Advanced Promotions for OpenCart

Overview

Run the promotions OpenCart cannot do on its own: buy X get Y, cheapest item free, % off the Nth item, volume tiers, bundles, free gifts and scheduled campaigns, with clear priority and stacking rules. Every applied promotion appears as its own line in the order totals: in the cart, at checkout, in e-mails and on invoices.

• Buy X get Y: same products (mix and match) or other products; free, percent off, fixed price or amount off; cheapest or most expensive items first; repeat for every group, at most N times per order
• Tiered discount: by number of items or by subtotal, up to six rows (3+ items 5% off, 6+ items 10% off ...)
• Product discount: percent, fixed price, amount off each item or off the total, for products, categories (with subcategories) or brands, with exclusions and a minimum quantity
• Bundle: a price, percent or amount off for products bought together, repeated for every complete bundle
• Free gift: added to the cart automatically when the cart reaches an amount or a number of items, removed when it no longer does; the shopper may remove it
• When and for whom: start and end date and time, days of the week, hours (also past midnight), customer groups, stores, minimum subtotal, total and per-customer use limits, a discount cap
• Coupon-gated promotions: a promotion that only applies with an OpenCart coupon code
• Priority and stacking: lower priority numbers apply first, each one on what the earlier ones left; stop further promotions; skip special prices or items already discounted; combine with OpenCart coupons or not
• Never a double discount: promotions work on the price left after the OpenCart coupon and after accepted Make an Offer prices (Kavio Labs), and never take an item below zero
• Storefront: an offers box on the product page, badges in categories, search and product modules, and "Add 1 more item to get 1 free" nudges in the cart
• Admin: Marketing > Promotions with status tabs, statistics (orders, discount given, revenue) and per-promotion numbers; copy, enable/disable, delete
• No core file changes and no OCMOD: OpenCart events plus a standard order total
• OpenCart 4.0.2.0 – 4.1.x and 3.0.3.x – 3.0.5.x, one license for both

Installation

Requirements

OpenCart 4

1. Extensions > Installer: upload kv_advanced_promotions.ocmod.zip, then click Install next to it.
2. Extensions > Extensions, type Modules: find Advanced Promotions and click Install (green +).
3. Click Edit, set Status to Enabled, enter your license key and click Save.

OpenCart 3

1. Extensions > Installer: upload kv_advanced_promotions-oc3.ocmod.zip.
2. Extensions > Modifications: click Refresh (the package contains no file patches; this only lists it).
3. Extensions > Extensions, type Modules: install Advanced Promotions, then Edit, enable it and save.

What the installation adds

• The order total Promotions (Advanced Promotions) (sort order 3, before taxes), listed in Extensions > Extensions > Order Totals. Keep it enabled.
• Marketing > Promotions in the admin menu.
• Two tables (kv_ap_campaign, kv_ap_order). They are kept when you uninstall, so an upgrade or a reinstall keeps your promotions and statistics.

Upgrading

OpenCart 4: uninstall the module, remove the old package in Extensions > Installer, upload and install the new one, then install the module again. OpenCart 3: upload the new package over the old one and click Refresh in Extensions > Modifications. Your promotions stay.

License

Without a key the extension runs for a 14-day trial. Enter the key from your Kavio Labs account on the settings page and click Check now. Without a valid license the promotions stop applying to new carts and the badges, nudges and free gifts are hidden; the admin, your promotions and placed orders keep working.

Configuration

Extensions > Extensions > Modules > Advanced Promotions > Edit

The promotions themselves are managed in Marketing > Promotions: see Usage.

Usage

The promotion list

Marketing > Promotions shows every promotion with its type, badge, schedule, priority and status (Active, Scheduled, Ended, Disabled), the number of orders that used it, the discount given and the revenue of those orders. The cards at the top sum up the last 30 days. An order counts once it reaches a processing or complete status (your Order Processing / Complete Status settings); a canceled order is taken out again.

Copy starts a variant (the copy is disabled), the toggle enables or disables a promotion, and Delete removes the selected promotions (the statistics of placed orders are kept).

Creating a promotion

Promotion: the Name is what shoppers see as the discount line ("Summer 3 for 2"). Choose the Type, the Priority (lower numbers first), an optional Badge text (empty: generated, for example "Buy 2 get 1 free") and whether to show badges and cart nudges.

Products (used by most types): All products, or Selected products, categories or brands (type a few letters to search). Categories include their subcategories unless you untick it. Exclusions never count and are never discounted.

