Set up automated discounts
Set up automated discounts on the Google & YouTube app on Shopify
Automated discounts is an extension for Shopify to boost your conversions and average order value. Shopify automatically applies discounts to eligible carts, which encourages customers to buy more and reach cart thresholds. Discounts are automatically applied at checkout. Learn more About automated discounts and how it works.
On this page
- Set up automated discounts in Shopify
- Give Google access to write discounts
- Modify your Store Theme
- Add product-level overrides (optional)
Before you begin
Make sure you’ve set up conversions in Google Ads or in the Google & YouTube app's settings, and you receive and measure conversions from your Shopping campaigns. Learn more about how to Set up your conversions in Google Ads.
You're responsible for ensuring that your use of automated discounts complies with all local laws and regulations that apply to you and your business.
Set up automated discounts in Shopify
Here are the steps necessary to make Google automated discounts work in your Shopify store.
- Install the Google & YouTube app on Shopify if you haven’t already.
- Begin setting up automated discounts through Settings > Automations > Automated Discounts and follow the onboarding steps.
- If you don’t view the Automated Discounts module, go to the Settings tab and ensure “Product sync” is set to automatic and “Conversion measurement” is set to On.
- The Google & YouTube App must stay linked to your Merchant Center account for automated discounts to optimize prices in your Shopping ads.
- You may be prompted to give permissions for the app to display discounted pricing if you haven’t already granted this permission, as described in Give Google access to write discounts.
- Add the Automated Discounts Price Block to your product pages, as described in Modify your theme.
- Provide an account-level Gross Profit Margin percentage.
- This is the default value that will be used for Cost when Cost is not explicitly set for a product.
- Provide an account-level Maximum Discount percentage.
- This is the default value that will be used for auto_pricing_min_price
[auto_pricing_min_price]when a minimum price is not explicitly set for a product.
- This is the default value that will be used for auto_pricing_min_price
- Confirm and complete setup.
- (Optional) for Cost or Minimum Price attributes. These will apply instead of the account-level settings entered above, when populated.
Note: If your online store’s target country is outside the US and Canada, include VAT in the Cost attribute, if applicable.
Give Google access to write discounts
To use the feature, you would have to provide Google with the access to write back the new auto-generated discount codes to Shopify discounts. This is needed to further apply the auto-discount code to the selling price to reflect the discounted price to the end consumer.
The onboarding flow will automatically request permissions as you walk through the steps.
Note: If the permissions popup did not appear and the onboarding step is not marked as complete, you can manually give Google the permissions to access and write discounts on the Shopify platform by following these steps:
-
{Replace [SHOP_ID] with your Shopify store ID in the link below}
https://[SHOP_ID].myshopify.com/admin/apps/google?pi=automated_discounts
- Select Finish to provide access to the Google & YouTube app view and sync discounts.
Modify your Store Theme
This section takes you through the process of adding an app block to your online store to display the sale price from automated discounts as a strikethrough price.
Navigate to your Shopify theme
- Select Add extension to open your online store navigation in a new tab.
- Select the Home page down arrow to navigate to your product page.
- Select a product page template.
- Navigate to Template.
Add automated discounts extension to product page
- Select Add a block after Price in the Product information section.
- Select the Apps tab.
- Select to add the Automated discounts extension.
- Select Save.
Repeat these steps for all of your product page templates.
Add product-level overrides (optional)
To opt your products into automated discounts, Google needs two product attributes: Cost and Minimum Price.
You can opt in products by providing an account-level setting for all products at once. Optionally, you can add Cost and minimum price attributes to individual products to override the account-level setting.
Cost
Cost is a pricing attribute available by default for all the products in your store. You can add this attribute either per product or in bulk.
Method 1: Per Product
- Navigate to the product you want to add a Cost value and scroll down to the pricing section.
- Here you’ll find the Cost field, populate this field with the appropriate value.
- Select Save.
Method 2: Bulk Edit
- In the “Products” section of your store admin page, check the products to bulk edit and select Bulk Edit in the upper right.
- In the “Columns” menu, search for and activate the Cost column.
Method 3: Bulk Editor
Navigate to the below link and enter Cost in the bulk editor for products that you want to opt-in to the pilot.
{Replace [SHOP_ID] with your Shopify store ID in the link below}
https://admin.shopify.com/store/[SHOP_ID]/bulk/product_variant?resource_name=ProductVariant&app_context=1780363&edit=price %2Ccost
Notes:
- When populated, the Cost on a product or variant will be used instead of the account-level Cost-per-Item setting.
- Cost values must be greater than 0 to opt-in a product to automated discounts.
- Cost is used for profit optimization and performance reporting only and will not be shared with your customers.
Minimum Price
Auto pricing minimum price is the minimum sale price attribute that can be set by automated discounts. Only products with a minimum price will be discounted.
[Optional] Create a metafield
- Log in to your Shopify admin page and navigate to Settings > Metafields & metaobjects > Variants.
- Select Add definition.
- Enter the following values and select Save:
- Name: Minimum Price
- Namespace and key: mm-google-shopping.auto_pricing_min_price
- Type: Single line text
Method 1: Per Product
- Navigate to the product you want to add a Minimum Price override value to. Select a specific variant (if applicable).
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Metafields section. Here you’ll find the Minimum Pricing field. Note: You may need to select “View All.”
- Populate this field with the override value in the format “## [3 Character Currency Code]” (ISO 4217) and select Save.
- For example, for a $10 item to be sold for no less than $6, you will enter “6.00 USD” here.
Method 2: Use the bulk editor to add minimum price values
{Replace [SHOP_ID] with your Shopify store ID in the link below}
https://admin.shopify.com/store/[SHOP_ID]/bulk/product_variant?resource_name=ProductVariant&app_context=1780363&edit=price %2Ccost%2Cmetafields.mm-google-shopping.auto_pricing_min_price
Opt out products
After you set up automated discounts, you can do one of the following steps to opt out any product that you previously opted into automated discounts:
- If you do not have an account-level Maximum Discount percentage set, remove the value in the minimum price attribute for each product you want to opt out.
- If you’re using the account-level setting to set minimum prices, set a product’s minimum price as equal to or higher than its sale price.