Comparison of "individual" and "subtotal" percentage off promotion types

The Promotions tool supports promotion types that offer a percentage off either "individual" catalog entries or the "subtotal" of the catalog entries. There are specific reasons why we might choose one type over the other.

The following table summarizes the promotion types:

Type of percentage discount	Names of actual promotion types
Percentage off individual... promotion types	Percentage off individual catalog entries Percentage off individual catalog entries from a category
Percentage off the subtotal... promotion types	Percentage off the subtotal of catalog entries Percentage off the subtotal of catalog entries from a category

First, consider this promotion: Get 10% off hats. If a customer purchases 2 hats that are priced at $50 each, the total amount the customer saves is the same, regardless of whether the promotion is based on a Percentage off individual... promotion type or a Percentage off the subtotal... promotion type. In both cases, the customer pays $90 for the two hats and saves $10.

The differences between Percentage off individual... and Percentage off the subtotal... promotion types, however, are related to the following promotion properties:

1. If you specify any Redemption Limit for the promotion:

   • The limit applies at the item level for Percentage off individual... promotion types.

   • The limit applies at the order level for Percentage off the subtotal... promotion types.

   Example: For the promotion Get 10% off hats, you set the Maximum redemptions for the promotion field to 100. Here are the results for the two promotion types:

   • Percentage off individual...: Only the first 100 hats that are purchased from the store qualify for 10% off.

   • Percentage off the subtotal...: Only the first 100 orders that contain hats qualify for 10% off hats, but there is no limit on the number of hats in each order.

2. If you specify a Maximum Discount Amount for the promotion:

   • The amount applies at the item level for Percentage off individual... promotion types.

   • The amount applies at the order level for Percentage off the subtotal... promotion types.

   Example: For the promotion Get 10% off hats, you set the Maximum Discount Amount field to 5 (that is, $5). Here are the results for the two promotion types:

   • Percentage off individual...: The most a customer can save on each hat that is purchased is $5.

   • Percentage off the subtotal...: The most a customer can save on the subtotal of all hats that are purchased in the order is $5.

Consider using the Percentage off the subtotal... promotion type if it meets your needs; it offers better performance on the storefront than the Percentage off individual... promotion type. See Performance impact of "individual" catalog entry promotions.

Related tasks
Creating a percentage off the subtotal of catalog entries promotion
Creating a percentage off individual catalog entries promotion