Guides Plan
How do I run a Christmas sale on Shopify, and which apps help?
Who this guide is for
This guide is for Shopify merchants who want a Christmas sale in December that is more than one flat percentage off. In 2026, Christmas Day is Friday, December 25, and Boxing Day is Saturday, December 26. We update this page every year before the season starts.
It gives six holiday offers. For each one it says whether Shopify's own discounts can run it, or which app you need. Every app price below comes from the app's Shopify App Store listing, checked on November 10, 2026. Prices are per month, in US dollars, and can change.
Shopstack makes Discount Genie, one of the apps on this list. We list it only for the discount jobs it does, and we name other apps for every other job.
What Shopify does for free
Shopify's own discounts can take a percentage or fixed amount off, run a Buy X Get Y deal, or give free shipping, and each one can have a start date and an end date (Shopify's discount help, checked November 10, 2026). These are the desktop steps for one day of a "12 days of Christmas" sale.
- From your Shopify admin, go to Discounts, click Create discount, and in the Select discount type menu click Amount off products.
- Under Method, select Automatic discount and enter a title, for example Day 1: 25% off ornaments.
- In the Discount value section, enter 25 as a percentage.
- In the Applies to section, select Specific collections and add the collection for that day.
- Under Active dates, pick December 1 as the start date, click Set end date, and pick December 1 again, so the deal runs for that one day.
- Click Save, then repeat for days 2 to 12 with a new collection and date each time.
Shopify can
- Run a discount for one day only, when you pick the same calendar day as the start and end date. Source: help.shopify.com
- Give a free item once the customer spends a minimum purchase amount, using a Buy X Get Y discount with the value set to Free. Source: help.shopify.com
- Give free shipping above a minimum purchase amount, with an end date you choose. Source: help.shopify.com
- Run a spend-more-save-more ladder as one automatic discount per tier. When the tiers can't combine, Shopify applies the best discount for the customer's cart. Source: help.shopify.com
- Limit a discount code to one use per customer. Source: help.shopify.com
- Accept up to 5 product or order discount codes and 1 shipping discount code on the same order. Source: help.shopify.com
Shopify can’t
- Add the free item to the cart for the customer. In a Buy X Get Y discount, customers must add every item to the cart themselves. Source: help.shopify.com
- Hold several tiers in one discount. Each discount takes one minimum purchase amount or one minimum quantity, so a 2-tier ladder is 2 discounts. Source: help.shopify.com
- Have more than 25 active automatic discounts. Discounts created by apps count toward the 25. Source: help.shopify.com
Six Christmas offers and how to set them up
Twelve days of deals. Run a different deal each day from December 1 to December 12, for example 25% off ornaments on day 1 and 20% off candles on day 2.
- How: create one automatic discount per day with the same start and end date, as in the steps above.
- Native or app: Shopify does this for free. To show a countdown to midnight on each deal, add a timer app or Discount Genie's countdown timer block.
Spend more, save more. Reward bigger gift orders, for example $10 off $100 and $25 off $200.
- How: create one Amount off orders automatic discount per tier: $10 off with a Minimum purchase amount of 100, and $25 off with 200, both from December 1 to December 24. Under Combinations, leave the other order discounts unchecked.
- Native or app: Shopify does this for free. A $250 cart qualifies for both tiers and gets the better one, $25 off. Each tier uses one of your 25 automatic discounts; Discount Genie's Tiered order discount holds the whole ladder in one discount. See tiered and volume discounts.
Free shipping until the carrier cutoff. Offer free shipping on orders over a set amount, and end it on the last day your carrier can still deliver before Christmas.
- How: go to Discounts, click Create discount, click Free shipping, set a Minimum purchase amount, then click Set end date and pick your carrier's last ground shipping day.
- Native or app: Shopify does this for free. A free shipping bar app shows shoppers how much more they need to spend. See where to set a free shipping threshold.
Last-minute codes. After the free shipping ends, send a short code to your email list for in-stock items that can still arrive by express shipping, for example LASTCALL15 for 15% off.
- How: create an Amount off orders discount code, check Limit to one per customer, and set the same day as the start and end date.
- Native or app: Shopify does this for free. To send a unique code to each subscriber, use Discount Genie's bulk code generator and Klaviyo integration, which are on its paid plans.
A gift above a spend threshold. Give a free item, for example a gift-wrapped candle, on orders over $75.
- How: create a Buy X get Y discount. Under Customer buys, select Minimum purchase amount and enter 75. Under Customer gets, add the gift product and select Free.
- Native or app: Shopify does this for free, but the customer must add the gift to the cart. To add the gift automatically, use a free gift app such as BOGOS.
After-Christmas clearance. Clear leftover holiday stock from December 26, for example 40% off a Holiday collection until January 3.
- How: create an Amount off products automatic discount on that collection, with December 26 as the start date and January 3 as the end date.
- Native or app: Shopify does this for free. To cap each discount, for example 40% off up to $50, use Discount Genie. See discount caps.
Discounts and promo codes: Discount Genie
Discount Genie (by Shopstack, the team behind this guide) is a discount app for stores whose holiday sale needs more than Shopify's own discount types. It does these Christmas jobs:
- Spend more, save more: tiers such as $10 off $100 and $25 off $200, held in one discount instead of one per tier.
- A cap on a percentage discount, for example 40% off up to $50.
- Bulk unique codes for last-minute emails, sent to Klaviyo. See bulk discount codes.
- Start and end dates on each discount, and theme blocks that show your offers with badges, banners and a countdown timer. See show discounts on your store.
