Merchants on Shift4Shop Plus plans (and higher; including the Free End-to-End eCommerce Plan) can use the Scheduled Promotions Module to have individual products placed at a sale price for a specific time frame. Alternately, the module can be used to have the store apply coupon promotions automatically to all orders within a set period of time.
To set up the module, follow these steps:
- Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
- Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
- On the Module page, use the search bar at the top to search for "Scheduled Promotions"
- Click on the "Settings" button to proceed
The settings page will contain any schedule promotions you may have created previously, however, if this is your first time at the page, it will be blank.
To continue our steps:
- Click on the "Create a Scheduled Promotion" button at the top right
You will now be presented with the following settings and options:
- Campaign Settings
- Campaign Name
Enter a name for your scheduled promotion campaign
- Start Date/Time
Enter the Date and Time that you'd like promotion to begin. (Click on the calendar icon to change the date, and the clock icon to change the time.)
- End Date/Time
Enter the Date and Time that you'd like promotion to end (Click on the calendar icon to change the date, and the clock icon to change the time.)
When setting up the scheduled promotion, you have the following actions available
- Auto-apply Promotion
- Select a Promotion
Use this section's drop down menu to select an already created coupon promotion from your store's promotion manager. The result will be that the store will automatically apply the promotion coupon to all of your orders for the set time frame.
Note For the Auto-apply Promotion setting, be aware of the following promotion requirements:
- Coupon promotions only
The promotion used needs to be a coupon promotion. Automatic promotions will not work with this setting.
- Coupon is within date range
The promotion used needs to be current. If the promotion's From and To dates are not current, the promotion itself will not be applicable
- Coupon is applicable
The promotion used needs to be applicable to the shopper's order. If the order itself isn't eligible for the promotion (i.e. doesn't qualify, wrong products, wrong pricing group, etc) , then the shopper obviously won't get any discount.
- Discount Products
This section is intended to be used as an alternative to the Auto-apply Promotion section above. Rather than having the store automatically apply an existing promotion onto orders, you can use this section to mark a product (or multiple products) as being On Sale and at whatever price you set for the time frame.
To use this option:
- Click on the "+ Add New" button
- Use the search bar at the top of the modal to find your desired product
- Select the item by clicking the product name or using its respective action wheel.
- Repeat for each item you'd like to place on sale for the timeframe
Once the item is selected, you'll see the item's thumbnail image, name and price. You will also have the option of setting the item's Sale price for the scheduled promotion timeframe.
Additional Information If the item is currently hidden on the store, you may also choose to unhide it during the scheduled promotion's timeframe. Just mark the provided checkbox and it will unhide during the set time/schedule.
Note that the checkbox will only appear if the item is currently hidden. Items that are not hidden will show in this section as "already visible."
- Set your item sale price(s) as needed
- Click "Save" at the top right of the page.
Important Once you save the scheduled promotion, you cannot make any changes to it. You may only end the promotion early once it is saved. Also note that you can only delete a scheduled promotion after it has ended (either automatically or manually ended early)
Reviewing Scheduled Promotions
After you create your scheduled promotions, you may review them at your leisure by following these steps:
- Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
- Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
- On the Module page, use the search bar at the top to search for "Scheduled Promotions"
- Click on the "Settings" button to proceed
You will see a list of your scheduled promotions on the page. Along the name and start/end times for the promotion schedule, you will also see the number of orders placed using the promotions as well as the monetary amount made on the orders. If you click on the "Orders" number, the store will take you to a list of all the orders placed using the promotion.
Important Keep in mind that the Scheduled Promotion function relies on a Scheduled Script that must first run in order to set its internal timer. In this case the scheduled script is called Scheduled Promotions and will be listed in the Modules/Scheduled Scripts section. You'll be able to view when the script last ran and when it is set to run again.
So, when you set up your scheduled promotion, please first make sure that the promotion is scheduled to activate after the scheduled script has run so that the timing is properly set.
In other words, if you're trying to set a promotion that is scheduled for the very same day you've created it; have a quick glance at the scheduled script first. If its last run has passed and its next run is set at (for example) 6:00pm, be sure your Scheduled Promotion is set to activate after 6:00 pm on that day.
This is only necessary when you're trying to create a scheduled promotion that activates the same day as you've created it. If you're scheduling the promotion for a hours or days later, you won't need to worry about this.
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