Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Shopify Pricing A/B Testing - Managing Multiple Rules & Combinations

Stack and combine Shopify pricing rules—sequential, sum-then-apply, or best-price—for consistent, no-code price tests across your store.

THIS ARTICLE HELPS YOU:

Author: Ahmed Abbas

Overview

This guide explains how to work with multiple pricing rules and understand how they combine when a product matches more than one rule.
 

Multiple Rules Per Product

A product can match multiple pricing rules at once!
Example: A product that's:
  • In "Summer Sale" collection (gets -10%)
  • Has "VIP" tag (gets -$5 off)
  • Both rules apply!

Four Matching Types Explained

1. Specific Product (Exact Match)
Best for: Testing individual products
How it works:
  • Search by product name, SKU, or handle
  • Select the exact product you want to test
  • Rule applies to that product only
Example:
  • Product: "Awesome Cotton T-Shirt"
  • Rule: -10%
  • Result: Only this product gets the discount
2. Regex Pattern
Best for: Matching multiple products with similar names/handles
How it works:
  • Enter a pattern that matches product handles or IDs
  • Any product matching the pattern gets the rule
Common Patterns:
Pattern
Matches
Example Products
^SHIRT-.*
All handles starting with "SHIRT-"
SHIRT-001, SHIRT-RED, SHIRT-BLUE
.*premium.*
All handles containing "premium"
premium-tshirt, the-premium-pack
^721.*
All product IDs starting with 721
7211234, 7215678
PREMIUM-\d+
"PREMIUM-" followed by numbers
PREMIUM-100, PREMIUM-999
Tips:
  • Test your regex pattern on a regex tester first
  • Use .* to match any characters
  • Use ^ for "starts with", $ for "ends with"
  • Regex is case-sensitive by default
3. Collections/Categories
Best for: Testing all products in a category
How it works:
  • Select one or more collections from the dropdown
  • All products in those collections automatically match
Example:
  • Collection: "Summer Sale"
  • Rule: -15%
  • Result: All 50 products in "Summer Sale" get 15% off
Special Collection:
  • "All Products" - Matches every product in your store
  • Useful for store-wide pricing tests
4. Product Tags
Best for: Testing products with specific attributes
How it works:
  • Select one or more tags from the dropdown
  • All products with those tags automatically match
Example:
  • Tag: "VIP"
  • Rule: -$10 off
  • Result: All products tagged "VIP" get $10 off
Common Use Cases:
  • VIP products
  • Clearance items
  • Seasonal products
  • Featured items

How Multiple Rules Combine

When a product matches multiple rules (e.g., it's in a collection AND has a tag), you need to choose how those rules combine.
Strategy 1: Sequential Application (Default)
Rules are applied one after another in order.
Example:
  • Original price: $100
  • Rule 1: -10% (collection rule)
  • Rule 2: -$5 (tag rule)
Calculation:
$100 → apply -10% = $90 → apply -$5 = $85
Final Price: $85
Best for:
  • Traditional discount stacking
  • When you want each rule to compound on the previous result
  • Most intuitive for customers
Strategy 2: Sum Percentages, Then Apply Fixed
Sum all percentage discounts first, then apply fixed amounts.
Example:
  • Original price: $100
  • Rule 1: -10% (collection rule)
  • Rule 2: -5% (tag rule)
  • Rule 3: -$5 (another tag rule)
Calculation:
Sum percentages: -10% + -5% = -15%
$100 → apply -15% = $85 → apply -$5 = $80
Final Price: $80
Best for:
  • When you have multiple percentage-based rules
  • More aggressive discounting
  • Simplifying complex discount math
Strategy 3: Best Price for Customer
Calculate multiple price options and use the lowest price.
What gets calculated:
  1. Original price: $100
  2. Rule 1 only: $90 (-10%)
  3. Rule 2 only: $95 (-$5)
  4. All rules combined (sequential): $85
Result: Uses $85 (the lowest)
Important: The system does NOT calculate sum-then-apply combinations - only sequential.
Best for:
  • Ensuring customers always get the best deal
  • Complex discount scenarios
  • Building customer trust
Example Comparison:
Price Option
Calculation
Result
Original
$100
$100
Rule 1 only
$100 - 10%
$90
Rule 2 only
$100 - $5
$95
Sequential
($100 - 10%) - $5
$85 ✅
Final price: $85 (lowest)
 

How to Choose Combination Strategy

Via App UI
  1. Go to Shopify Admin → Apps → Convert → Pricing Rules
    1-2
  2. Select your Experience and Variation
  3. Add your rules
  4. Click the "Settings" button (next to "Save All Rules")
  5. Choose your preferred strategy:
    • Sequential Application
    • Sum Percentages, Then Apply Fixed
    • Best Price for Customer
  6. Click "Save Settings"
    rule-setting-best-price

Real-World Examples

Example 1: VIP Sale
Goal: Give extra discount to VIP customers during a sale
Setup:
  • Rule 1: Collection "Summer Sale" → -15%
  • Rule 2: Tag "VIP" → -$10 off
  • Strategy: Sequential
Results:
  • Regular customer (no VIP tag): $100 → $85 (15% off)
  • VIP customer: $100 → $85 → $75 (15% off + $10)
Example 2: Multi-Tag Discounts
Goal: Stack discounts for products with multiple tags
Setup:
  • Rule 1: Tag "Clearance" → -20%
  • Rule 2: Tag "Last-Chance" → -10%
  • Rule 3: Tag "Bulk-Eligible" → -5%
  • Strategy: Sum Percentages
Results:
  • Product with all 3 tags: $100 → $65 (combined -35% off)
  • Product with 2 tags: $100 → $70 (combined -30% off)
Example 3: Best Price Guarantee
Goal: Ensure customers always get the best deal
Setup:
  • Rule 1: Collection "Winter Sale" → -25%
  • Rule 2: Tag "Member" → -$15 off
  • Strategy: Best Price for Customer
Results for $100 product:
Option
Price
Original
$100
Winter Sale only
$75
Member discount only
$85
Both (sequential)
$60 ✅
Customer pays: $60 (best price)
 

