Difference between catalog price rules and shopping cart price rules magento
Catalog Price Rules
Catalog price rules use for products discounts or products sale under certain conditions. Catalog price rules do not use coupon codes, because they are applied after the product add to cart. Discount appears on products.
Shopping Cart Price Rules
Shopping cart price rules can be use for product discount/sale, Customer group wise discount, Attribute wise discount, Country wise discount under the certain conditions. Shopping cart price rules use coupon code but not necessary, you can also create rule without coupon code. Shopping cart price rules always apply on shopping cart when conditions are met. Discount appears on the shopping cart page under the subtotal.
