Breadstack:
Promotion Module

A built-in tool to help retailers plan, launch, and optimize discount campaigns
Breadstack Tech / Product Designer / oct 2023

The Overview

About Breadstack

Breadstack is an e-commerce platform built for cannabis retailers. It helps dispensaries manage day-to-day operations, from processing orders and managing inventory to updating product listings and customer profiles.

Project Summary

Although the platform supported most core retail functions, it lacked a built-in way to create and manage promotions. Merchants had to rely on external tools or manual workarounds, which created friction and inefficiencies. We set out to design a Promotions module that would centralize this workflow and better support business growth.

My Role

User interviews, Secondary research, User journey Mapping, Mental Model, Sketching & Ideation, UI Design, Prototyping

How it Started

Uncovering the Opportunity

Breadstack was initially released to a small group of pilot clients. After the rollout, we began receiving feedback from users who wanted more flexibility around product discounting.

Specifically, they were looking for a way to not only set discount prices but also tie those discounts to specific promotions and timelines.

This insight sparked our exploration of what a dedicated Promotions module could look like within the platform.

Getting to Know the Users

Client Interviews

To better understand the problem space, we conducted interviews with members of our clients’ sales and marketing teams. These conversations gave us a window into how promotions were being handled and where things were falling short.

Mapping Insights

We then synthesized our findings into a Mental Model, highlighting common behaviors, pain points, and workarounds. This helped surface areas where we could improve efficiency and reduce friction.

Defining the Problem

The Main Challenges

From our analysis, we identified several recurring pain points that highlighted the key challenges users faced:

Scattered Workflows:
Promotion tasks were spread across different tools and teams.
No Built-in Tracking:
Users relied on resources like spreadsheets to monitor performance.
Too Manual:
Setting up campaigns was time-consuming and error-prone.

Looking Beyond Breadstack

Competitive Landscape

To inform our direction, we then analyzed how similar platforms handled discounts and promotions. This helped us identify familiar patterns and better align our solution within the existing market. Common features we notice included:

  • Form-based setup for specifying details like dates and products

  • Calendar views to visualize campaigns over time

  • Data analytics for tracking sales and performance

  • AI-powered suggestions for recommended discounts and timing

Developing the Solution

The Core Objectives

Drawing from our insights, we grounded our solution around three core pillars:

Visualize:
Give users a clear, intuitive view of promotions and performance.
Consolidate:
Centralize promotion setup and management in one place.
Automate:
Minimize manual effort with scheduling and auto-deactivation.

Design Constraints

To ensure our solution worked cohesively within Breadstack’s ecosystem, we also set the following guardrails:

  • The module should function as a standalone feature.

  • It must follow Breadstack’s existing UI system.

  • It should integrate into the platform’s broader logic and workflows.

Exploring the Interface

Sketching Concepts

We started with individual sketches, then came together to review ideas, find overlaps, and align on direction. A few early patterns emerged:

  • Multiple views (calendar, lists etc.) to support different planning styles

  • A guided setup flow for building promotions

  • Built-in metrics to help users monitor performance

Building the Protoype

After sketching out our ideas, we moved into prototyping to bring more clarity to our concepts and quickly offer something tangible that our stakeholders could review and interact with.

Navigating a Roadblock

How to Handle Product Variations?

As we fleshed out detailed user flows, we realized our early designs only supported single-SKU products. They didn’t account for product variations, such as sizes, colours, or flavours, which is a critical use case for merchants who might want more control.

To address this, we explored different approaches and ultimately landed on a table-style interface that enabled:

  • Bulk discounts across all variations

  • Customs discounts per variations

  • Visibility of original prices and stock per variation

Aligning with Stakeholders

Balancing Feedback, Feasibility, and Focus

With the prototype in hand, we shared it with our stakeholders to align on priorities and technical feasibility. A key part of these conversations was defining what to build now versus what to hold off on.

Features we Prioritized

  • Simple promotions: Offer basic discount types like % and fixed-value.

  • Calendar & List Views: Flexible ways to visualize promotion.

  • Real-time Analytics: Track performance to optimize promotions.

Features we Deferred

  • Advanced promotions: Complex discount types like “Buy One, Get One” were valuable but  too comprehensive for this phase.

  • Promotion suggestions: Auto-recommendations showed promise but required more technical investment.

  • Interactive timeline: The detailed Gantt-style timeline was interesting but hard to quickly interpret.

Refining the Design

Applying the Feedback

With the insights gathered, we refined our designs to reflect updated priorities and technical constraints.

Advanced features like promotion suggestions and the interactive timeline were removed from the immediate scope. This allowed us to focus on the core experience while leaving room for future iterations.

Going to Market

Launching the Promotion Module

After final stakeholder reviews and sign-off, we handed off the designs for development. The result was a newly released module in the Breadstack platform, giving our users a dedicated tool to create, manage, and run promotional discounts within their online stores.

Create & Automate: Users can set up a campaign by selecting products, applying discounts, and choosing a start or end date. Promotions activate and deactivate automatically, ensuring timely rollouts with minimal effort.
Stay Organized: Promotions appear in a color-coded calendar or list view, making it easy to scan past, present, and future campaigns. The calendar helps with long-term planning, while the list view is optimized for quick edits and collaboration.
Real-Time Insights: The module tracks performance metrics like revenue and order volume in real time. Users can optimize campaigns on the fly, extend high-performers, or replicate successful setups with ease.

The Impact

Early Adoption & Greater Revenue

Over 50% of clients are actively using the Promotions module since it's launch to run campaigns ranging from flash sales to evergreen offers.

One top-performing client saw the following results from a single promotion:

$90,000+ in revenue
The campaign generated over $90,000 in online sales, capturing revenue that might have been lost.
1,600+ orders placed
The promotion effectively converted site visitors into customers, resulting in more than 1,600 transactions.
2.5 products per order on average
Customers purchased an average of 2.5 items per order, supporting the goal of increasing cart size and overall sales.

Beyond numbers, the module gave merchants more control, flexibility, and insight, leading to more efficient campaigns and measurable business growth.

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© 2026 Gavin Liang
gavinandrewliang@gmail.com
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