The Role of Zero Subtotal Checkout in Magento 2 for Gift Cards and Promotions

With the Zero Subtotal Checkout payment option within Magento 2, customers can place an order without making any payments. This feature is helpful in scenarios such as when a customer uses a discount coupon, gift card, or other promotional campaign to reduce the order value to zero. This approach optimizes checkout, improves customer satisfaction, and increases flexibility for marketing campaigns.

Understanding Magento Zero Subtotal Checkout

In Magento 2, the zero subtotal checkout payment method lets customers complete orders without paying. This is especially useful when the order total is zero due to a 100% discount coupon, a gift card, or other promotions.

It enhances the customer experience by streamlining the checkout process and provides flexibility for promotional offers. Magento's zero subtotal checkout is enabled by default in Magento 2.

Use Cases for Magento Zero Subtotal Checkout

• Gift Cards and Coupons: When customers use gift cards or coupons that cover the entire order value, including shipping costs.
• Promotions and Discounts: During promotional campaigns like "buy one, get one free" or discounts that reduce the order total to zero.
• Complimentary Products: When offering free or virtual/downloadable products at no cost.
• Reimbursements: Admins may need to provide a Magento zero subtotal checkout to reimburse customers who had problems with a previous order.

Benefits of Using Magento Zero Subtotal Checkout

• Seamless Checkout: There is no need to input payment details at checkout, which enhances user satisfaction.
• No Payment Information Required: Users cannot input payment details if the subtotal is $0.
• Build Customer Loyalty: Magento campaigns with zero subtotal foster greater customer loyalty, and non-discounted products may be sold more.
• Automated Order Processing: No manual work is needed for order processing, invoicing, and order status because the system automatically does everything. Zero subtotal orders can be enabled for automatic invoicing.
• Accurate Reporting: Magento's auto-generated reports ensure no compromised order reporting.
• Reduced Cart Abandonment: By skipping payment details, customers can complete orders faster, reducing cart abandonment rates.
• Increased Conversion Rates: Customers are also likely to take advantage of promotions or discounts and improve conversion rates and sales.

Configuring Zero Subtotal Checkout in Magento 2

To configure the Magento zero subtotal checkout in Magento 2:

1. Navigate to Stores > Configuration in the Magento admin panel.
2. In the left panel, under the Sales section, select Payment Methods.
3. Expand the Zero Subtotal Checkout tab.
4. Set Enabled to "Yes" to activate the payment method.
5. Enter a title to identify the payment method during checkout.
6. Choose a New Order Status:
7. Pending: If the order requires approval.
8. Processing: If the transaction is processing.
9. Suspected Fraud: If the order is suspected of fraud.
10. Set Payment from Applicable Countries to "All Allowed Countries" or "Specific Countries.".
11. If "Specific Countries" is selected, choose the countries from which payments are allowed.
12. Enter a number for Sort Order to determine the position of this payment method at checkout.
13. Click Save Config to save the configuration.

Zero Subtotal with IoCheckout

It offers the feature to manage zero subtotal payment in Magento checkout with PWA and non-PWA themes such as ScandiPWA, Venia, Luma, GraphCommerce, and custom themes. Magento offers a variety of payment options, including zero subtotal payment, which allows the store owner to configure the admin interface to enable customers to make orders with zero subtotal during checkout.

The IoCheckout does not require any third-party modules to be installed and configured to allow the Zero Subtotal feature. You can assist them through the Magento admin and control them through the IoCheckout configuration page.

By implementing the zero subtotal checkout in Magento, companies can provide a barrier-free customer experience, speed up order fulfillment, and capitalize on marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

Magento Zero Subtotal Checkout is one of the most useful features a Magento 2 merchant can implement to improve customer service and capitalize on promotional activities. This feature allows customers to complete their orders when the total is zero because gift cards, coupons, or other discounts have been applied, thus reducing abandonment rates and increasing conversion rates.

Adapting this payment type is simple, resulting in automated order processing while maintaining report accuracy. To achieve the IoCheckout, it is easier to manage Zero Subtotal Payment across all Magento themes without installing third-party modules. For any Magento 2 store looking to increase customer trust and improve the checkout experience, embracing Zero Subtotal Checkout is the right choice.