Every October, owners ask us the same thing: “Everyone is doing 50% off. Do I have to match it?” Usually not. A deep cut can fill your order list and still leave you with less money than a normal week.
This guide sets your 11.11 discount strategy with simple maths: the extra volume each discount needs, how ad costs change the picture, which offers protect margin and how to judge the result. It comes from ZenWeb, a Google Partner agency with 500+ Malaysian clients. For the wider campaign plan, see our guide to 11.11 and 12.12 marketing for Malaysian SMEs; this post sticks to the discount itself.
Want your sale planned around profit, not just traffic?
We plan the offer, ads, landing page and follow-up as one campaign. See how our digital marketing services work →
Before the numbers, this short video from Shopify explains how to set a product’s base price around cost and margin. Your base price decides how much room you have to discount, so it is worth ten minutes before you choose your 11.11 offer.
Source video: Learn With Shopify on YouTube
Quick Answer: Only as deep as the extra sales can pay for. At a 50% gross margin, a 10% discount needs 25% more units to earn the same gross profit, and a 30% discount needs 150% more. Most SMEs should stay at 10–20% storewide and go deeper only on chosen items.
Find your gross margin (selling price minus product cost, as a share of the selling price), then read across to see the extra volume each discount needs just to stand still.
| Gross margin | 10% off | 20% off | 30% off | 40% off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | +50% | +200% | No profit left | Loss on every sale |
| 40% | +33% | +100% | +300% | No profit left |
| 50% | +25% | +67% | +150% | +400% |
| 60% | +20% | +50% | +100% | +200% |
Source: Modelled by ZenWeb using the break-even formula discount ÷ (gross margin − discount). Gross profit only; ad cost and fees not included. Licence.
The required volume climbs steeply, and low-margin products run out of room fast: at 30% margin, a 30% discount leaves nothing. In our client accounts, doubling units on sale day is strong but realistic for a well-promoted shop; a fourfold jump is rare. So for a 50% margin product, 10–20% off is usually where the maths still works.
Quick Answer: Because the discount comes straight out of profit while product cost, fees and ad spend stay the same. On a RM100 item with RM45 cost, 30% off cuts the price by 30% but cuts profit per order by almost 80% once a RM15 ad cost is counted.
Every ringgit off the price comes off your profit. Here is one RM100 product at five discount levels.
| Discount | Selling price (RM) | Product cost (RM) | Fees, 3% (RM) | Ad cost per order (RM) | Profit per order (RM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 100.00 | 45.00 | 3.00 | 15.00 | 37.00 |
| 10% | 90.00 | 45.00 | 2.70 | 15.00 | 27.30 |
| 20% | 80.00 | 45.00 | 2.40 | 15.00 | 17.60 |
| 30% | 70.00 | 45.00 | 2.10 | 15.00 | 7.90 |
| 40% | 60.00 | 45.00 | 1.80 | 15.00 | −1.80 |
Source: Illustrative scenario by ZenWeb; 55% gross margin, 3% fees, flat RM15 ad cost per order. Licence.
At 40% off, the order looks healthy on the sales report, yet you pay RM1.80 to ship it. Three costs are easy to forget:
No new ad tool can rescue an offer like that; as we argue in why AI won’t save bad marketing, the numbers come first.
Quick Answer: Every extra percent of discount raises the return on ad spend (ROAS) you need just to break even. For our RM100 example, break-even ROAS rises from about 1.9 at full price to 3.1 at 30% off and 4.5 at 40% off, at the same time as sale-day clicks get more expensive.
ROAS is the revenue you get per ringgit of ad spend; break-even ROAS is where ads just pay for themselves.
| Discount | Break-even ROAS |
|---|---|
| None (RM100) | 1.92 |
| 10% (RM90) | 2.13 |
| 20% (RM80) | 2.45 |
| 30% (RM70) | 3.06 |
| 40% (RM60) | 4.55 |
Source: Modelled by ZenWeb as price ÷ (price − cost − fees), same RM100 example. Licence.
Now add the sale-day auction. In ZenWeb-managed retail accounts, Google Ads clicks around 11.11 have run roughly 40–60% above a normal October week (an estimate), and Meta CPMs (cost per 1,000 impressions) rise in the same window. You need a higher ROAS just as each click costs more.
Quick Answer: Offers that raise the basket size usually beat flat percentage cuts. Spend thresholds, bundles and free gifts with purchase let you give real value while lifting average order value, so the discount is spread across more profit. Keep one or two deep “hero” deals to pull traffic.
A flat 30% off everything also discounts shoppers who would have paid full price. Structured offers are more selective.
| Offer type | Example | Effect on margin |
|---|---|---|
| Spend threshold | RM20 off above RM150, RM50 off above RM300 | Protects margin; lifts basket size |
| Bundle | Buy 3 for the price of 2.5 | Good when one item has high margin |
| Gift with purchase | Free travel-size item above RM120 | Customer sees retail value; you pay cost |
| Hero deal | One best-seller at 40% off, limited stock | Traffic driver; cap the quantity |
| Flat storewide cut | 30% off everything | Simple, but gives away the most margin |
In our client data, structured offers grow the basket, while flat cuts mostly grow the order count.
| Offer type | Change in orders vs basket size |
|---|---|
| Spend threshold | Orders +80–120% · Basket +20–30% |
| Bundle | Orders +70–110% · Basket +25–40% |
| Gift with purchase | Orders +60–100% · Basket +15–25% |
| Flat storewide cut | Orders +120–200% · Basket −5% to +5% |
Source: Aggregated from ZenWeb-managed campaigns, Malaysia, 11.11 2024 and 2025. Estimates; navy = more orders, green = bigger baskets. Licence.
