SARAH

Stackable Promotions

Learn how to combine multiple promotions to offer additional benefits to your customers.

Last updated: 2025-01-26

Stackable promotions allow you to combine multiple offers in the same sale, offering additional benefits to your customers and maximizing the value of each purchase.

What are Stackable Promotions?

A stackable promotion is one that can be applied together with other promotions in the same sale, as long as all are marked as "stackable".

When a promotion is not stackable, it has exclusive priority and can block the application of other promotions.

How It Works

Stackable Promotions

If two or more promotions are marked as "Stackable":

  1. System evaluates all active promotions
  2. Applies all that meet their conditions
  3. Discounts are added or combined as appropriate

Non-Stackable Promotions

If a promotion is not stackable:

  1. It's evaluated first according to its priority
  2. If it applies, it can block other promotions of lower priority
  3. Only the highest priority promotion that meets conditions is applied

Example: Stackable Promotions

Scenario

You have two promotions:

Promotion A: "20% OFF on Clothing"

  • Type: Percentage Discount
  • Target: Category "Clothing"
  • Priority: 10
  • Stackable: Yes

Promotion B: "Discount on 2nd product"

  • Type: Nth Discount
  • N: 2
  • Discount: 15%
  • Priority: 5
  • Stackable: Yes

Result

A customer buys 2 t-shirts at $1000 each:

  1. Promotion A applies: 20% OFF = $800 per t-shirt
  2. Promotion B applies: 15% OFF on 2nd t-shirt = $680
  3. Total: $800 + $680 = $1480 (savings of $520)

Example: Non-Stackable Promotions

Scenario

You have two promotions:

Promotion A: "2x1 on Beverages"

  • Type: Buy X Get Y
  • Priority: 20
  • Stackable: No

Promotion B: "10% OFF on Beverages"

  • Type: Percentage Discount
  • Priority: 10
  • Stackable: Yes

Result

A customer buys 2 beverages:

  1. Promotion A has higher priority (20 > 10)
  2. Promotion A is not stackable, so it blocks other promotions
  3. Only Promotion A (2x1) is applied
  4. Promotion B is not applied

Best Practices

When to Use Stackable Promotions

Use stackable when:

  • You want to offer multiple benefits
  • Promotions are complementary (don't compete)
  • You want to maximize perceived value by customer
  • You're in liquidation season

When NOT to Use Stackable Promotions

Don't use stackable when:

  • Promotions are mutually exclusive
  • You want to strictly control margins
  • One promotion is more important than others
  • You want to avoid excessive discounts

Stacking Strategies

Strategy 1: Category Stacking

Create stackable promotions for different categories:

  • 20% OFF on Clothing (stackable)
  • 15% OFF on Footwear (stackable)
  • 10% OFF on Accessories (stackable)

Result: Customer can get discounts on multiple categories.

Strategy 2: Type Stacking

Combine different promotion types:

  • Percentage Discount (stackable)
  • Nth Discount (stackable)
  • Buy X Get Y (stackable)

Result: Customer can get multiple types of benefits.

Strategy 3: Controlled Stacking

Use priorities to control what applies first:

  • Main Promotion (priority 20, not stackable)
  • Secondary Promotion (priority 10, stackable)
  • Tertiary Promotion (priority 5, stackable)

Result: Main promotion always applies, and secondary ones only if it doesn't block.

Priority Configuration

Numbering System

Use spaced numbers to facilitate adjustments:

VIP Promotion: 30
Standard Promotion: 20
Basic Promotion: 10
General Promotion: 5

Priority Rules

  1. Higher number = Higher priority
  2. Non-stackable promotions block lower priority ones
  3. Stackable promotions are evaluated independently

Promotion Testing

Before activating stackable promotions in production:

  1. Create test sales with different combinations
  2. Verify totals to ensure discounts are correct
  3. Review margins to confirm they're sustainable
  4. Test edge cases (multiple products, different categories)

Monitoring

After activating stackable promotions:

  • Review sales reports to see which combinations are used most
  • Analyze impact on margins and volumes
  • Adjust priorities according to results
  • Deactivate promotions that don't generate expected results

Limitations

Technical Considerations

  • Promotions are evaluated in priority order
  • Promotion engine is deterministic (same result always)
  • Discounts are applied as new lines in the sale

Business Considerations

  • Multiple discounts can significantly reduce margins
  • Customers may abuse extreme combinations
  • Some combinations may not make commercial sense

Next Steps