Merchants using Shopper have an arsenal of offer types to drive subscriber behavior and achieve their business goals. This article explains three types of offers merchants can use to boost sales and loyalty:
- Multi-Offers: This newly added feature enables brands to create, manage, and deploy multiple offers that Shopper can select from during conversations.
- Unique Offers: Another new addition, these offers use subscriber-specific discount codes that cannot be shared or used by other customers.
- Onsite Promotions: Blanket offers presented to all subscribers such as a sitewide sale.
Read on to learn more about each offer type and how merchants can set them up for their shops.
Multi-Offers
Brands can create, manage, and deploy multiple offers, which Shopper can then select from during conversations with subscribers. Shopper analyzes each subscriber's conversation context to share the most appropriate offer, maximizing conversion opportunities while giving brands the flexibility to test and optimize their promotional strategies.
Setting Up Multi-Offers
- From the Postscript dashboard, select Brand Center from the left menu and then select Shopper.
- Under Settings are Strategic Offers. All active and inactive Strategic Offers are listed.
- To create a new Strategic Offer, select the Add Strategic Offer button. In the popup, select a Discount Code or Automatic Discount offer type.
- Select Create a discount in Shopify. This will open the Discounts section in the Shopify admin for your store. Use an existing discount or select the Create discount button in the upper right to create a new Shopify discount.
- After setting up your discount, return to Postscript and complete the Enter Shopify Discount Details section, including the Discount Code, Discount Value, and start/end dates for the offer.
- Next, enter the Offer Name and Description under Set How Shopper Shows the Offer to specify exactly what subscribers will see.
- Select the Activate button. This strategic offer will now be included in Shopper offers presented to subscribers.
Unique Offers
Merchants can create, manage, and deploy individualized discount codes that Shopper dynamically generates and shares with subscribers during conversations. Since each subscriber receives their own unique code, it eliminates coupon code leakage and enables personalized promotional strategies that drive higher conversion rates.
Setting Up Unique Offers
- From the Postscript dashboard, select Brand Center from the left menu and then select Shopper.
- Under Settings are Strategic Offers. All Active and Inactive Strategic Offers are listed.
- To create a new Unique Offer, select the Add Strategic Offer button. In the popup, select the Unique Discount Code Shopify Discount type.
- Select the + Add Discount button. Select the offer type in the Create Offer popup. Select Order Discount.
- Select the Create Offer button in the bottom right.
- Under Entert Discount Details, select a Start Date and Start Time, as well as (optionally) an End Date and End Time, for the offer.
- Next, enter the Offer Name and Description under Set How Shopper Shows the Offer to specify exactly what subscribers will see.
- Select the Activate button. This strategic offer will now be included in Shopper offers presented to subscribers.
Onsite Promotions
Onsite Promotions are discounts applied automatically at checkout, like a sitewide sale, regardless of which products customers purchase. These are ideal for promoting across-the-board offers that aren't tied to particular products or collections. Onsite Promotions can be configured if you are running a holiday sale, offer free shipping, or have a warranty offer that you want Shopper to be aware of and leverage in subscriber conversations.
Setting Up Onsite Promotions
- From the Postscript dashboard, select Brand Center from the left menu and then select Shopper.
- Under Settings, scroll down to Onsite Promotions. All active and inactive Onsite Promotions are listed.
- To add a new Onsite Promotion, select the Add Onsite Promotion button. In the popup, select a Discount Code or Automatic Discount offer type.
- Select Create a discount in Shopify. This will open the Discounts section in the Shopify admin for your store. Use an existing discount or select the Create discount button in the upper right to create a new Shopify discount.
- After setting up your discount, return to Postscript and complete the Enter Shopify Discount Details section, including the Discount Code, Discount Value, and start/end dates for the offer.
- Next, enter the Offer Name and Description under Set How Shopper Shares the Offer to specify exactly what subscribers will see. Merchants can also set Pre-Promotion Control to include a preview of the offer for subscribers.
- Select the Activate button. This strategic offer will now be included in Shopper offers presented to subscribers.
Best Practices
Tip: Update your Offer anytime you launch, change, or end an onsite promotion.
