A promotion is a tool with a goal: clear stock, bring people in on slow hours, or raise the basket. Decide the goal first, then the type. Promotions apply automatically at checkout; when several match, the best price for the customer wins, so they never stack.
Signs you need one
- Product close to expiry or slow in Inventory Analytics → Turnover.
- Reports → Hourly Breakdown shows a Slowest: window you want to fill.
- A supplier gave you a better cost and you want to pass some of it on.
What to do right now
- Open Promotions → New Promotion. Under Basics, give it a short name staff will recognise and choose the Type: Discount or Combo.
- For a Discount, pick Percent or Fixed amount. Under Applies to, choose Store-wide or select specific products and categories.
- For a Combo, build the Composition (slots with a quantity each) and the Pricing: Bundle price, Percent off, Fixed amount off or Cheapest free. Products and categories must be marked Combo eligible in Inventory → Catalog first.
- Under When, set the Active dates. Turn on Recurring to limit it to certain weekdays and a Start time to End time window.
- Read the Summary and the example price, then save. The promotion shows in the list as Active now or Scheduled.
- Tell the cashiers. The discount shows on the cart line at Checkout, so they can explain it to customers.
Decide
| If… | Then… |
|---|---|
| The goal is to clear one product before it expires | Discount, Percent, that product only, short Active dates. Check its margin so you stay above cost. |
| The goal is to fill a slow window | Discount on a category, Recurring on those weekdays with a Start time and End time. |
| The goal is a bigger basket | Combo with Bundle price or Cheapest free across complementary products. |
| You want a round price customers remember | Fixed amount off, or a Combo with Bundle price. |
| Two promotions cover the same product | Only the better price applies. If you meant them to add up, make one promotion with the total discount. |
Afterwards, and how to prevent problems
- After a few days open Reports → Product Sales for the promotion dates and look at Units Sold, Revenue and Margin for the products involved. More units with a much lower margin is not a win.
- Compare Hourly Breakdown before and during a time-window promotion to see if the slow hours actually moved.
- Pause a promotion with its toggle in the list instead of deleting it; completed sales keep the price they were charged either way.
- Watch for Needs review in the promotion list; it means something it targets has changed.
- Editing a promotion only affects future sales.