Why is my promotion not respecting quantity or spend limits?

Introduction

If your Gift With Purchase (GWP) or discount promotion isn’t enforcing the quantity or spend limits you set, it usually means the promotion’s conditions were configured differently than expected. Roadmap always enforces your thresholds, but overlapping rules, product variants, or cart setups may make it look like limits aren’t working.

1. Check the Spend Threshold

• Make sure you set the minimum spend correctly.
• Example:
  • Condition = Spend $100 minimum.
  • Cart = $98 subtotal → Gift will not apply.
• Also confirm if the threshold includes/excludes:
  • Shipping and taxes → Shopify only counts subtotal (before tax/shipping).

👉 Fix: Test with a cart that clearly exceeds your set threshold.

2. Review Quantity Requirements

• If you set Buy X Get Y, make sure the cart includes:
  • The correct product(s) or collection(s).
  • The required quantity.
• Example: Buy 3 hoodies → Free cap. If the cart has only 2 hoodies, the promotion won’t trigger.

👉 Fix: Double-check product + quantity conditions in the promotion editor.

3. Check for Tiered or Overlapping Promotions

• If multiple promotions are active, a customer may qualify for a different one that has looser rules.
• Example:
  • Promo 1: Spend $100 → Free tote bag.
  • Promo 2: Buy 2 shirts → Free cap.
  • Customer spends $120 and buys 2 shirts → They may get the cap instead of tote.

👉 Fix: Use eligibility rules (VIP-only, logged-in only, etc.) or scheduling to separate promotions.

4. Verify Maximum Uses Per Order

• Did you set a max gifts per order or max discount uses?
• Example: Spend $200 (2× threshold) → Customer expects 2 gifts.
  • If max = 1 gift per order, they’ll only get one gift, even if they spent more.

👉 Fix: Adjust the “maximum uses per order” setting if you want multiple gifts to trigger.

5. Confirm Customer Eligibility

• If eligibility is restricted (e.g. logged-in customers only, VIPs, or regional customers), Roadmap may fall back to a more general promotion.
• This can make it look like spend or quantity rules aren’t respected.

👉 Fix: Test with the correct customer profile.

6. Check Shopify Discount Sync

• Roadmap creates hidden Shopify discounts for every promotion.
• If a discount was deleted or manually changed in Shopify, limits may not match.

👉 Fix: Do not delete Roadmap-created discounts. Re-save the promotion in Roadmap to refresh them.

Common Questions

• Does the spend threshold include taxes or shipping?
  • No — thresholds apply to subtotal only (before tax/shipping).
• Why isn’t the second free gift being added?
  • Because you may have set a maximum of 1 gift per order.
• Can I run tiered spend levels?
  • Yes — create separate promotions (e.g. Spend $100 → Tote, Spend $200 → Candle).
• Why does a customer qualify at $95 instead of $100?
  • Check if discounts lowered the subtotal. Spend rules are based on final subtotal, not pre-discount.

Cross-Feature Links

• How do I set conditions for GWPs (cart value, product triggers, etc.)?
• Why is the wrong gift being added to the cart?
• How do I offer different gifts at different spend levels?

Summary

If your promotion isn’t respecting spend or quantity limits, check the threshold setup, quantity requirements, overlapping promotions, max uses per order, and Shopify discount sync. Roadmap enforces limits automatically — but cart setup, eligibility, or discount settings can make it look like the rules aren’t working.