Limited-time free shipping, prize with purchase, and a secret VIP-only cart.
These three offers go beyond a standard discount, and each one runs inside your cart. They can be scheduled to appear for a set window, or restricted so only certain customers see them. Use them for your main sale, a mid-sale moment, or even as an always-on play.
1. Limited-time free shipping (like a Free Ship Friday)
Run free or express shipping for a short window, such as a weekend, a single day, or even a few hours, to create urgency. The trick is doing it without touching your Shopify shipping settings.
Your standard free shipping reward in Add to Unlock usually mirrors your Shopify shipping and delivery settings, which is perfect for your always-on offer. But changing those settings for a short promotion is fiddly, and you can't schedule it. The automatic shipping discount solves this.
How to set it up:
Open your cart and go to your Add to Unlock block, or add a new one just for this offer.
Choose the shipping reward, then select the automatic discount option. This tells Unicorn to create a shipping discount that applies directly to the order, so it has nothing to do with your Shopify shipping and delivery settings. You won't need to change anything there.
From the dropdown, choose which shipping methods the discount applies to (for example standard or express), and set which products it applies to.
Set the threshold. To give every order free shipping, set it so all orders qualify, or add a minimum spend if you prefer.
Keep this shipping discount in its own block, separate from any gift rewards, so you can turn it on and off without affecting your other cart offers.
Schedule the block to go live and turn off for your chosen window, whether that's a Friday, a weekend, or a four-hour flash.
Tip: A tight window (like four hours or a single day) creates the most urgency. Pair it with an email or SMS so customers know to act fast.
2. Prize with purchase
Enter every order into a prize draw during your sale. A homepage banner or an email mention is easy to miss, but this shows up in the cart while the customer is shopping, so they can see they've been entered. That builds excitement and FOMO right at the moment of purchase.
How to set it up:
Create a product called "Prize Entry" (or similar). Add an image of the prize and a short description of what's up for grabs, so it looks appealing in the cart.
In your cart, set up a Gift with Purchase reward, but assign the Prize Entry product as the gift instead of a real product.
Choose who gets entered:
Spend based: set a low threshold (for example, spend over $1) so all orders qualify, or set a higher one if you'd rather.
Quantity based: use cart quantity so buying one item enters them.
Save. Every qualifying order will now see the Prize Entry added to their cart, showing they've been entered to win.
Tip: You can also use a media block to show off the prize with an image or banner.
When to run it: This works well as a mid-sale offer (for example a 48-hour window) or on the final day of your sale. Schedule the block if you want it live for a set period.
How to pick the winner: After the sale, filter your orders by the ones that contain the Prize Entry product, then drop that list into a random winner-picker tool and let it choose for you.
3. Secret VIP-only cart (URL access only)
Reward your loyal or VIP customers with an offer no one else can see. New customers often get the discounts while repeat customers miss out, so this is a lovely way to give a specific segment something special.
Using restrict cart to URL access only, you create a secret cart that can only be reached through a unique link (or a URL parameter you add to any page). You send that link to your VIPs, and the cart stays active until they purchase or you turn it off.
How to set it up:
Duplicate your normal or sale cart. Your existing cart keeps running for everyone else, and the duplicate becomes your secret VIP cart.
In the duplicate, build your VIP reward. For an extra 10% off, for example:
Add an Add to Unlock block and set the progress bar size to zero so it stays hidden.
Set a cart quantity reward: buy one item, get 10% off.
Remove any on-screen mention of the offer so it stays discreet.
Give every discount a unique title (for example "VIP extra 10% off") so your rewards don't clash.
Set the cart to restrict to URL access only. Now only people with the link will see it.
Save, then send the link to your VIP subscribers.
Tip: The reward doesn't have to be a percentage. It can be a dollar amount, or tied to a spend threshold. Set it up however suits your segment.
Optional: You can schedule the entire secret cart to be live only for a set period. When it turns off, your VIPs simply see the normal cart like everyone else.