Dual Identifier System

When you configure rules via the UI, the system automatically stores multiple identifiers for each product:
What Gets Stored
  • Variant ID - Most reliable for cart/checkout
  • Product ID - Product-level matching
  • SKU - Used on product pages (if available)
  • Handle - Used on collection, search, and other pages
  • Collections - Automatic matching for collection-based rules
  • Tags - Automatic matching for tag-based rules
Why This Matters
Different pages use different identifiers:
Page Type
Primary Identifier
Product pages
Variant ID, Product ID, SKU
Collection pages
Handle, Collections, Tags
Search pages
Handle
Cart/Checkout
Variant ID
With multiple identifiers:
  • ✅ Configure once, works everywhere
  • ✅ Consistent pricing across your entire store
  • ✅ No need to configure separately for each page type

Smart Matching Behavior

When you configure multiple rules for a variation, the system uses "smart matching" to ensure consistent pricing:
How it works:
  • If a product's handle matches ANY rule → ALL rules from that variation apply to that product
  • This ensures the same product gets the same price everywhere
Example:
Rules configured:
  • Product handle "the-snowboard" → -15%
  • Collection "Summer" → -5%
  • Tag "Sale" → -2%
Result:
  • Product "the-snowboard": Gets ALL 3 discounts everywhere ✅
    • Product page: $100 → $78.30
    • Collection page: $100 → $78.30
    • Checkout: $100 → $78.30
  • Other products in "Summer" collection (not "the-snowboard"): Get only collection + tag discounts
    • If also has "Sale" tag: $100 → $93.10 (-5% then -2%)
Benefits:
  • ✅ Consistent pricing across all pages
  • ✅ No customer confusion
  • ✅ Predictable behavior

Important Limitations

Collection Page Product Limits
Limitation: First 50 products on collection pages are pre-populated with full data (Shopify Liquid limit)
Impact:
  • Products 1-50: All rules work (handle, collections, tags, regex)
  • Products 51+: Only handle-based rules work
Workaround: Most common use case (first 50 products) works perfectly
 
Product Page Related Products
Limitation: Main product + up to 10 related products from recommendations API
Impact:
  • Main product: All rules work
  • Related products: Only handle-based rules work
Note: This rarely affects customer experience as customers focus on the main product
 
Home & Search Pages
Limitation: Collection and tag data NOT available (Shopify Liquid limitation)
Impact:
  • Handle-based rules: ✅ Work
  • "All Products" collection: ✅ Works
  • Specific collection rules: ❌ Don't work
  • Tag rules: ❌ Don't work
Recommendation: For rules that must work on ALL pages, use:
  • Handle-based matching (specific products or regex patterns)
  • "All Products" collection

Troubleshooting Multiple Rules

Problem: Multiple rules not applying correctly
Solution:
  1. Click "Settings" button in the app UI
  2. Try different combination strategies:
    • Sequential (default) - Rules applied in order
    • Sum then Apply - Percentages combined
    • Best Price - Lowest price wins
  3. Save and test again
Debug:
  • Open browser console (F12)
  • Look for: 🟢 Total rules matched: X
  • Look for: 🟢 Strategy: [strategy name]
  • Look for: 🟢 Final price: X → Y
 
Problem: Some products not matching collection/tag rules
Check these:
  1. Page Type:
    • Are you testing on home/search pages? (Collection/tag rules don't work there)
    • Try testing on product page or collection page
  2. Product Position:
    • Is the product beyond position 50 on a collection page? (Limitation)
  3. Collection/Tag Assignment:
    • Verify in Shopify Admin that the product is actually in the collection
    • Verify the product has the tag you're matching
 
Problem: Rules applying inconsistently across pages
This usually means:
  • Using collection or tag rules on pages where they're not supported
Solution:
  • Use handle-based rules for consistency across ALL pages
  • Or accept that collection/tag rules only work on product/collection/checkout pages

Best Practices

1. Start Simple
  • Begin with a single rule per variation
  • Test thoroughly
  • Add complexity gradually
2. Use Handle-Based for Universal Coverage
  • If rules must work everywhere (home, search, product, checkout)
  • Use specific product selection or regex patterns on handles
3. Use Collections/Tags for Category-Wide Tests
  • Perfect for product and collection pages
  • Easier to manage than individual products
  • Just remember they don't work on home/search pages
4. Test Your Strategy
  • Try all three combination strategies with sample products
  • Choose the one that makes sense for your business
  • Document your choice for future reference
5. Monitor Debug Console
  • Keep browser console open during initial testing
  • Look for pricing calculation logs
  • Verify rules are matching as expected

Need Help?

Still confused about rule combinations? Contact Convert support with:
  • Your Experience ID
  • List of rules you're trying to configure
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Screenshots of your configuration
Our team can help you choose the right strategy and troubleshoot any issues.