The basic free plan covers up to 3 basic discounts and promo code rejection rules. Paid plans add all 11 discount types, the bulk code generator and the Klaviyo integration. New stores pay $0.99/mo for the first 3 months on any monthly paid plan, then from $29.99 a month on the Core plan.
Discount Genie has no free shipping bar and no email sending of its own. Use the apps below for those jobs.
Free gifts
BOGOS is a free gift and BOGO app. It can add a free gift to the cart automatically or show a gift popup, and it has a progress bar. The free plan covers 30 free orders by BOGOS for the lifetime of the store. The Basic plan is $29.99 a month for 300 monthly orders, then $0.05 per extra order, and it is only for Shopify Basic stores (App Store listing).
Countdown timers and urgency
Essential Countdown Timer Bar by Essential Apps adds countdown timers to the top bar and to product pages. The free plan covers up to 1,000 timer views a month. The Starter plan is $6.99 a month for up to 10,000 views and adds scheduled and recurring timers, which fit a daily deal. Cart and email timers start on the Essential plan at $9.99 a month (App Store listing).
Discount Genie's countdown timer block shows on product pages and can hide itself when time runs out.
Free shipping bar
Free Shipping Bar by Hextom shows a message such as "Spend $20 more for free shipping" that updates as shoppers add items. The Basic plan is free. The Premium plan is $9.99 a month and adds unlimited active bars, geo targeting with Shopify Markets and auto scheduling, so the bar can stop on your cutoff date (App Store listing).
The bar only shows the message. The free shipping itself is the Shopify free shipping discount from the carrier cutoff offer above.
Email and SMS
Klaviyo sends email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns and automated flows. The free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month. The SMS plan is $15 a month for up to 1,250 SMS and MMS credits. Klaviyo may bill some charges separately from your Shopify invoice (App Store listing).
Omnisend sends email, SMS and web push, and collects emails with popups and signup forms. The free plan covers emails to up to 250 people and 500 emails a month. The Standard plan starts at $16 a month for up to 500 contacts and rises as your list grows (App Store listing).
Upsells and reviews
Upsell.com (formerly ReConvert) adds upsell and cross-sell offers on the product page, cart and thank you page, and one-click post-purchase upsells, such as gift wrap or a stocking filler. The free plan covers up to 50 orders or $50 of upsell revenue. Paid plans start at $9.99 a month for 51 to 100 orders (App Store listing).
Judge.me collects product reviews with photos and videos, and shows star ratings on your store, which helps gift buyers who don't know your products. The Forever Free plan covers unlimited product and store reviews. The Awesome plan is $15 a month and adds integrations such as Klaviyo, and coupons (App Store listing).
All the apps side by side
Prices are from each Shopify App Store listing, checked November 10, 2026, per month in US dollars.
| App | Christmas job | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discount Genie | Tiers, caps, scheduled dates, bulk codes | Basic free plan (up to 3 basic discounts) | $0.99/mo for the first 3 months, then $29.99 |
| BOGOS | Free gift added to the cart | 30 orders, lifetime | $29.99 |
| Essential Countdown Timer Bar | Countdown timers | Up to 1,000 views a month | $6.99 |
| Free Shipping Bar (Hextom) | Free shipping progress bar | Yes (Basic) | $9.99 |
| Klaviyo | Email and SMS | Up to 250 profiles, 500 emails a month | $15 (SMS) |
| Omnisend | Email, SMS and popups | Up to 250 people, 500 emails a month | From $16 |
| Upsell.com | Upsells and post-purchase offers | Up to 50 orders or $50 upsell revenue | $9.99 |
| Judge.me | Reviews | Unlimited reviews | $15 |
Christmas timeline
Use these dates for 2026. Look up your own carrier's holiday shipping deadlines, because they change every year and differ by service.
- By November 30: install your apps, build each offer, set its start and end dates, and check its Combinations settings. Count your active automatic discounts: Shopify allows 25, and app discounts count toward the 25.
- December 1 to 12: run the twelve days of deals, one discount per day.
- December 1 to 24: run spend-more-save-more and the gift above a threshold.
- Your carrier's last ground shipping day: free shipping ends on the end date you set.
- From that day to December 24: send last-minute codes for items that can still arrive by express shipping.
- December 26 onward: start the after-Christmas clearance. The apps you set up for Black Friday also run your Boxing Day sale; see best Shopify apps for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the Black Friday discount checklist.
FAQ
What are some good Christmas sale ideas for my Shopify store?
Six that work well: twelve days of deals, spend more save more, free shipping until the carrier cutoff, last-minute codes, a free gift above a spend amount, and an after-Christmas clearance from December 26. Shopify's own discounts can run all six for free.
Do I need an app for a Christmas discount on Shopify?
Not for a simple sale. Shopify's own discounts can run a percentage off, free shipping, a free item above a spend amount or a simple spend-more-save-more ladder (one automatic discount per tier), on dates you set. You need an app for a gift that adds itself to the cart, countdown timers and email.
Which apps are best for Christmas promotions on Shopify?
Pick one app per job: a discount app such as Discount Genie for tiers, caps and codes, BOGOS for gifts, a countdown timer, a free shipping bar, Klaviyo or Omnisend for email and SMS, and Judge.me for reviews. Compare more in best Shopify discount apps.
How do I stop free shipping after my last shipping day?
Give the free shipping discount an end date. In Shopify, open the discount, click Set end date in the Active dates section, and pick your carrier's last shipping day. The discount stops on its own.
Can Shopify add a free gift to the cart automatically?
No. A Shopify Buy X Get Y discount makes the gift free, but the customer has to add it to the cart. To add it for them, use a free gift app such as BOGOS.