Creating a "fixed price on the subtotal of catalog entries" promotion

This promotion type offers a specified number of catalog entries at a fixed (discounted) price. The fixed price applies to the subtotal of the qualifying catalog entries, not to individual catalog entries. Typically, promotions of this type are used to reduce inventory by encouraging customers to purchase multiple items in a single order.

Promotion summary
Purchase condition Order contains a specified number of catalog entries.
Reward The subtotal of the catalog entries is offered at a fixed (discounted) price.
Examples of promotions based on this promotion type
  • Buy 3 Ava Rosewater soaps, pay $10 for all 3.

About this task

If your promotion allows for unlimited redemption per order, the promotional discount applies for each group of qualifying catalog entries. The promotion applies the discount to the lowest priced catalog entries first. If your promotion offers a discount for three Ava Rosewater hand soaps purchased with an unlimited redemption limit per order, when a shopper purchases seven bars of hand soap, the discount applies to the six lowest priced items first. The final, highest priced item remains at full price.
Note: Since the promotion logic applies the discount to the lowest prices catalog entries first, you might encounter scenarios where no discounts are applied. The promotion logic sorts the items in the cart from lowest price to highest price, and then groups the items based on the group quantity that you set for the promotion. The promotion engine evaluates each group, and then applies a discount if the group meets the criteria. For example, consider the same three hand soap promotion. If there are four items in the cart priced at $9, $3, $5, $1, then the items are sorted and grouped as follows:
  • Group 1: $1, $3, $5
  • Group 2: $9
Since no groups exceed a total of $10, no discount is applied to the subtotal.

Procedure

  1. Open the Promotions tool.
  2. HCL Commerce Version 9.1.16.0 or later Open Management Center tools and from the left navigation menu, click Business tools > Promotions > Promotions.
  3. From the toolbar, click New New > Promotion.
    The Promotion Type Selector window displays.
  4. In the left pane, select the Catalog entry promotions folder.
  5. In the right pane, select Fixed price on the subtotal of catalog entries. Click OK.
  6. In the Promotion Properties section, define general information about the promotion:
    OptionDescription
    Administrative name Type a name that uniquely identifies the promotion. This name is displayed in the Promotions tool to identify the promotion.
    Redemption Method

    Select the redemption method that customers must use to apply the promotion to their order. You can choose from the following options:
    Combination with other promotions
    Select the degree to which multiple promotions can be combined. You can choose from the following options:
    Combine with other promotions
    This promotion can be combined with all other promotions in an order; however, the following promotion policies apply:
    • For catalog-entry promotions: If this promotion is applied to an item, no other catalog-entry promotions can be applied to the item.
    • For shipping promotions: If this promotion is applied to an item, no other shipping promotions can be applied to the item.
    • For order promotions: If this promotion is applied to the order, no other order promotions can be applied to the order.
    Combine with other promotions stackable
    This promotion can be combined with all other promotions in an order. In addition, this promotion can be stacked on top of other promotions in the same group, which overrides certain promotion policies. Specifically:
    • For catalog entry promotions: If a catalog-entry promotion is already applied to an item, then this type of promotion is applied on top of the existing promotion.
    • For shipping promotions: If a shipping promotion is already applied to an item, then this type of promotion is applied on top of the existing promotion.
    • For order promotions: If an order promotion is already applied to the order, then this type of promotion is applied on the top of the existing promotion.

    The priority of promotions determines whether a stackable promotion applies to an order. If an order qualifies for multiple promotions in the same group, the promotion with the highest priority is applied first. If subsequent promotions are stackable, then those promotions are applied in order of priority.

