How to Reward Repeat Customers

Four rule types decide who gets a discount from who the customer is, or from what they have bought before: Next purchase discount, Nth order discount, Specific Customer and Plus Member. Between them they cover every way a store rewards repeat customers: a thank-you for ordering, a milestone reward such as a first order discount, a private price for a named account, and a members’ tier.

The fields every rule shares are described in Discount Rule Fields.

Order history belongs to a customer account, so none of these rules can recognize a returning guest. Someone who checks out as a guest every time is always on their first order and never a member. If loyalty offers matter to your store, encourage account creation at checkout.

Next Purchase Discount

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Gives a customer a discount on their next order once they have completed a qualifying one. It is the straightforward way to turn a first purchase into a second.

Discount based on – Percentage discount or Flat discount.
Minimum product purchase to apply rule – how many items the qualifying order must contain.
Minimum amount spent (subtotal amount) – how much it must be worth.
Minimum order done by customer – how many orders they must already have placed.
Repeat this offer on every next order – tick to make the reward permanent. Left unticked, it is used once and then gone.

Example. A 10% rule with Minimum amount spent of 100. A customer buys a $100 Premium Hoodie and pays the full amount — the reward is for next time. Once that order reaches Completed, their next basket carries Customer Loyalty Bonus −$10.00, bringing a second $100 order to $90.00. With Repeat this offer on every next order left unticked, the third order pays full price again.

Eligibility arrives when the qualifying order reaches Completed, not when it is placed. A customer who orders and comes straight back will not see the discount until you have completed the first order.

What the shopper sees. Nothing on the first visit. On the next one, a discount line named Customer Loyalty Bonus in the cart and at checkout. This label is fixed for this rule type; the editable Discount Label field belongs to the cart, payment and shipping rules.

The full earn-then-spend cycle across two orders

Nth Order Discount

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Rewards a milestone — the first order, or the third, or every fifth. Unlike the other rules here it reduces a product’s price rather than adding a discount line, so you also choose what it applies to.

Offer on order – First order or Nth order.
Nth order number – which order earns it. Shown once you choose Nth order.
Order number upto – the end of a range, so the offer can cover orders 3 to 5 rather than order 3 alone.
Discount on – Product or Category, then the product or category itself.
Repeat this offer on next order – tick to make the milestone recur.
Conditions – this rule type offers all six condition kinds.

Example. A 20% rule set to Nth order with Nth order number 3, Order number upto 3, and Discount on the Premium Hoodie. A customer with two completed orders is on their third, so the $100 hoodie costs $80.00 while a $20 Classic Tee in the same basket stays at $20.00 — the rule names one product. Once that order is placed, their fourth basket returns the hoodie to $100.00.

Only successful orders count toward the number — completed and processing — so canceled, failed, refunded, and pending orders do not push a customer past a milestone.

What the shopper sees. For a qualifying customer, the reduced price on the product page, in the cart and at checkout, exactly as an ordinary product discount. Customers who are not at the milestone see the normal price.

The third order discounted and the fourth back at full price

Specific Customer

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Gives a discount to named customers, chosen by email address. Use it for a trade account, a long-standing customer or a goodwill gesture, without creating a coupon code that could be shared.

User Emails – one or more customer email addresses. Matching ignores capitalization.
Discount based on – Percentage discount or Flat discount.
Conditions – as well as Cart Total Quantity and Cart Total Value, this rule type can test order history: Purchased Amount, Purchased Product Quantity, Monthly Purchased Amount and Monthly Purchased Product Quantity.

Example. A 10% rule naming one customer’s email. Signed in as that customer, a basket holding a $100 Premium Hoodie carries Just for You Discount −$10.00 and a total of $90.00. The same basket as a guest, or as any other customer, is $100.00 with no discount line and no offer message anywhere. A Maximum Discount of 5 would cap the line at −$5.00.

The four order-history conditions make this rule type useful beyond named individuals. Monthly Purchased Amount with a minimum, for instance, gives a standing discount to customers who spend above a level each month, and withdraws it when they do not.

What the shopper sees. A discount line named Just for You Discount in the cart and at checkout. This label is fixed for this rule type.

The same basket for a signed-in customer and for a guest

Plus Member

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Gives members a standing discount on products or categories you choose — a simple membership tier without a separate membership plugin.

Discount for (Product/ Category) – whether the discount covers products or categories.
Select Products or Select Categories – what members get the discount on. Both lists offer an All products / All categories entry for a members’ discount across the store.
Discount based on – Percentage discount or Flat discount.
Minimum product purchase to apply rule and Minimum amount spent (subtotal amount) – optional basket thresholds.

Example. A 20% rule on All products. A customer who is not a member pays $100.00 for the Premium Hoodie. Tick their Plus Member box and the same basket becomes $80.00, carried through to checkout. A guest is never a member.

Who Counts as a Member

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Membership has two doors, and a customer needs only one of them.

By hand. Go to: Users > All Users and tick the customer’s Plus Member box. This is the reliable way to run a small members’ scheme.
Automatically. The Plus Member sub-tab under WooCommerce > PricePulse > Rules Configuration sets criteria — account age, allowed roles, minimum previous orders, minimum spend, minimum products bought. A customer meeting them is treated as a member.

Where several criteria are filled in, a customer must satisfy all of them. Leave a criterion blank and it is not applied; leave the whole tab blank and nobody becomes a member automatically, which is the default.

Fill in only one automatic criterion and every customer who matches it becomes a member. A single low threshold — one previous order, say — can quietly turn your members’ price into your normal price. Check the criteria tab before publishing a Plus Member rule.

What the shopper sees. Members see reduced prices in the catalog, on product pages, in the cart and at checkout, exactly like any other product discount. Everyone else sees your normal prices.

Member pricing switched on from a customer profile

Which One to Reach For

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To get a second order out of a first — Next purchase discount.
To celebrate a milestone, or to welcome a first-time buyer — Nth order discount.
For named accounts, or a discount that follows spending over time — Specific Customer.
For a standing members’ price — Plus Member.

← PricePulse Documentation