This example prevents a customer who has purchased an eligible item from purchasing the same product again. It takes a single cumulative quantity rule and uses no customer tags or Shopify Flow.
Prerequisite: Cumulative quantity rules are a Full plan feature. To use them, cumulative purchase limits must be enabled.
The same restriction can also be built by combining a customer rule, a quantity rule, and Shopify Flow. Choose based on your plan and how much ongoing maintenance you want.
Comparison item | Cumulative quantity rule | Customer rule + quantity rule + Shopify Flow |
|---|---|---|
Plan required | Full plan | Light plan or Full plan |
Apps used | This app only | This app and Shopify Flow |
Rules to create | 1 cumulative quantity rule | 1 customer rule and 1 quantity rule |
Managing customer tags | Not needed | Needed |
When it is evaluated | At checkout | When the cart is updated and at checkout |
When an order is cancelled | Subtracted from the total automatically | Remove the customer tag manually |
Logged in and has not purchased the eligible item: purchase is allowed (up to 1).
Logged in and has purchased 1 of the eligible item: purchase is not allowed.
Not logged in: the customer is asked to log in at checkout.
(1) Open Cumulative quantity rules
Open the app admin → "Quantity limits" → "Cumulative quantity rules".
(2) Enable cumulative purchase limits
Grant the additional permissions and select "Enable". If they are already enabled, skip this step.
(3) Enter the settings and save
Select "Create rule", configure the following, and save.
Field | Value |
|---|---|
Rule name | Any internal name |
Maximum quantity | 1 |
Require customers to log in | Enabled |
Eligible items | The products or collection to limit to one per customer |
Counted per | Product |
Message (signed-in customers) | Enter if needed |
Message (customers who are not logged in) | Text asking the customer to log in |
Checkout message (signed-in customers) | Text saying only 1 can be purchased |
Checkout message (customers who are not logged in) | Text asking the customer to log in |
Cart message | Text saying only 1 can be added to one order |
Setting "Counted per" to "Product" evaluates the total for the same product across variants. To allow 1 of each variant, select "Variant" instead.
(4) Enable the cumulative quantity rule
Select "Enable" on the rule details screen.
Only orders placed after you create the rule are counted. Customers who purchased before that are not limited.
If you disable "Require customers to log in", customers who are not logged in can also purchase. Purchases are counted when the email entered at checkout matches the customer record, but an order placed with a different email address lets them purchase again.
Totals can take a few minutes to update. Purchases made before an update lands, and checkouts completed at the same time, can go over the limit undetected.
The eligible items and what the total is counted per cannot be changed once tracking has started.
Cancelling an order subtracts it from the total. Returns and refunds are not reflected in the total.
Changing the eligible items and what the total is counted per gives you limits like these.