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# Should a discount be a percentage or a fixed amount?
- URL: https://conversion.club/playbook/percentage-or-fixed-amount-discount/
- Published: 2026-10-29T09:14:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T09:50:00.000Z
- Description: Test discount framing in the actual currency and price range. Model the crossover basket and eligibility, then compare real promotion cost and contribution.
- Author: Jeremie Werner
- Tags: Increase average order value, #playbook, CRO, Shopify, Cart

A percentage can look larger on a low-priced item; a fixed amount can look larger on an expensive one. Treat this “rule of 100” as a framing hypothesis to test in the actual currency and price range. First model the offers against real baskets: equivalent-looking messages can have different costs when eligibility, order value or redemption rules differ.

## The benchmark

Jonah Berger popularized the rule in *Contagious*. Its arithmetic compares the displayed percentage number with the displayed saving in currency units. The following editorial examples use fictional US-dollar amounts; they relabel the original illustrative numbers rather than convert prices:

| Original price | Percentage discount | Saving in USD | Larger displayed number |
| -------------- | ------------------- | ------------- | ----------------------- |
| $30            | 20%                 | $6            | 20%                     |
| $80            | 20%                 | $16           | 20%                     |
| $100           | 20%                 | $20           | Equal numerically       |
| $250           | 20%                 | $50           | $50                     |
| $600           | 20%                 | $120          | $120                    |

The numerical crossover is 100 units when comparing whole currency units with percentage points. That does not make $100 and 100 units of another currency equivalent purchasing contexts, nor prove the same consumer response across currencies, denominations or markets. A change of currency is a new framing example, not evidence that the original price or consumer response is equivalent.

Chen, Monroe and Lou's 1998 research found that equivalent savings appeared stronger in dollars for an expensive product and percentages for a lower-priced product. González and colleagues' 2016 paper reported an amount-off advantage above $100 in three experiments; below that, the reverse effect was not statistically significant. Preserve those dollar-based research settings separately from the editorial euro illustration. The evidence supports a testable framing approach, not a universal conversion rule.

The CJEU’s English September 26, 2024 Aldi Süd release explains that an announced percentage reduction must use the lowest price applied during at least the preceding 30 days. This is EU reference-price context, not worldwide discount law. This article concerns public consumer offers, rather than a business-invoice accounting line.

## The rule

Choose the allowable promotion cost before the format. On a product page, test the larger-number framing where it makes sense in the local price scale. A sitewide percentage may be easier to communicate consistently because the number remains the same across products. For an illustrative Black Friday headline, “$50 off the jacket” can feel more product-specific than a general clearance message. That is an editorial rationale to test, not measured brand protection.

For a fixed order discount versus a percentage discount, calculate:

> **Crossover basket = fixed discount amount ÷ percentage rate.**

Fictional example: “$12 off orders of $60 or more” and “15% off” cost the same at $80 because 12 ÷ 0.15 = 80\. Above $80 the percentage costs more. Between $60 and $80 the fixed amount costs more. Below $60, the fixed offer is ineligible, so it is not an equivalent offer.

A minimum order can encourage basket building, similarly to a [free-shipping threshold](https://conversion.club/playbook/what-should-your-free-shipping-threshold-be/), but that response requires evidence. Model [promotion profitability](https://conversion.club/playbook/what-does-a-promotion-really-earn-you-margin-included/) before optimizing the headline.

## The steps

1. **Inspect the price distribution.** Calculate the median and range of eligible products in their actual currency. Use the numerical framing heuristic as a candidate message, not a mandate.
2. **Model each basket.** Apply both proposed offers to last year's orders with their actual eligibility, caps and stacking rules. Average order value alone misses the distribution: two stores can have the same average with very different discount costs.
3. **Configure scope carefully.** The source's October 2026 Shopify path is Discounts → Create discount → Amount off products or Amount off orders, then Percentage or Fixed amount. For a fixed product discount, the “Only apply discount once per order” option changes whether it repeats across eligible products. Verify current behavior and preview multiple-item carts.
4. **Establish the lawful reference.** For relevant EU offers, document the applicable prior price and exceptions using the [reference-price article](https://conversion.club/playbook/what-does-the-law-say-about-strikethrough-prices/). Apply the rules relevant to other markets separately.
5. **Keep conditions together.** Use consistent framing and eligibility on the product page, cart, email and advertising. A prominent saving with a missing minimum is misleading communication even before considering the specific legal test.
6. **Test the intended question.** If testing framing alone, hold actual savings and conditions equal. If the economics differ, call it an offer test. Assess [revenue per visit](https://conversion.club/playbook/should-you-steer-by-revenue-per-visit-instead-of-conversion-rate/) and contribution alongside conversion.

## The pitfall

A fixed amount is not automatically a capped campaign cost. A fragrance brand attached a €40 voucher to each discovery box; some customers bought five to combine €200 toward a free 100 ml bottle. The response was to restrict usage. Voucher stacking, one-use-per-customer and per-item discount application are related control problems, but not the same Shopify setting: test each explicitly.

Mixing “30% off” on one collection and “$15 off” on another can also make an operation hard to compare and explain. The larger numeral should never hide which offer is actually better.

## What to tell your team

> “The 15% offer and $12 off above $60 cross at $80\. Applied to last year's actual baskets, our fictional simulation saves about $7,000 with the fixed amount. We propose that offer with the full minimum shown consistently.” These figures are fictional, not a conversion forecast.

## Sources

- [Jonah Berger: Fuzzy Math](https://jonahberger.com/fuzzy-math-what-makes-something-seem-like-a-good-deal/?ref=conversion.club).
- [Chen, Monroe and Lou, 1998](https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/the-effects-of-framing-price-promotion-messages-on-consumers-perc/?ref=conversion.club).
- [González, Esteva, Roggeveen and Grewal, 2016](https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/amount-off-versus-percentage-off-when-does-it-matter/?ref=conversion.club).
- [CJEU: Aldi Süd release, September 26, 2024](https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2024-09/cp240152en.pdf?ref=conversion.club).
- [Shopify: amount-off discounts](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/percentage-fixed-amount?ref=conversion.club).