Actinic Business and Designer allow you to apply a discount (e.g. a special offer) based the products that the customer has selected. Discounts/offers that are based on products ordered are set up in 'Marketing | Discounts and Surcharges Settings | Cart Contents'.
Note: Before you can apply the discount/offer, you must create the groups of products that discounts will be applied to. These products are created in 'Marketing | Product Groups.' and are explained in Putting Products Into Groups.
The 'Show Discounts of Product Group' field at the top of this tab is used to filter the list of discounts if you need to find information about a specific discount.
In the area on the left, click 'New' to enter a new discount name in the field provided.
Click 'Remove' to remove the currently selected discount name from the list.
Use the arrows at the side to change the order of the discounts. The order will determine the order that they are applied in the online store.
One you have created a discount, you can start configuring it. When setting up a cart contents discount, you need to configure the following:
· Properties - in the 'General' tab - What conditions will activate the discount? Are you using a coupon?
· Reward - in the 'General' tab - What is the customer going to get when they meet the conditions of the discount/offer?
· Restrictions -in the 'Restrictions' tab - Is the discount for a set time period? Is it only activated by certain payment methods, customer accounts?
· Presentation - in the 'Presentation' tab - How will the discount appear in the shopping cart? How will the discount be described within the product?
The 'Properties' area is in the 'General' tab. The settings within this area are as follows:
|
Field |
Meaning |
|
Enabled |
Select this box to enable the discount. |
|
Based On |
Quantity - Select this if you want the discount to be applied based on the number of products that the customer has put in their shopping cart. Value - Select this if you want the discount to be applied based on the value of the products within the shopping cart. If you want the value to be including tax, then you can choose between applying it on the 'default' tax value (applied to all customers as they start shopping) or on the 'actual tax' value - which will be worked out in the final stage of the checkout. |
|
Trigger |
If you are basing the discount on the number of items added to the cart (quantity) then enter the number of items here that will trigger the discount. If you are basing it on the amount spent (value) then enter the value here that will activate the discount. This value needs to be exclusive of any tax. |
|
Requires Coupon Code |
Select this box if you want this discount to not be activated until a customer enters a coupon code (or has followed a link that activates the coupon). Coupons are discussed in An Introduction To Discounts. You can enter the text for the coupon code here. |
|
Copy URL To Clipboard |
Click this button to copy a hyperlink to the clipboard. This hyperlink will take customers to your store, and automatically activate the coupon. You can give this link to your customers who you want to use the coupon. This will not be available until you have set up your web site details (see What Do You Need To Get Your Store Online?) |
|
Product Group |
The product group that this discount will apply to. If you have 'All' selected in the 'Show Discounts of Product Group' field at the top then use this field to set the product group for this discount. If you have a product group selected in the 'Show Discounts of Product Group' field at the top, then this field will be greyed out. |
The 'Rewards' area is in the 'General' tab. A reward is the benefit a customer will get by complying with all the requirements for this discount/offer.
In the 'Reward Type' drop-down, there are the following options:
|
Option |
Meaning |
|
Money Off |
Select this option if you want to take a money amount off the value of the order. Enter the amount to take off in the 'Reward Amount' field. This value must be positive. |
|
% Off |
Select this option if you want take a percentage off the value of the items in the product group. Enter the percentage value to take off in the 'Reward Amount' field. For example '33.00' will take a third off the value of the products. The value must be positive. |
|
% Off Cheapest |
Select this option if you want take a percentage off the value of the cheapest item in the product group that the customer has ordered. Enter a percentage value to take off the product value in the 'Reward Amount' field. For example, if you enter '100.00' in the 'Reward Amount' field, the cheapest item in the product group will be given free. The value must be positive. |
|
Money Off Extra Product |
Select this option if you want to the reward to be an extra item from the store with a certain amount of money taken off the value. Enter a cash amount in the 'Reward Amount' field. Then select 'Product' underneath and select a product from the list if you want the reward to be a specific product from your store, or select 'Product Group' underneath and select a product group from the list if you want the reward to be any product from a product group. For example: "Buy any cookery book and get 5.00 off the value of any pans". |
|
% Off Extra Product |
Select this option if you want to the reward to be an extra item from the store with a percentage taken off the value. Enter a percentage value to take off in the 'Reward Amount' field. Then select 'Product' underneath and select a product from the list if you want the reward to be a specific product from your store, or select 'Product Group' underneath and select a product group from the list if you want the reward to be any product from a product group. For example: "Buy any CD and get this DVD free" - to get the product free, enter '100.00' in the 'Reward Amount' field. |
|
Fixed Price |
Select this option if you want the reward to be getting the items in the product group at a fixed price. Enter the fixed price in the 'Reward Amount' field. |
Select 'Only One Reward Per Order' if you only want one instance of this discount to be applied on the shopping cart contents. If this is not selected, then multiple applications of the discount will be allowed.
