A $7 delivery order can cost you money to fulfil: driver time, packaging, card fees, and the kitchen slot all cost the same whether the basket is $7 or $45. That's why nearly every delivery restaurant sets a floor. WooCommerce doesn't have one built in — here are your options, and how CloverWoo's Minimum Order Amount handles it.
The economics in one example
Say fulfilment costs you $9 per delivery run (driver, fuel, packaging, card fee). A $12 order leaves $3 of gross margin to cover food cost — you lose money cooking it. A $25 floor means every delivery at least carries its own logistics. The number is yours to pick; having one at all is what matters.
Your options in WooCommerce
- Code snippet: a functions.php hook with wc_add_notice on cart validation. Free and well-documented, but it lives in your theme, breaks silently on theme changes, and shows a generic error.
- Standalone min/max plugins: solid options exist with per-role and per-category rules — at the cost of another plugin subscription.
- Built into CloverWoo: if you're a Clover merchant, Minimum Order Amount ships in the restaurant pack — a toggle and a number, with the right checkout UX included.
Setting it up in CloverWoo
- WordPress admin → Clover → Settings → Restaurant Features.
- Toggle on Minimum Order Amount.
- Enter your floor (e.g. 25).
- Save. Carts under the floor see 'Add $X more to continue' — updating live as items are added — and checkout unlocks the moment the threshold is met.
The live prompt is the part that makes the floor convert instead of repel: customers aren't told 'no', they're told exactly how close they are. In practice that nudge upsizes orders — a $19 cart with 'Add $6 more to continue' usually becomes a $27 cart with a drink and a side, not an abandonment.
Frequently asked questions
Does WooCommerce have a minimum order amount setting built in?
No. Core WooCommerce has no minimum-order option — you add it with a code snippet, a dedicated min/max plugin, or an integration like CloverWoo that includes it in the restaurant feature pack.
Does the customer see why checkout is blocked?
Yes — that's the point of the live prompt. Instead of a generic error at payment, the cart shows 'Add $X more to continue' with the X updating in real time, which converts far better than a hard stop.
Can I apply the minimum only to delivery orders?
Yes — scope it to specific order types so delivery carries the floor while pickup and dine-in stay unrestricted. That matches the economics: the floor exists to cover delivery logistics.
Does the minimum apply before or after discounts?
The validation runs on the cart total at checkout, after discounts — so a coupon can pull an order under the floor. Set your floor with typical coupon usage in mind.