    Exclusive within the same group
    If a promotion with this setting is applied, no other promotions from the same promotion group can be applied to the order. For example, if this promotion is a catalog-entry promotion, no other catalog-entry promotions can be applied to the order. This setting still follows priority rules.
    Exclusive within an order
    If a promotion with this setting is applied, no other promotions can be combined in the order. This setting still follows priority rules.
    For more information about the degree to which promotions can be combined, see Combine active promotions
    Priority
    Select the priority for the promotion. You can assign a number between 0 (lowest) and 1000 (highest). When a single order qualifies for multiple promotions from the same promotion group, the promotion with the highest priority is evaluated first. If the customer qualifies, the promotion is applied. In cases where multiple promotions are permitted, the promotions are evaluated and applied in order according to their decreasing priority values. For example, consider a store that offers two order-level promotions:
    • Get 10% off your order - priority is set to 1
    • Get $15 off orders over $100 - priority is set to 10
    If a customer's order qualifies for both, then only the second promotion is applied. The second promotion has the higher priority of 10 and a single order can qualify for only one order-level promotion.
  7. In the Purchase Condition and Reward section:
    1. Optional: In the Target payment type field, select the payment type for the order. To qualify for the promotion, the customer must pay for the entire order with that payment type. The list includes all the supported payment types in your store.
    2. Select the Site-wide promotion check box to apply this promotion to all catalog entries in the catalog.
    3. In the Catalog entries table, specify the catalog entries to discount. You can either enter the catalog entry code and click Find and Add, or click the Show utilities view Show utilities view icon to open the utilities view, and then search or browse for the appropriate catalog entry. To exclude a catalog entry from the promotion, add the catalog entry to the table; then select the check box in the Exclusion column.
      • Catalog entries can be SKUs, products, or kits, but not bundles.
      • If you add more than one catalog entry to this table, each one qualifies independently of the others.
      • If you do not add any catalog entries to the table, the promotion applies to all catalog entries in the catalog.
      Note: If you selected the Site-wide promotion check box, use the Catalog entries table only to specify any catalog entry that you want to exclude from the promotion. For each catalog entry you add to the table, you must select the check box in the Exclusion column.
    4. In the Attributes for catalog entries table, specify the attributes that the catalog entries must possess to qualify for the promotion. For example, you can specify that the promotion applies only to catalog entries that have a Manufacturer attribute with a value of either Thiscompany or Thatcompany. Use attributes and values that are already defined in the Catalogs tool. For details on completing the table, see Specifying catalog attributes in promotion purchase conditions.
    5. In the Quantity field, type the number of catalog entries that the customer must purchase to qualify for the fixed price.
      For example, if the promotion is Buy three Ava Rosewater soaps, pay $10 for all three, the quantity is 3.
    6. From the Currency list, select the currency for the monetary values you specify in the Purchase Condition and Reward section. The list includes all the supported currencies in your store. The default setting is the default currency of your store.
    7. In the Fixed price field, type the discounted price for the specified quantity of catalog entries, before taxes and shipping. This price applies to the subtotal of the qualifying catalog entries, not to individual catalog entries.
  8. Expand the Redemption Limits section. The redemption limit defines the number of times that the promotion can be used, depending on the option you select.
    OptionDescription
    Maximum redemptions for this promotion Either select Unlimited, or select Set maximum redemption and then enter the total redemption limit in the Maximum redemptions field.

    This option limits the number of times that a promotion can be used in total, by all customers. This option can be used to define a loss-leader style of promotion that limits redemption of the promotion to the first 100 qualifying orders. When the maximum redemption limit is reached, the promotion status changes to Suspended the next time the promotion is evaluated.

    As each order is evaluated for the promotion, the limit you specify is checked against submitted orders. If multiple orders are being evaluated just before the redemption limit is reached, the number of redeemed promotions can be higher than the limit you specify.
    Maximum redemptions on a single order Either select Unlimited, or select Set maximum redemption and then enter the redemption limit per order in the Maximum redemptions field.
    This option limits the number of times that a promotion can be used in a single order. This option can be used to define a promotion that limits the redemption of the promotion to the first 5 qualifying catalog entries in an order.
    Note:
    • This option does not affect order level promotions, shipping level promotions, gift type promotions, or any product level promotions that use subtotals.
    • This option only applies to catalog entry level promotions.
    • If the maximum number of redemptions is left as unlimited, the behavior is the same as when the maximum number is set to 1.
    Maximum redemptions by a single customer Either select Unlimited, or select Set maximum redemption and then enter the redemption limit per customer in the Maximum redemptions field.

