Rewards and discounts: how the gift gets to $0
When a Valotrix Cart Rewards campaign matches and a gift is auto-added to the cart, the gift line is the real product variant - not a fake $0 stand-in. The discount that brings it to $0 is applied by one of three delivery methods you choose in the rule's Delivery tab. They show up as three side-by-side option cards (not a dropdown): Full price, Automatic discount, and Discount code.
The three methods are:
1. Automatic discount (default, recommended for free gifts)
Valotrix Cart Rewards asks Shopify to create an automatic discount that targets only the gift lines Valotrix Cart Rewards adds. The discount applies the moment the customer reaches checkout. By default the percentage is 100%, so the gift line shows a -$X.XX discount on the order summary and reads $0.00 - a true free gift. Other items in the cart are untouched. No discount code required from the customer.
This is the default because it's transparent (the customer sees exactly what's free), Shopify-native (no theme JavaScript hacks), and it doesn't require the customer to enter a code.
You can also configure the percentage to be lower than 100% - e.g. 50% - and pair the rule with the gift choice popup to run it as an upsell instead of a free gift ("Buy a watch, pick a leather strap at 50% off"). The percentage is configurable on the Delivery tab.
2. Discount code
Valotrix Cart Rewards attaches a Shopify discount code to the customer's session. The customer hits checkout and the code is auto-applied (with the percentage you've configured for that code).
Use this when you specifically want the discount to show as "Code XYZ" on the customer's receipt - e.g. for a tracking-coupon partnership where the partner sees the code on the resulting order. With Discount code you can choose either a percentage or a fixed-amount value; Automatic discount is percentage-only.
The trade-off is a less seamless customer experience (the code is visible) and dependence on Shopify's discount-code system rather than a Function. Most stores stick with Automatic discount.
3. Full price
No discount applied. The gift line is added at its listed price.
This sounds counterintuitive for a free-gift app - and it is, for the standard use case. The "Full price" method exists for upsell-style campaigns where you don't want to discount the gift at all, you just want to use Valotrix Cart Rewards's auto-add mechanic to drop the gift in the cart and let the customer decide whether to keep it. It's also the right choice when the gift product is already priced at $0 in your catalog (so no discount is needed). The customer sees the gift line at full price; they can remove it (the rule's "Customer can remove" toggle controls whether it's re-added on the next change).
Plus-only gift presentation: the "FREE GIFT" line label
Independent of the discount method, Shopify Plus stores can have Valotrix Cart Rewards rewrite the gift line in the cart to read whatever you've configured in the rule's Discount title field - typically "FREE GIFT" or your brand-specific phrasing - instead of the product's real name. The rewrite shows in the cart drawer, on the cart page, and at checkout. This is a presentation-layer enhancement, not a separate discount path - you can pair it with any of the three delivery methods above.
For more on Plus-specific behavior see Reference -> Plus features.
How to choose
- Free gift over $X threshold: Automatic discount, percentage 100%. (Default; no further setup.)
- Upsell pick at a discount (e.g. 50% off accessories): Automatic discount, percentage 50%, paired with the gift-choice popup.
- Promo-code tracking partnership: Discount code, with the partner's tracking-coupon attached.
- Soft auto-add for an upsell flow: Full price - let the customer decide.