Discount Center: Category and tag sync

Category and tag sync are optional automations that run alongside a discount. While the discount is active, the store can automatically put its products into a category and apply product tags to them, then undo both when the discount ends. This is how you build a "Sale" category or a "Black Friday" tag that fills and empties itself on schedule.

Both are Plus-plan features. On a lower plan, the sync cards on the discount's detail page are visible but their buttons are disabled, with a tooltip explaining the plan requirement.

When sync runs

Sync only runs for discounts that target specific products. If a discount applies to all products, a category, manufacturers, or shipping only, there are no individual products to move, so sync does nothing.

So the recipe is: set targeting to Specific products, add the products, then configure sync.

One thing worth knowing: if you change sync settings while a discount is already active, the change takes effect right away. You don't have to wait for the discount to end and restart — the store re-syncs the affected products as soon as you save.

Category sync

Category sync adds the discount's products to a category while the discount runs.

Open the Category sync card and click Settings to configure:

A common setup: a hidden "Campaign" category that the discount activates and fills when it starts, then empties and hides when it ends — so customers can browse the sale as its own page for exactly the campaign window.

The Settings button is only available on the Plus plan, and only when the discount targets specific products. If either isn't met, the button is disabled and a tooltip tells you why.

Tag sync

Tag sync applies product tags to the discount's products while it runs, and restores the original tags when it ends. Tags can drive things like badges, filters, or storefront logic.

You build the tag rules from a picker rather than typing them by hand:

• Open the Tag sync card.

• Under Product tag, choose an existing tag from the dropdown (Select a tag…).

• In Value to apply, enter the value the tag should have while the discount is active.

• Click Add. The rule appears in the Added product tags list.

• For each added tag, optionally turn on Restore the original tag when the discount ends so the product's previous tag value comes back when the discount finishes.

• Use Remove to drop a rule, and save.

You can add several tag rules. Each product tag can only appear once in the list.

Tag sync needs two things to be available:

• Your store has to be on the Plus plan. If it isn't, the card opens an upgrade prompt.

• The Product Tags module has to be installed. If it isn't, the card prompts you to install it.

When sync fails

Category and tag sync touch a lot of products, so occasionally a sync can't finish — for example if something it depends on has changed. When that happens:

• The discount's status becomes Activation failed or Deactivation failed.

• The dashboard shows a red alert naming the discount, and warns that no discount is active for those products.

• Nothing is left half-applied — a failed sync is rolled back so the store stays consistent.

To fix it, click Retry on the dashboard (or on the discount itself). The store reprocesses the discount on its next run. If it keeps failing, the underlying problem — usually with the category or a product — needs sorting out before a retry will stick.

Tips

• Turn on sync only if you actually want the category/tag automation. A plain discount applies fine at checkout without it.

• "Keep products in the category when the discount ends" is handy when the category is a permanent home and you only want the discount itself to expire.

• Because sync needs specific-product targeting, plan the product list first, then switch sync on.

• Editing sync on a live discount is safe — the change applies immediately, so you can fix a wrong category or tag value without taking the discount down.