Buy X get Y

• Buy (items) X and Get (items) Y. With The same products (mix and match) every complete group of X + Y items earns Y discounted items: buy 2 get 1 free with 6 items gives 2 free; buy 1 get 1 at 50% with 5 items gives 2 at half price. "30% off the 3rd item" is buy 2, get 1, percent off 30.
• With Other products each application needs X items of the buy products and Y items of the get products (buy 3 shirts, get a cap free). The get items must be in the cart; use Free gift to add one automatically.
• Discount on the get items: free, percent off, fixed price per item or amount off each item. Discounted items: cheapest or most expensive first. Repeat and At most (times per order).

Tiered discount

Count by number of items or subtotal of the selected products, the Discount type (percent off, amount off each item, amount off the total) and up to six rows From → Discount. The highest row the cart reaches applies to every item of those products.

Product discount

Percent off, fixed price per item, amount off each item or amount off the total, optionally only from a Minimum items count. Good for scheduled sales such as "20% off Brand X this weekend".

Bundle

Up to six products with quantities. Every complete bundle in the cart gets the Bundle price, Percent off the bundle or Amount off the bundle, spread over its items (Repeat for every complete bundle).

Free gift

The Gift product (choose one without required options) and its quantity, given when the cart has at least the items and/or the subtotal of the selected products. The gift is added to the cart automatically, labelled Free gift, and its price is taken off by the promotion line. When the cart drops below the condition the gift is removed. When the shopper removes the gift, it is not added again during that visit.

When and for whom

• Starts / Ends (date and time, store time). Days of the week and Hours: a window such as 22:00 – 02:00 runs past midnight and belongs to the day it starts.
• Customer groups and Stores (none ticked: all).
• Coupon code: the promotion only applies when the shopper enters this OpenCart coupon (create it in Marketing > Coupons; use a 0% coupon if the code should only unlock the promotion). Coupon-only promotions show no badges.
• Minimum cart subtotal, Uses in total, Uses per customer (account or e-mail), Maximum discount per order.

Priority and stacking

• Promotions apply in priority order; each one works on the price left after the earlier ones, so two 10% promotions give 19% and never more than the item's price.
• With OpenCart coupons: Combine (the promotion applies to the price after the coupon) or Do not apply when a coupon is used.
• Stop further promotions: when this promotion applies, later ones are skipped (exclusive deals).
• Skip items: with a special price, or already discounted by an earlier promotion.
• Units bought at an accepted Make an Offer price (Kavio Labs) are never discounted again.

What shoppers see

• An Offers on this product box on the product page with the badge, the rule in plain words and the end date, and a badge on the product image in lists.

• In the cart: one discount line per promotion, the Free gift label on the gift, and Unlock more savings nudges such as "Add 1 more item to get 1 free".

How the money is calculated

• All amounts are excluding tax in your default currency and shown in the shopper's currency.
• Taxes are reduced for each discounted product the way the OpenCart coupon does it, so VAT is charged on the discounted price.
• Amounts are calculated in cents with exact splits, so the lines always add up.

FAQ

Does it change OpenCart files?

No. It uses OpenCart events and a standard order total. There is no OCMOD patch.

Why does a free item still show its price on the cart line?

OpenCart keeps the product price on the line; the promotion line in the totals takes it off, and taxes are reduced accordingly. Your reports and invoices stay consistent.

Can a product get a double discount?

No. Each promotion uses the price left after the OpenCart coupon, an accepted Make an Offer price and earlier promotions, and never goes below zero. Use Stop further promotions or Skip items already discounted for exclusive deals.

How do I run a promotion only for newsletter subscribers or VIPs?

Use a coupon code (a 0% OpenCart coupon) or a customer group.

Does it work with other currencies and taxes?

Yes. Rules are set in your default currency excluding tax; shoppers see converted amounts and taxes follow the discounted prices.

What happens when an order is edited in the admin?

OpenCart recalculates the totals with the current promotions. A free gift line is then charged like a normal product, because the gift marker of the cart line is not stored with the order; remove the gift line or adjust the order if needed.

When is a use counted?

When the order reaches a processing or complete status. A canceled order gives the use back.

What happens without a license?

After the 14-day trial the promotions stop applying to new carts and badges, nudges and gifts are hidden. The admin, your promotions and placed orders keep working.

Does it work with Make an Offer by Kavio Labs?

Yes. Units bought at an accepted offer price are excluded from promotions.