For the best Shopper performance, keep your Offer details aligned with your current onsite promotions. This helps ensure shoppers see:
- Your latest (and strongest) incentive
- Active, accurate offers
- Timely messaging
Create a Tiered Offer Strategy
Set up three strategic offers at different discount levels (e.g., 10% off, 15% off, 20% off). This allows Shopper to escalate offers naturally based on subscriber engagement and purchase intent signals during the conversation.
Use Detailed, Specific Descriptions
When configuring how Shopper shares an offer, include all relevant details: discount amount, exclusions, minimum purchase requirements, and urgency elements. For example: "15% Off (Excludes Sale Items), minimum $50 purchase." This ensures Shopper communicates your offers accurately and compellingly.
Leverage Evergreen and Time-Bound Offers Together
Maintain one-to-two evergreen offers (no end date) as your baseline promotions, adding on-site promotions for seasonal campaigns, flash sales, or product launches. This ensures Shopper always has offers available while allowing brands to test limited-time promotions without disrupting core offer strategy.
Set Appropriate Expiration Windows
Create urgency by setting an expiration windows that align with your average purchase consideration time. For impulse purchases, 24-48 hours works well. For higher-consideration products, consider up to a 7-day window. Remember that the countdown starts when Shopper shares the code, not when you activate the offer.
Add Shopper-related Prefix to Simplify Tracking Discounts Shared by Shopper
Create clear prefix conventions to help track when Shopper shares a unique offer with a subscriber in a conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How does Shopper decide which offer to share with a subscriber?
A: Shopper follows a fixed priority order:
- Onsite Promotion (if active and applicable)
- Strategic Offers (if multiple exist, Shopper runs a relevance check based on conversation context to select the most appropriate one: product-specific offer, free shipping, etc.)
- Upcoming On-Site Promotions (only mentioned reactively if the subscriber asks)
Q: How many strategic offers should we set up?
A: We recommend approximately three strategic offers. This gives Shopper enough options to personalize without overwhelming your offer strategy. Brands can add or remove them as needed.
Q: Does it matter which discount percentages or values I use?
A: The specific discount values are completely up to you and your brand strategy. We recommend creating offers you're comfortable with that will also help convert subscribers. Consider having a range of offer types (percentage off, dollar amount off, etc) to give Shopper flexibility.
Q: What happens to my existing Shopper offer when Shopper Strategic Offers launches?
A: No action needed! All existing offers were automatically transitioned into the new Strategic Offers system on November 5th. You can immediately begin adding additional offers if desired.
Q: Why does Postscript require at least one strategic offer to be configured in Shopper?
A: Price is a common buyer concern, so Shopper is more effective when it has at least one offer it can present to subscribers. But ideally, Shopper has a menu of strategic offers that it can pick from to improve conversion.
Q: Does this change when or how often Shopper provides offers to subscribers?
A: No. Strategic Offers doesn't change Shopper's offer-sharing behavior or timing. It simply provides brands with the ability to give Shopper multiple offers to choose from when the time is right to present an offer.
Q: Can I create an evergreen offer that never expires?
A: Yes! Simply don't set an end date when creating your strategic offer, and it will remain available for Shopper to use indefinitely (or until you deactivate it).
Q: Do I need Fondue installed to use Fondue CashBack offers?
A: Yes, you'll need to have Fondue CashBack integration installed to use URL-based CashBack promotions as a strategic offer type.
Q: If I set an expiration on the unique discount code, when does the countdown start?
A: The expiration timer starts from the moment Shopper shares the code with the subscriber in a conversation. For example, if you set a 24-hour expiration and Shopper sends the code at 10:00 AM on Monday, it will expire at 10:00 AM on Tuesday. This follows the same expiration logic as Postscript's individual coupon feature.
Q: What happens if a subscriber asks about an expired unique code?
A: Shopper is aware when codes expire and lets subscribers know the offer is expired, offering a new code to the subscriber if they reference an expired one.
Q: Can I run multiple unique offers at the same time?
A: Yes! Subscriber Unique Offers are part of Shopper's multi-offer support system, allowing brands to run multiple Strategic Offers simultaneously. Shopper selects the best offer for each subscriber.
Q: Can I modify a unique discount code's settings after activation, and will it affect codes already shared?
A: No, you must delete or deactivate the active unique discount code and create a new one.
Q: Can I see which unique codes have been generated and shared?
A: Unique codes are generated on a per-subscriber basis when Shopper determines the offer is appropriate. Track redemption through your standard Shopify discount reporting.
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