    This option limits the number of times that a promotion can be used by a single customer. This option can be used to define a promotion that limits redemption of the promotion to a single use per customer.
  9. Expand the Schedule section; then set the schedule for the promotion:
    OptionDescription
    Start date, End date Enter a Start date and End date for the promotion. If you do not specify a start date, the start date is set to the current server date at 12:00 AM after saving the promotion. If you do not specify an end date, the promotion is in effect until you deactivate it.

    Optionally, you can specify a time of day for the Start date and for the End date. For example, you can specify that the promotion starts February 1, 2013 at 7:00 AM and ends February 14, 2013 at 10:00 AM

    These fields use the time zone set in your Management Center preferences.

    The Start date and End date fields define the continuous period that this promotion can be available on the storefront. To further define the schedule within this continuous period, use the Days promotion is available and Time of day promotion is available sections.
    Days promotion is available If you want the promotion to be available on specific days of the week, select Selected days of the week. Then select the individual days when the promotion is available.

    This setting uses the time zone for the computer where HCL Commerce is installed.
    Time of day promotion is available If you want the promotion to be available only during a specific block of time each day, select During a specified time and then enter the Start time and End time. For example, for an early bird promotion, you can specify that the promotion starts at 7:00 am and ends at 10:00 am each day.

    These fields use the time zone set in your Management Center preferences.
    Keep in mind that all the schedule conditions must be met for the promotion to be available to customers. Consider the following promotion schedule:
    Example promotion schedule
    Setting for the Start date and End date fields Start date: December 1, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.

    End date: December 31, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.
    Setting for the Days promotion is available section Friday only
    Setting for the Time of day promotion is available section Start time: 7:00 am

    End time: 10:00 a.m.

    Based on these settings, this promotion is available to customers on the store only from 7:00 am to 10:00 am on Fridays in December 2013. The start and end times in the first and third row are different, however, the promotion is available during the common window, from 7:00 am to 10:00 a.m.

    If a customer that qualifies for a promotion is in the checkout process beyond the shopping cart page when the promotion becomes inactive, the customer remains entitled to the promotion. The evaluation to determine if an order or a customer qualifies for a promotion does not occur beyond the shopping cart page during the checkout process. If the customer returns to the shopping cart page, leaves the checkout process, or updates their cart, they no longer qualify for the inactive promotion.

  10. Optional: Expand the Target Customer Segment section.
    In the Customer segments table, specify the customer segments to which a customer must belong in order to qualify for the promotion. You can either enter the name of the customer segment and click Find and Add, or click the Show utilities view icon to open the utilities view. Within the utilities view, you can search or browse for the appropriate customer segments. If you include multiple customer segments in a promotion, the promotion applies to customers that belong in any of the segments. The customer does not need to belong in all of the segments.
  11. Optional: Expand the Miscellaneous section.
    • Target sales volume

      Use this field to record the target sales objective for the promotion. This information field is only used to record the goal of the promotion and does not affect the application of the promotion to an order.

  12. Click the Descriptions tab. Enter the descriptions as appropriate.
    OptionDescription
    Administrative description Enter a description to be used internally by your company. This description displays on the Promotions - List page in the Management Center.
    Customer viewable short description Enter a short description of this promotion for display on your storefront, for example, 20% Off Dresses. The short description is typically displayed on product details and checkout pages as the text that links to the discount details page.
    Customer viewable long description Enter a long description of the promotion for display on your storefront. This description is typically used in the discount details page to provide customers information about the promotion. For example, the long description might describe redemption limits, exclusions, and the time frame for the promotion.
  13. Click Save Save to save the promotion, or click Close to close the promotion editor, and return to the updated Promotions - List page.
    The promotion is displayed in the Promotions - List page, and its Status is set as Inactive.

What to do next

To make the promotion available on your storefront, you must activate it.