Coupons & Promotion Codes

You can create Coupons & Promotion Codes for your store under the "Marketing" section of your Toolbox. They are available all of our current plans. If you are an older plan, you may need to switch to a new plan to be able to use coupon codes.

Coupons & Promotion Codes are codes that are generated by you and given to your customers through advertising campaigns or promotional offers. The codes can be used by the customer at checkout time to receive a discount on their purchase as defined by the rules of the discount that you have created.

You can create three different types of Coupon Codes,

1. Percentage discounts (Simple Discounts)
   
2. Fixed amount discounts (Simple Discounts)
   
3. Free shipping discounts

Naming your Discount

You need to create a unique name for your discount. It can consist of up to 30 characters and you can only use alphabetic and numeric characters. No spaces are allowed. All names are converted to upper case. The name should not be trivial or guessable.

If you want to create a unique random discount code, then click on the "generate" link and a random code will be generated for you.

You should choose a unique name for each discount you create, unless you want to create a Compound Discount.

Simple Discounts

The simplest discount is a percentage or flat amount discount off the total purchase. If the customer enters the discount code, then they are given either a percentage discount on their total purchase, or a flat amount off the total purchase.

Of course, if the flat amount exceeds the purchase, then the total purchase is zero.

Discounts do not apply to shipping, and all shipping charges (plus taxes) are added after the discount is calculated.

Free Shipping Discounts

Another simple discount is free shipping. If the customer enters the discount code, then they are given free shipping in the checkout.

Listing Discounts

A list of all your discounts is shown at the top of the page. Each line contains a summary of the discount conditions.

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  Listing Discounts

Deleting a Discount

A discount can be deleted by clicking on the delete icon at the end of each line.

Discount Start and End Dates

By default, a discount is created without any start or end dates. The discount is active unless it is paused.

If a discount is given a start date, then the discount is not active until that date, and it will remain active until the end date, if one is supplied. Both the start date and the end date are optional, and either or both can be specified.

Pausing Discounts

An active discount can be paused at any time by clicking on the "pause" link.

Similarly, a paused discount can be reactivated by clicking on the "resume" link.

Start Date

The start date specifies the date from when the discount applies. If no start date is specified, then the current date is assumed.

End Date

The end date determines the duration of the discount. If no end date is specified, the the discount is valid until deactivated.

Number of Uses

By default, a coupon code has "unlimited uses". Click on the "unlimited uses" link to change this, and set a limit on the number of times a coupon code can be used.

If you are using coupon codes as gift certificates, set this number to 1.

You are also able to limit the number of times a coupon code discount can be used on a per email address basis. In order to use this feature, you will need to set a limit for the number of uses the coupon code has. For example, if you want to allow every customer to use a coupon code just once, then you would need to set the number of uses for the coupon code to 1.

Type of discount

A discount can take two forms, a flat amount or a percentage amount. A flat discount amount is applied to the target items starting with the cheapest items first, and is subject to a maximum target quantity limit. A percentage discount applies to all target items unless a maximum target quantity is specified, in which case it will apply to that number of target items starting with the cheapest items first.

Qualifying Conditions

In order for a code to be valid, it must meet the qualifying conditions. If no qualifying conditions are set, then the discount is applicable to the entire order, regardless of what is in the order.

Minimum Qualifying Quantity

If a minimum qualifying quantity is set, then there must be at least n qualifying items in the cart before the discount can be applied.

Minimum Qualifying Amount

If a minimum qualifying amount is set, then the value of all the qualifying items in the cart must be at least equal to the qualifying amount before the discount can be applied.

Discounts do not repeat

A discount is only ever applied once.

A discount of 10% for an order of $50 or more is only applied once. Even if the order is for $100, a discount of 10% is applied.

A discount of $5 for an order of $50 or more means that once an order has reached $50, then $5 is taken off the total of the qualifying items. If the order is for $100, the discount is still only $5. If you want the value of the discount to increase with the value of the order, then a percentage discount needs to be used. If you want step amounts for the discounts, then the orders would need to be split and ordered separately.

Qualifying Products

If no qualifying products are specified, then the qualifications apply to all products.

If a qualifying product collection is specified, then the qualification criteria apply only to products in that collection, and the qualifying requirements must be met by products from that collection before the discount applies, regardless of any other products in the cart.

Target Products

Once the qualifying conditions for a discount have been met, then the discount can be applied to a set of target products in the cart. The target products can be specified by product collection. If no target products are specified, then the target is the same as the qualifying products.

For example, this allows you to offer discounts where the discount is limited to a set of special or bonus gift products.

Question: If we have a discount, say, "Spend $50 and get a bonus gift from collection X", then we can write a rule to apply a 100% discount to 1 item from collection X, but does the qualifying $50 limit include the cost of the item from collection X?

Maximum Target Quantity

If no maximum target quantity is specified, then the discount is applied to all target products.