More orders look great on the day, but a bigger basket spreads ad and delivery costs over more revenue, which is where profit comes from. See how to raise your average order value.
Selling services? Percentage cuts rarely suit you; see 11.11 offers for service businesses. Selling on a marketplace too? Read Shopee or your own website for 11.11 before deciding where the deepest deal lives.
Not sure which offer suits your margins?
We model your products, ad costs and offer options before a single ringgit goes into ads. Plan your 11.11 campaign with ZenWeb’s digital marketing team →
Quick Answer: Lock the offer four weeks out, by mid-October 2026. Your ads, sale page, stock and email or WhatsApp messages all depend on it, and a last-week decision means rushed creative, untested pages and late ad copy.
11.11 falls on a Wednesday this year, three days after Deepavali on Sunday, 8 November 2026, so plan around both dates.
| When (2026) | Discount task |
|---|---|
| 12–18 Oct | Pull margins by product; run the break-even tables; pick hero items |
| 19–25 Oct | Lock offer types and caps; order stock; brief creative |
| 26 Oct–1 Nov | Build the sale page and vouchers; test checkout; start teaser ads |
| 2–9 Nov | Early access for your list; Deepavali greetings kept separate from sale messages |
| 10–11 Nov | Offer live; watch stock caps and profit per order every few hours |
| 12–14 Nov | End the offer on time; review results; plan Black Friday (27 Nov) and 12.12 (Sat 12 Dec) |
Quick Answer: Let each channel show the offer in its own way. Search ads catch people already looking, short video explains bundles and thresholds, and email and WhatsApp reward your loyal buyers first. Put the clearest, simplest version of the offer on every channel so shoppers never have to work out the deal.
A late parcel can cost you a 12.12 repeat buyer, so set clear festive delivery cut-off messages.
Quick Answer: Show a genuine original price, a real end time and real stock limits. Inflating the “before” price or running a fake countdown erodes trust and can breach Malaysian price-marking rules. Keep festive greetings, such as Deepavali wishes, warm and separate from hard-sell discount messages.
Shoppers compare prices across sites in seconds, so an inflated “was” price is easy to spot.
Quick Answer: Often, yes. Shops with very deep offers tend to see quieter weeks before 11.11, as buyers wait, and a slump after it. A moderate offer gives a smaller spike but a steadier month, so total November profit can end up higher with the shallower discount.
Sale-day revenue alone hides this effect.
| Period (2026 dates) | Moderate offer (10–20%) | Deep offer (40%+) |
|---|---|---|
| 1–7 Nov | 90–95 | 75–85 |
| 8–10 Nov | 100–110 | 90–100 |
| 11 Nov (sale day) | 280–350 | 450–600 |
| 12–18 Nov | 100–110 | 65–75 |
| 19–25 Nov | 95–105 | 80–90 |
Source: ZenWeb client tracking, Malaysian SME online stores, 11.11 2024 and 2025, mapped to 2026 dates. Revenue estimates. Licence.
The deep-offer shop wins the day but loses the weeks around it, and each sale-day order carries far less profit. Deep cuts also train buyers to wait. Instead, retarget 11.11 browsers for 12.12 with a smaller, sharper offer.
Quick Answer: Measure incremental profit, not revenue. Take November’s profit after product cost, fees, delivery and ad spend, and compare it with a normal month. Then check how many new customers you gained and how many buy again at full price within 60 days.
Use this scorecard after the sale:
| Metric | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Profit per order | Positive on every offer, including hero deals after their cap |
| Incremental profit | 1–25 November profit above a normal 25-day period |
| Average order value | Higher than October if you used thresholds or bundles |
| New customers | A healthy share of first-time buyers you can market to again |
| 60-day repeat rate | Sale buyers returning at full or near-full price |
New customers can justify a thinner margin if they keep buying; customer lifetime value puts a number on that. Record the results as the base for next year’s 11.11 discount strategy and your Black Friday and 12.12 offers.
Quick Answer: Before 11 November 2026, know each product’s margin, the volume each discount needs, your break-even ROAS, your offer caps and how you will judge the result. If any of these is a guess, fix it before ads go live.
Quick Answer: The best 11.11 discount strategy is the one your margin can carry: for most SMEs, 10–20% storewide, a few capped hero deals, basket-building offers and a result judged on monthly profit, not sale-day revenue.
You never have to match the loudest “70% off” banner. Start from your numbers, pick the offer that still leaves profit after ads, and explain it well. If you would like a team to plan the offer, ads, sale page and follow-up as one campaign, ZenWeb’s digital marketing services cover the full 11.11 to 12.12 season.
For most SMEs with 40–60% gross margins, 10–20% storewide is the profitable range. Go deeper only on a few capped hero items or old stock. A shop with 30% margins should avoid percentage cuts above 15% and use spend thresholds or gifts instead.
Usually, for profit. A threshold such as RM50 off above RM300 rewards bigger baskets, so your ad and delivery costs are spread over more revenue. Flat percentage cuts bring more orders but smaller baskets and thinner margins.
Not necessarily. Many SMEs use 11.11 to win new buyers, then use 12.12 to retarget them with a smaller, more personal offer. Repeating the same deep cut a month later trains customers to wait for sales.
Want an 11.11 offer that still leaves profit?
Book a free 30-minute session. We will check your margins, ad costs and offer ideas, then suggest a discount plan with a clear profit target.
Complete the form and our team will contact you to discuss your goals. Let’s grow your business.
