The problem BulkPilot solves
A quantity deal that needs a code sends shoppers off to hunt for it, and a total they cannot see until checkout makes them hesitate.
12%couldn’t see the total up front
Average documented cart abandonment is 70.22%, across 50 studies. 12% of US online shoppers who abandoned a cart, excluding those just browsing, said they couldn’t see or calculate the total order cost up front, and 40% said extra costs were too high.
Most abandonment has other causes. This does not show what any app recovers.
Independent researchBaymard, “Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics” (opens the source)
83%of sites don’t auto-apply discounts
“If discounts can be autoapplied, do it. Users consider this beneficial as it provides both convenience and trustworthiness, yet 83% of sites don’t offer it.” Visible promo fields “tempt users to leave checkout and hunt for codes elsewhere.”
UX research. Baymard gives no conversion figure for removing codes.
Independent researchBaymard, “Payment UX” (opens the source)
4–5units showed the largest effects
In a study of multi-unit price promotions, “X for $Y” did better than “X + N free”, and quantity requirements of four to five units showed the largest effects, in functional categories but not hedonic ones.
Abstract only. No effect size, and not every product type.
Peer-reviewedDrechsler et al., European Journal of Marketing (opens the source)
What BulkPilot does: volume discounts, quantity breaks and tiered pricing without a discount code
- Adds “Buy 2” and “Buy 3” buttons to the product page and the cart page.
- Per product, you set what 2 units and 3 units cost in total, or a percentage off. The other value is calculated for you.
- The shopper sees the saving before checkout. The right price applies at checkout automatically, through a Shopify discount function, with no discount code.
- Quantity 4 and above continues at the “Buy 3” per-unit rate.
- One switch decides whether tiers are calculated from the current price or the original price.
- Button colours follow your theme, or you set them in Settings.
How it works on the storefront
Product page
The buttons read “Buy 2” and “Buy 3” with the saving and a regular-price line. The saving is worked out for the variant the shopper has selected.
Cart page
The same buttons, and the label “Bulk price applied” once a tier is in effect.
Checkout
The tier price combines with order-level and shipping discounts, but not with other product-level discounts. If another product discount is active, Shopify applies whichever wins under its own rules.
Install and set up, step by step
Install from the Shopify App Store
Open the BulkPilot listing, install the app, log in to Shopify and choose your store. Review the permissions Shopify shows and approve.
Create a tier rule
Open “Tier rules”, then “New tier rule”. Press “Choose product”, then set “Buy 2 for (total price)” or its “% off”, and “Buy 3 for (total price)” or its “% off”. Each price must be a real saving on the regular price. Save.
Add the product page buttons
In Online Store, Themes, Customize, open the product template, add the app block “BulkPilot bulk-pricing buttons”, drag it just below the Add to cart button and save.
Add the cart page buttons
Open the cart template, add the app block “BulkPilot bulk-pricing (cart)”, drag it above the Check out button and save.
Optional: settings
In “Settings”, choose “Calculate bulk price from” and, if you want, set the “Button colours”. Leave colours blank to match your theme.
Check it on the storefront
Open the product, press “Buy 2”, go to the cart and on to checkout. The tier price applies with no code.
Your numbers
Do Buy 2 and Buy 3 tiers pay off?
A quantity price wins margin when orders move up, and gives margin away on orders that would have bought that many anyway. Both sides are counted here, with the break-even shown.
Monthly margin change
Counts the margin given away on orders that would have bought the tier quantity anyway.
Orders that need to move up before the tier pays off
The break-even share of orders, from your numbers.
This is arithmetic on your numbers, not a forecast or a result from our app.
How this is calculated
- Margin change on an order that moves up
Q × P × (m − d) − u × P × m - Margin given away on an order that already buys Q
Q × P × d - Monthly margin change
N × t × [Q·P·(m − d) − u·P·m] − N × c × Q·P·d - Break-even share
t* = c × Q·d ÷ [Q·(m − d) − u·m]
N is orders per month, P the unit price, m the gross margin, u units per order today, Q the tier quantity, d the tier discount, t the share of orders that move up and c the share that already buy Q or more.
Context from the research, not used in the maths
- In typical S&P 1500 economics, volume has to rise 18.7% just to offset a 5% price cut, McKinsey calculated. That is why the break-even is shown. Consulting firmMcKinsey, “The power of pricing” (opens the source)
- Quantity requirements of four to five units showed the largest effects in one study of multi-unit offers. Peer-reviewedDrechsler et al., European Journal of Marketing (opens the source)
- BCG found that 20 to 50 percent of retail promotions brought no noticeable sales lift, and another 20 to 30 percent diluted margin, because the extra sales did not cover the promotion cost. Consulting firmBCG, “Improve Promotion Effectiveness” (opens the source)
Questions about BulkPilot
Why don’t I see the Buy 2 and Buy 3 buttons?
Two things are needed: a tier rule for that product, and the theme block added in Online Store, Themes, Customize, on the product and cart templates. Installing the app does not place the blocks.
Do shoppers need a discount code?
No. The tier price applies at checkout automatically.
Does BulkPilot show in the cart drawer?
Not in this version. The buttons show on the product page and the cart page.
Why did checkout apply a different discount?
BulkPilot does not combine with other product-level discounts. When one is active, Shopify applies whichever wins under its own rules.
What does “Calculate bulk price from” do?
When a product is already on sale, it decides whether the tier is based on the current price or the original price. It is one switch for every product in the store.
What happens at 4 or more units?
The order continues at the “Buy 3” per-unit rate.
Is there a free plan?
Yes, a free plan is available. Plan details are on the Shopify App Store listing.
BulkPilot on the Shopify App Store
- App Store name
- BulkPilot: Smart Bulk Sales
- Listing subtitle
- Buy 2, Buy 3 bulk-price buttons built for conversion and AOV: no discount code needed.
- Listing tagline
- Buy 2, Buy 3 bulk-price buttons built for conversion and AOV: no discount code needed.
- Developer
- BoldnSmart, listed as Boldnsmart on the Shopify App Store
- Released
- Plan
- Free plan available
- Language
- English
- Category
- Selling online, other
- Works with
- Checkout
- Own website
- bulkpilotapp.com
Already using BulkPilot: Smart Bulk Sales? Leave a review on the Shopify App Store
Sources for the figures on this page
Each figure is the named source’s finding. None of them is a result of BulkPilot.
- Independent researchBaymard Institute, “Payment UX: Research-Backed Standards for Ecommerce Checkouts”, C. MacDonaldOpen on baymard.com (opens the source)
- Independent researchBaymard Institute, “Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics”Open on baymard.com (opens the source)
- Peer-reviewedDrechsler, Leeflang, Bijmolt and Natter, “Multi-unit price promotions and their impact on purchase decisions and sales”, European Journal of Marketing 51(5/6) (abstract)Open on doi.org (opens the source)
- Peer-reviewedManning and Sprott, “Multiple unit price promotions and their effects on quantity purchase intentions”, Journal of Retailing 83(4) (abstract)Open on rex.libraries.wsu.edu (opens the source)
- Consulting firmMcKinsey Quarterly, “The power of pricing”, Marn, Roegner and ZawadaOpen on mckinsey.com (opens the source)
- Consulting firmBoston Consulting Group, “How Retailers Can Improve Promotion Effectiveness”, Goad, Robinson, Anta Callersten, Malby and Opstrup (PDF)Open on web-assets.bcg.com (opens the source)
