Creative & Offers
Percentage Discount vs Fixed Discount: Which Works Better?
“20% off” and “$20 off” can represent the same economic value on a $100 order and feel different to the customer.
Fixed amounts are concrete
“Save $25” communicates the exact value immediately.
This can feel particularly meaningful on lower-priced products where the dollar amount looks substantial.
Percentages scale with basket size
A 20% discount costs the business more as AOV rises. That can help encourage bigger orders and reduce margin more heavily on those same orders.
Test the framing honestly
Do not manipulate the comparison by making one offer economically much larger.
For a $50 item:
20% off = $10.
$20 off is twice as expensive.
If $20 wins, you may have tested discount depth rather than discount format.
Consider minimum spend
A fixed $20 discount above $100 can help AOV while protecting smaller orders.
Measure margin
The psychologically strongest offer is not automatically the financially strongest offer.
Want this tested properly?
If you run frequent promotions but are not sure which discount structure produces the best profit, send us an inquiry.