Introduction:
A first order discount is a promotional offer given to customers who are making their initial/ first purchase in your store. It is a best way to incentivize new customers to try your products or services by providing a discount on their first order.
With Discount Rules for WooCommerce plugin, we can effortlessly create a first order discount. For instance, we can provide a free product for new customers who are placing their first order.
This user guide explains how to implement First Order Discount in your WooCommerce store.
Prerequisites / Requirements:
This discount scenario is unique and exclusively caters to first-time customers. Therefore, it is essential for the system to determine whether the visitor is making their initial purchase.
The scenario requires verifying the below information:
- Determining whether the visitor is a returning customer or a first-time visitor.
- Checking the purchase history to confirm that no previous orders have been placed.
- To establish these facts, it is necessary for the visitor to provide an email at checkout, register, or log in. Based on their email or account, we can validate whether they are a first-time customer or a returning customer.
When a visitor comes to your site, there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to determine if he is
A first-time visitor
A returning customer
The only way to establish and validate his status is when he provides his email at checkout, log in, or register. Once the visitor provides their email,
We can check it against the orders in the system.
If there are no orders associated with that email, the visitor is considered a first-time customer and is eligible for a discount.
If there are orders associated with that email, the visitor is identified as a returning customer and is not eligible for a discount.
Consequently, the discount scenario can be executed only:
When a customer enters their email at checkout,
(or) logs in
(or) registers
This is because we can't determine if they are a returning customer or a first-time visitor until these actions are performed.
Example scenarios:
First-time customers enjoy a store wide 15% discount.
Receive a Free Product "Bag" with your first order.
Enjoy “Free Shipping” as a warm welcome to your first order.
Now, let’s take a look at the example one by one in detail.
To create discount rules with First Order conditions, you need to have the Discount Rules PRO plugin installed and activated. You can purchase the PRO version by clicking on the provided button.
Example 1 : First-time customers enjoy a store wide 15% discount
This discount offers New customers a 15% discount on all products throughout the store. This offer encourages them to become regular customers on your site, fostering a strong relationship.
Creating a Discount Rule:
Go to WordPress dashboard -> Woocommerce -> Discount Rules -> Click on “Add New Rule” button
Select the discount types as “Product Adjustment”
Then configure the discount rule as seen in the below screenshot:
Details of configurations are:
Choose "All Products" (storewide) from the filter options. You also have options like specific Categories, selected Products, Attributes, Tags, Sku’s and so on… You can choose the option depending upon your requirement.
Set the discount type to a 15% percentage discount. You also have options to choose Fixed discount or Fixed discount per product
Include “First Order” as additional condition and set it as “Yes”
Click on “SAVE” once we have successfully created the rule.
First-time customers will now receive a store-wide 10% discount on their initial purchase.
Here is the cart page screenshot of a first-time customer :
Example 2 : Receive a Free Product "Bag" with your first order
This discount offers new customers a Free Product "Bag" with their first order. If it's their initial purchase on your site, the free product will be automatically added to their cart.
Creating a Discount Rule:
Go to WordPress dashboard -> Woocommerce -> Discount Rules -> Click on “Add New Rule” button
Select the discount types as “Product Adjustment”
Then configure the discount rule as seen in the below screenshot:
Details of configurations are:
Step 1: Choose "All Products" (storewide) from the filter options (buy X section). You also have options like specific Categories, selected Products, Attributes, Tags, Sku’s and so on… You can choose the option depending upon your requirement.
Step 2: Choose “Buy X get Y - Products” in the Discount/ Get Y section. You also have other options like “Buy X Get Y - All” or “Buy X Get Y - Categories” depending on your requirement.
Step 3: Choose how to count the quantities as -> Filter set above (count all quantities in cart as together. For example, if a customer buys 2 of Product A and 3 of Product B, our plugin count 5 products as together)
Step 4: Select the mode of application as
Autoadd
Set minimum quantity as 1, leave maximum quantity section as empty, set free quantity as 1 and choose the free product “Bag” by typing a few characters of that product.
Choose the discount type as FREE (you can also set Percentage or Fixed Discount) and
Step 5: Add additional condition as “First Order” and set is as “Yes”
Step 6: Save the rule.
For first-time customers, a "Bag" product will be automatically added to the cart as a Free gift.
Here is the cart page screenshot of a first-time customer :
Example 3 : Enjoy “Free Shipping” as a warm welcome to your first order.
First-time customers can enjoy free shipping on their initial order with this scenario.
Creating a Discount Rule:
Go to WordPress dashboard -> Woocommerce -> Discount Rules -> Click on “Add New Rule” button
Select the discount types as “Free Shipping”
Then configure the discount rule as seen in the below screenshot:
Details of configurations are:
Give a title for this rule and click on the “Add condition” button
Select the “First Order” as additional condition and set it as “Yes”
Click on “SAVE” once we have successfully created the rule.
For first-time customers, Free shipping will get enabled on their order.
Screenshot showing Free Shipping applied at cart for initial purchase:
The above discussed scenarios require a PRO version.
Note:
The plugin checks the condition “First Order” based on the email address.
For guest users, the discounts will be applied in checkout only after entering the email address.
When configuring conditions based on shipping, you can select "Yes" for "Refresh order review in checkout" in our settings tab.
Since the shipping information is updated during checkout, discounts will be applied based on the updated shipping details. When the "Refresh order review in checkout" option is set to "Yes," the checkout process will be refreshed, and discounts will be automatically updated.
Next Steps:
You may also want to check out these helpful guides:
Refer this video to know more about how to provide discount on customer's first order:
Still unclear ?
If you need any assistance, please create a support request at our ticket system. We are always happy to assist you :)