Zen Cart Pricing – Sale Price, Special Price, Quantity Price and Discounts

kerrin hardy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:49:45 +0000

There are a number of Zen Cart features that allow you to set up your products pricing structure. Products can be priced to encourage sales of a high profit item, clear out discontinued lines or perhaps to entice a greater spend by discounting only higher-end products. As with any changes, it is important to test and test and retest the effect of any sale, special or discount that you apply to ensure you do not erode your profit margin in error.

Price

The original price is set up when entering the product in Zen Cart. This price is always shown, however it will be crossed out if an alternative price (sale or special price) applies.

Special

A Special is applied to specific products. The special price can be a percentage discount off the original price (30%), or a new price ($29.95). The original price is crossed out and the special price is shown, by default, in red. A Special can be set to run indefinitely or only between specific dates . Random products with special pricing applied are shown in the Specials Sidebox, Specials Centerbox and on the Specials page.

To set up special pricing for a product:

Admin > Catalog > Specials

Sale

Unlike a Special that applies to specific products, a Sale is applied at the product category level, or even to the entire store. The sale price can be a percentage discount off the original price (30%), or a new price ($29.95). The sale price can be set to be applied after a special price (ie both discounts apply), instead of the special price or it can be set to not apply for products on special. A sale can also be applied to products only within a specified price range.

The original price is crossed out and the sale price is shown, by default, in red. A Sale can be set to run indefinitely or only between specific dates .

To set up a sale:

Admin > Catalog > SaleMaker

Quantity Discounts

A quantity discount can be offered for bulk purchases of a specific product. For each minimum quantity, a discount (percentage, new price or amount off) can be applied either to the original price or to the product’s Special price. The quantity discounts table is displayed on the product information page.

To set up quantity discounts:

Admin > Catalog > Products Price Manager

Group Discount

The group discount applies to specific customers, rather than a product or product category based discount. Customer Group Discounts are applied at the Order Total level of Zen Cart. They can not be restricted to certain products or categories and the customer will not see discounted pricing while shopping. Group discounts are shown only during the checkout process.

To set up Group Discounts:

Admin > Modules > Order Total > Group Discount

To create a discount group:

Admin > Customers > Group Pricing

To add customer(s) to the discount group:

Admin > Customers > Customers

Discount Coupon

Discount coupons can be provided to specific customers to purchase products at a discounted rate. The discounted rate can either be a percentage off or a new price. The discount coupon can be set to apply to the product only or to include shipping and/or tax. The discount coupon can also be set for restricted use by specifying the products or product categories for which it will be accepted.

Further settings can be applied such as the number of uses per customer and a date range that the discount coupon will be active for.

To set up Discount Coupons:

Admin > Modules > Order Total > Discount Coupon

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