NEW: Scope Reward Thresholds to Specific Collections
Reward thresholds used to be one number against the whole cart. That's fine for "Free shipping over $75", but it falls apart the moment you want to run a category-specific campaign — "spend $50 on our Skincare line and we'll throw in a free mini" used to require a separate app, a custom discount, or just hoping customers read the landing page copy. The new threshold scope setting in Rewards V2 fixes that: every reward can now count only the cart lines you choose toward unlocking.
The Update
Open any reward in a V2 reward bar and you'll see a new Scope threshold disclosure sitting below the threshold input. Expand it and you can switch the reward's unlock math from "the whole cart" to a specific set of collections — either an include list ("only these count") or an exclude list ("skip these, everything else counts"). The storefront progress bar, the Plus-only Cart Transform that zeros gift prices, the gift eligibility validation at checkout, and the advanced-discount Shopify Function all respect the scope automatically.
What's New
Three scope modes
- All products (default) — every non-excluded cart line counts. No change from the original behaviour.
- Specific collections — include mode. Only cart lines whose product belongs to at least one of the selected collections count toward this reward's threshold.
- Exclude collections — exclude mode. Cart lines in the selected collections are skipped; everything else counts.
The usual exclusions — gifts, addons, gift cards, and products tagged _elite_exclude_from_reward_calculation — still apply on top of the scope, so nothing you rely on today changes.
Works with every V2 reward type
Shipping, single gift, multi gift, advanced discount, legacy discount — all five can carry a threshold scope. A free-shipping tier can unlock at $75 of Jackets. A gift reward can require three Skincare items. A legacy discount reward can only count premium-line spend. Same control, same behaviour, everywhere.
Independent from the discount scope
On advanced discount rewards, Scope threshold (what counts toward unlocking) and Apply discount to (what the discount lands on) are two separate axes. You can require "$100 on Jackets" to unlock the reward and apply the discount only to "Accessories" — a cross-category promotion that used to be impossible without stitching together multiple discount codes. The two settings compose cleanly; set one, both, or neither.
Honest progress bar
When a reward is scoped, the reward bar only moves as customers add items in scope. Adding an out-of-scope product raises the cart total but doesn't move the scoped reward's progress — which is exactly right, but can look surprising if you're not expecting it. The admin flags this with a small info banner in the disclosure so you can preview before publishing.
Safe empty-state handling
If you pick Specific collections and forget to select any, the reward can never unlock. A warning banner in the disclosure catches this before you save. Empty exclude lists are harmless — they behave like "All products".
Impact on Your Store
A single cart total is a blunt instrument. Scoped thresholds turn the reward bar into something you can point at a category, a brand, or a seasonal collection:
- Category-gated free shipping — "Free shipping when you spend $75 on Jackets" without affecting the free-shipping threshold on the rest of your store.
- Hero-line gifts — Unlock a free mini only when customers buy into your Skincare line, not when they fill the cart with bestseller tees.
- Cross-category promos — "Spend $100 on Jackets, get 10% off Accessories" in one reward, fully self-contained, no stacked Shopify discounts to manage.
- Excluding noisy categories — Run a "$150 gets a free tote" reward but exclude your $300 outerwear so a single high-ticket item doesn't trigger gifts you didn't intend.
- Clearance carve-outs — Keep your evergreen reward bar running while excluding the Sale collection from counting, so promoted items don't pile up free gifts on top.
Configuration
Navigate to Cart Designer → Rewards → Rewards tab, click any V2 reward, and expand the Scope threshold disclosure below the threshold input. Pick All products, Specific collections, or Exclude collections, then add the collections you want. Save, and the new scope takes effect immediately across the storefront reward bar, gift eligibility validation, Cart Transform, and the advanced-discount function.
Existing rewards default to All products, so nothing on your store changes until you opt a reward in. Scope can be combined with everything else a V2 reward already supports — conditional visibility, per-reward scheduling, market targeting, and (for advanced discounts) the separate Apply discount to filter.
Why This Matters
The reward bar is one of the highest-visibility conversion surfaces in the cart, and every merchant uses it a little differently. Scoped thresholds remove the assumption that "threshold" always means "whole cart", which unlocks an entire class of category-specific campaigns that used to live in email copy, landing pages, or dedicated apps. Same bar, same setup flow, one more dial — pointed exactly where your margin and merchandising teams need it.
For detailed setup instructions, see our help article on setting up Rewards V2.