Testing with Cart Preview

The Live Preview panel in the Discount Wizard lets you simulate a customer’s cart and see exactly how your discount applies — before you publish. It’s the fastest way to catch configuration mistakes.

How the cart simulator works

The Cart Preview panel runs the real discount engine against a simulated cart. It’s not an approximation — the same code that evaluates customer carts in your live store evaluates the preview cart.

To use it:

1. Open any discount in the wizard (or create a new one and save a draft)
2. The Live Preview panel appears on the right side of the screen
3. Add products and quantities using the product search
4. The discount applies in real time as you adjust the cart

You can add multiple products, change quantities, and switch between different customer scenarios to test targeting conditions.

What to test

Basic discount application

Start simple — add the products your discount is meant to apply to and confirm the discount fires and the amount is correct.

Tiers and thresholds

For tiered discounts (Spend & Save, Volume), test each tier boundary:

• Just below the threshold — discount should not apply
• Exactly at the threshold — discount should apply
• Above the threshold — correct tier should apply

For example, if you have “spend £50 → 10%, spend £100 → 15%”, test carts at £49, £50, £99, and £100.

Targeting conditions

If your discount has product or category targeting, test both sides:

• A cart with only qualifying products → discount applies
• A cart with only non-qualifying products → no discount
• A mixed cart → discount applies only to qualifying items (for product-level discounts)

User role targeting

The cart preview simulates a logged-in customer. If your discount targets specific roles, you can check the preview reflects the expected behaviour — though for role-specific testing, the real WooCommerce cart with a test account is more reliable.

Coupon-activated discounts

The cart simulator does not currently simulate coupon entry. To test a coupon-activated discount, use a staging or test environment and enter the code in the WooCommerce checkout.

Reading the preview output

The Cart Preview shows:

Element	What it tells you
Discount line	The discount amount and the cart label text
Upsell message	The nudge text (if enabled) and the remaining amount/qty needed
Line item prices	Updated prices for product-level discounts (Volume, Buy X Get Y)
Order total	The final total after the discount

If the discount doesn’t appear, the preview also shows why — for example, “Minimum spend not met” or “No qualifying products in cart.”

Common issues to catch before publishing

Symptom	Likely cause
Discount doesn’t fire	Targeting conditions not met — check product inclusion, minimum spend
Wrong discount amount	Tier boundary off by one — check threshold values
Upsell message doesn’t appear	Upsell is disabled on this discount, or cart already meets the threshold
Discount applies to wrong items	Product targeting includes more than intended — review category/tag selection
Cart label shows default text	Custom label not saved — check the Cart Label tab

Publishing after a successful test

Once the cart preview confirms your discount behaves as expected:

1. Click the Discounts tab at the top of the admin
2. Click Publish in the unsaved changes banner
3. Review the “What goes live” summary
4. Click Publish Discounts

You can always roll back

Every publish creates a snapshot. If something looks wrong after going live, open the History tab and restore a previous state.