showing.

Test it the way a customer would

1. Open the store in a private window, so no old cart or customer session gets in the way.
2. Switch to a market the discount covers, and sign in as an eligible customer if it targets tags or segments.
3. Add the qualifying items and check the cart, then checkout.
4. If a different discount applies, look in Shopify admin > Discounts for other active automatic discounts on the same products.

App-specific troubleshooting: Discount not applying.

Frequently asked questions