The reward progress bar shows customers how far they are from unlocking free shipping or a discount, and fills as they add items. It is usually the highest-impact module in the drawer. By the end of this you will have it configured. The essential companion step is in a separate article: Atlas shows the bar, but you create the actual discount in Shopify.
In this article:
Step 1: Enable it
In the cart drawer editor, select
Reward Progress Bar.Select
Activate.
While it is off you see Progress bar is not shown because it is disabled. Activate to show it in your cart drawer. You can preview changes before saving.
Step 2: Choose the reward type
Reward Type offers two options:
Type | What the customer unlocks |
| Free delivery |
| A discount, either |
Free shipping is the more effective of the two for most stores. It removes a cost customers dislike paying rather than reducing a price they had already accepted.
Step 3: Set the threshold
Minimum Amount is the value the cart must reach, with the help text: "Cart must reach this amount to unlock the reward."
ℹ️ Progress is always measured by cart value, never by the number of items. There is no setting for this. If you want to reward customers for adding units rather than spending more, a bundle quantity break does that instead. See How to create a bundle deal.
The threshold is a money amount in your store's base currency, converted for display to customers shopping in another currency.
Step 4: Write the two messages
Field | Default | When it shows |
|
| Below the threshold |
|
| At or above it |
The help text for the first names the variable: Use {AMOUNT} to show remaining amount needed to reach reward. The second is Shown when the cart value reaches or exceeds the minimum amount.
💡 Keep {AMOUNT} in the first message. "You're $12 away from free shipping" gives a customer a specific, small-sounding gap to close. "Spend more for free shipping" gives them nothing to act on.
Step 5: Add more tiers
Add another reward creates a second tier, shown as Reward {number}, removable with Remove tier {number}.
Multiple tiers keep working after the first is unlocked: free shipping at $50, then 10% off at $100.
Two tiers is usually the sensible maximum. Beyond that the bar becomes hard to read at drawer width.
Step 6: Colours
Control | What it colours |
| The unfilled part |
| The filled part |
Use a strong contrast between them. The bar communicates through the visible gap between filled and unfilled, and a subtle pairing removes the whole point.
Step 7: Create the discount in Shopify
⚠️ This step is not optional. Atlas displays the progress bar. It does not create the free shipping or the discount. Without a matching automatic discount in your Shopify admin, customers will reach the threshold, see your congratulations message, and be charged for shipping anyway.
The Create your own discounts banner in the editor:
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.
The banner's Create discount button takes you to the right place in Shopify. Full instructions in Creating the discounts behind your reward bar.
Setting a threshold that works
Set it just above your current average order value, not far above it.
Find your average order value in Shopify's analytics.
Set the threshold roughly 15 to 25 percent above it.
Too low and you give away shipping on orders that were happening anyway. Too high and most customers see a gap they will not close, and the bar becomes discouraging rather than motivating.
ℹ️ Check the threshold against your actual shipping cost. Free shipping on a $50 order that costs you $12 to ship needs enough margin to absorb it. The bar increases order value, but not always by more than the shipping you gave away.