For example, if the offer was 'spend £10 get £1 off', then if the customer spent £35, they would get £1 off if 'Only One Reward Per Order' was checked, but the customer would get £3 off if it was not checked.
Also, if the trigger amount for a discount is £0.01, and 'Only One Reward Per Order' is unchecked, then the reward will be applied for each £0.01 spent by the customer. This could very easily result in the reward amount equalling the value of the items in the shopping cart!
Finally, if you have created more than one discount with the same reward type, then within the 'Miscellaneous' tab you can choose to group all discounts with a similar reward type into a single discount information line (underneath the online shopping cart). Look at the options under 'Consolidate Cart Discount Lines For:' in the 'Miscellaneous' tab.
The 'Restrictions' tab is where you specify extra conditions that must be met before the discount will be activated.
|
Field |
Meaning |
|
Valid From |
Select this box and enter a date that you want the discount to start at. Click the down arrow to see a calendar. |
|
Valid Until |
Select this box and enter a date that you want the discount to end at. Click the down arrow to see a calendar. The discount will end right at the start of the date specified here. Obviously, this must be after the 'Valid From' date (if specified). |
|
Restricted to Payment |
Select this box if you want the discount to only be applied when customers pay by a particular payment method. Click the '+' in the top-left to add a row to the grid. The payment methods available to choose from are specified in 'Business Settings | Payment and Security' (see Selecting Your Online Payment Methods). To remove a row, right-click and select 'Delete Row'. |
|
Restricted to Customer Group |
Select this box if you want the discount to only be available to selected customer groups (also known as 'price schedules'). Click the '+' in the top-left to add a row to the grid. The customer groups available to choose from are specified in 'Marketing | Customer Groups' (see Customer Groups). To remove a row, right-click and select 'Delete Row'. |
The 'Presentation' tab is where you control how the discount will be presented to customers in the online store. The settings within this area are described below:
|
Field |
Meaning |
|
Description for Product |
Enter here the text to be used for the product details online to describe the discount. This text will either appear against the relevant product, or above the list of products, depending on the options selected in the 'Discount Description' area of the 'Miscellaneous' tab. If you are using a link to the free product (see below), then you can use [PRODUCTLINK] within this field where you want this link to appear. If you are offering customers a selection of free products (a product group) they can choose from, then use [GROUPLINK] within this field where you want the link to appear. This group of products will be shown as a list of search results. |
|
Use Link to Product Group |
If, within the product description online, you want to include a link to the free product that is being offered as the reward, then select this box, and then enter the text for the link in the 'Link Text' field. See 'Description for Product' (above) for details on including this link into the online store. |
|
Use Link to Reward Product |
If, within the product description online, you want to include a link to a selection of free products (product group) that customers can choose from for their reward, then select this box, and then enter the text for the link in the 'Link Text' field. See 'Description for Product' (above) for details on including this link into the online store. |
There are some controls about where this message appears in the 'Miscellaneous' tab within 'Marketing | Discounts and Surcharges Settings'. These options are:
|
Field |
Meaning |
|
Show Discount Description: |
|
|
Against Each Product |
The discount description from the 'Presentation' area will be shown above the 'Add to Cart' button for each product. |
|
Above the List of Products |
The discount description from the 'Presentation' area will be shown at the top of the product list on the section page. |
Some examples of these sorts of discounts can be found in Examples Of Special Offers.