Atlas displays the progress bar and counts the customer towards your threshold. It does not create the free shipping or discount that the bar promises. That has to exist as an automatic discount or a shipping rate in your Shopify admin. By the end of this the reward your bar promises will actually be applied at checkout.
Atlas states the split itself:
To apply discounts based on your progress rewards, create automatic discounts in your Shopify admin. We'll show the progress bar to guide customers toward your discount thresholds.
In this article:
Free shipping: two ways
For free shipping you have a choice, and the simpler one is often better.
A free shipping rate. In Shopify, go to Settings, then Shipping and delivery, and add a rate of $0 with a minimum order price condition. This is the most reliable route, it shows correctly in checkout as a shipping option, and it needs no discount at all.
An automatic free shipping discount. In Discounts, create an automatic discount of type free shipping with a minimum purchase requirement. Use this if you need the reward to appear as a discount line rather than a shipping rate.
💡 Use a shipping rate for a permanent free shipping threshold. It does not count against Shopify's limit of 25 automatic discounts, which your bundles are probably also using.
Creating an automatic discount
For a percentage or fixed amount reward:
In your Shopify admin, go to Discounts.
Select Create discount, then Amount off order.
Set the discount method to Automatic discount.
Enter a name customers will see at checkout.
Set the value, either a percentage or a fixed amount.
Under Minimum purchase requirements, choose Minimum purchase amount and enter the same threshold as your reward bar.
Save.
Matching the two configurations
This is where it goes wrong. The bar and the discount are configured in two places, and both must agree.
Must match | In Atlas | In Shopify |
The threshold |
| Minimum purchase amount |
What is measured | Cart value, always | Must be a minimum purchase amount, not a minimum quantity |
The reward |
| The discount type and value |
⚠️ Check whether your threshold is measured before or after tax and shipping. Shopify's minimum purchase requirement uses the subtotal. If your reward bar counts something different, customers near the boundary will see the bar complete while the discount does not apply, which is the single most common version of this failure.
Multiple tiers
If your bar has several tiers, each needs its own discount in Shopify.
A bar offering free shipping at $50 and 10% off at $100 needs two: a free shipping rate or discount at $50, and a 10% automatic discount at $100.
Then check they can combine. In Shopify, open each discount and look at Combinations. If free shipping and the order discount are not set to combine, a customer at $100 gets one of them rather than both, while your bar implies they get both.
Testing it end to end
The only reliable test is a real cart.
Open your store in a private window.
Add items until you are just below the threshold. Confirm the bar shows the remaining amount.
Add one more item to cross the threshold. Confirm the after-achieving message appears.
Go to checkout and confirm the discount or free shipping actually applies.
Repeat for each tier.
Step 4 is the one that matters. Steps 1 to 3 only prove Atlas is displaying correctly.
Common mismatches
Symptom | Cause |
Bar completes, shipping still charged | No discount or free shipping rate exists in Shopify |
Works for some customers, not others | The Shopify discount has conditions the bar does not know about, such as a country or customer segment restriction |
Works below a certain amount then stops | The discount has a usage limit, or an end date that has passed |
Only one of two tiers applies | The two discounts are not set to combine |
Off by a small amount | The bar and the discount measure different things, usually subtotal against total |
ℹ️ If you change the threshold in Atlas, change it in Shopify at the same time. There is no link between them, and nothing will warn you that they have drifted apart.