Discount coupons

Coupons are codes your buyer types at checkout to get a benefit. This article covers the simple coupons in Marketing → Coupons. If your business uses discounts v2 and you want a coupon tied to a discount rule, with usage caps and traceability, that is built on another screen: see Discount coupons v2.

Step by step

1. In the side menu, go to Marketing → Coupons.
2. Click + Create coupon. A new card is added at the end of the list, with the type set to Free Shipping by default.
3. Under Coupon information, write the name your customer will see and the code they will enter. You can click Generate to have the system build a random 8-character code, which is the safest way to avoid typing mistakes.
4. Under Discount type, choose the benefit and fill in the value if one applies.
5. If the coupon is for new customers only, turn on Apply only on customer's first purchase in the First purchase only section.
6. Under Expiration, pick the deadline. Leave it empty if the coupon never expires.
7. Save the screen's changes.

The ON / OFF switch on each card turns the coupon off without deleting it, and the bin icon deletes it.

Coupon types

The Discount type selector offers three options:

• Free Shipping — sets the order's shipping cost to zero. It does not use the value field.
• % Discount — takes off the percentage you enter.
• $ Discount — takes off the amount you enter, in your business's currency.

There is no "no discount" option for using a code purely as a campaign marker. If what you want is to measure a campaign with an automated email, the Promotion section of each Auto-seller does have a None option.

The three rules checkout always applies

These rules are not configured on the screen, they apply on their own. They explain almost every buyer complaint a merchant cannot answer.

One use per customer, always. Before any other validation, the system checks whether that customer already has a non-voided order with that code. If it finds one, it rejects with "The coupon has already been used". There is no way to switch that rule off. A permanent welcome coupon works once per customer and no more.

Cumulative exists only on percentage coupons. The Cumulative switch appears only when you choose % Discount. A fixed-amount or free-shipping coupon does not have that option.

A non-cumulative percentage coupon does not replace the other discounts: it gets rejected. If the cart already has a discount larger than the coupon's value, the buyer gets the error "Coupons are not accumulative. You already have 20% off, the coupon only offers 10%" and the coupon is not applied. The discount they already had stays. If you want the coupon to add on top of what the customer already has, turn on Cumulative.

Fields on the card

• ON / OFF: turns the coupon off or on without deleting it. Useful for pausing seasonal promotions.
• Name: text visible to the buyer ("Welcome 10%", "March clearance"). If you leave it empty, the card shows Coupon #N.
• Code: what the buyer types at checkout. It has a copy button and a Generate button for a random one.
• Discount type and its value.
• Cumulative: percentage coupons only.
• Apply only on customer's first purchase: rejects the coupon with "This coupon is only for new customers" if the customer already has any non-voided order.
• Expiration: the deadline. Empty means no expiry; the No expiration button clears it.

The code is matched character by character

Code validation is exact: it is case-sensitive and it counts spaces. March20, MARCH20 and MARCH20 are three different codes, and only one of them is yours.

That is why the Generate button is worth using: it produces 8 characters in uppercase and digits. If you prefer your own code, write it in uppercase with no spaces and avoid the characters that get confused when read aloud: 0 and O, 1 and I.

What your buyer sees at checkout

In the classic store the field is called Discount or promotion coupon.

In the new store the block is called Discount coupon, with the Enter your code field and the Apply button. Once applied it shows Coupon X applied and a Remove button that takes it off the order. If the code does not exist, is switched off or has expired, the message is Invalid or expired coupon.

Auto-sellers do not use these coupons

This is the most common confusion: Marketing → Auto-seller ® does not take coupons from this screen. Each Auto-seller defines its own promotion, in its Promotion section, with its own type (including None), its value, its description and its expiry in days.

Two practical consequences:

• The Auto-seller's promotion applies on its own when the buyer enters checkout from that email. There is no code to type and none to communicate.
• If you leave the expiry-in-days field empty, the promotion does not appear in the email. As far as the system is concerned, a promotion with no deadline does not exist. Fill in that field or the email goes out without the benefit.

See Auto-seller to build those campaigns.

If you cannot find it

• You do not see Marketing → Coupons in the menu. The section requires the marketing permission. Ask the account owner for it in Settings → Manager.
• You do not see the Cumulative switch. It only appears with the % Discount type.
• Your screen has usage-cap or uses-per-customer fields and this article does not mention them. You are looking at a discounts v2 coupon, tied to a discount rule. See Discount coupons v2.

Tips

• Communicate the code in uppercase and with no spaces, exactly as you saved it. Half of the "the coupon does not work" reports are an extra space from copying and pasting.
• Set an expiry whenever you can: urgency improves usage. For a permanent promotion leave the date empty and control it with the ON / OFF switch.
• Think about the Cumulative switch with a calculator at hand. A cumulative coupon adds on top of volume and price-list discounts, and it can quietly wipe out your margin.
• Switch off the coupons you no longer use instead of leaving them expired. The list becomes unreadable fast.
• Before launching a coupon, test it yourself from the store with a test customer. Remember that this test customer will not be able to use it again afterwards.