If a maximum amount is specified, then the discount only applies to the first n cheapest target items in the cart.

As an example, this allows you to offer discounts like "Buy 3 for the price of 2". In this case a discount of 100% is created with a minimum quantity of 3 and a maximum target quantity of 1. As discounts do not repeat, if the customer purchases 6 items, they would still only get the cheapest for free.

Applies to Specific Customers

You may wish to restrict a coupon code to a specific set of customers, and not make it generally available.

In order to do this, you need to make sure that the qualifying customers have a specific tag added to their customer records. For example, you can offer a coupon code discount to all customers who have the "VIP" tag. Note, in order for a customer to receive a tagged coupon code discount, they must be logged in to their account for the checkout, and you must have customer accounts enabled for your store.

Alternatively, you can create coupon codes that are only available to new customers. These coupon codes are available to any customer who has never placed an order using a particular email address. Once a customer has placed an order, then new customer coupon codes are no longer available to them.

Finally, you can create coupon codes that are only valid for your retail customers. The codes are not available to any customer who has access to your wholesale pricing.

Shopping Cart Discounts

If you have enabled a Shopping Cart Discount, you may wish to disable a Coupon Code Discount if the customer is already eligible for a Shopping Cart Discount. For example, you may be offering a discount on a particular group of products. You would then need to make sure that this coupon code discount did not also apply as well, if you didn't want a customer to have multiple discounts.

Limit Discounts by Email Address

As mentioned above, if you set a Coupon Code Discount to have a limited number of uses, you can enable this option to use that limit on a per email address basis. This means that if you create a discount that has its number of uses set to 1, and it is also limited by email address, then each customer will be able to use the coupon code discount exactly once, for each email address that they provide when placing the order.

Example Coupon Code - Buy One Get One Free

The coupon code discount engine can work in combination with collections and can use the "discount price" field on a product. To set up a "Buy One Get One Free" discount, follow the instructions below.

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Percentage", and enter [100%].
  • Discount applies to orders of [whatever you think] or more
  • with [2] or more items from [your collection]
  • The discount will be applied to at most [1] items from collection [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is not limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - Buy Two Get One Free

The coupon code discount engine can work in combination with collections and can use the "discount price" field on a product. To set up a "Buy Two Get One Free" discount, follow the instructions below.

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Percentage", and enter [100%].
  • Discount applies to orders of [whatever you think] or more
  • with [3] or more items from [your collection]
  • The discount will be applied to at most [1] items from collection [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is not limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - Buy One Get One Half Price

The coupon code discount engine can work in combination with collections and can use the "discount price" field on a product. To set up a "Buy One Get One Half Price" discount, follow the instructions below.

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Percentage", and enter [50%]
  • Discount applies to orders of [whatever you think] or more
  • with [2] or more items from [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • The discount will be applied to at most [1] items from collection [your collection]

Example Coupon Code - 10% off

The coupon code discount engine can work in combination with collections to limit which products it applies to. That's why this example walks you through the process in the beginning... so you don't have to go back and change your coupon codes later.

To set up a "10% Off" discount, follow the instructions below.

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to. This can be a Standard Collection, or you could set up a Super Collection which would make your life a little easier.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Percentage", and enter [10%]
  • Discount applies to orders of [whatever you think] or more
  • with [1] or more items from [your collection]
  • The discount will be applied to [all] items from collection [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is not limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - 10% off Your First Order

The coupon code discount engine can work in combination with collections to limit which products it applies to. That's why this example walks you through the process in the beginning... so you don't have to go back and change your coupon codes later.

To set up a "10% Off Your first Order" discount, follow the instructions below.

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to. This can be a Standard Collection, or you could set up a Super Collection which would make your life a little easier.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Percentage", and enter [10%]
  • Starts [today] and is valid until [deactivated], with a maximum of [1] use.
  • Discount applies to orders of [whatever you think] or more
  • with [1] or more items from [your collection]
  • The discount will be applied to [all] items from collection [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - 10% off for new customers only

The coupon code discount engine can work in combination with collections to limit which products it applies to. That's why this example walks you through the process in the beginning... so you don't have to go back and change your coupon codes later.

To set up a "10% off for new customers only" discount, follow the instructions below.

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to. This can be a Standard Collection, or you could set up a Super Collection which would make your life a little easier.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Percentage", and enter [10%]
  • Starts [today] and is valid until [deactivated], with a maximum of [1] use.
  • Discount applies to orders of [whatever you think] or more
  • with [1] or more items from [your collection]
  • The discount will be applied to [all] items from collection [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [new customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - Free shipping on selected products

• Create a collection that contains the products you want to apply this deal to.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Free Shipping"
  • ...for shipping rates less than or equal to [enter $100 or your own amount here]
  • Starts [today], and is valid until [deactivated], with [unlimited] uses
  • Discount is valid for orders of [$0.00] or more,
  • with [1] or more items from [your collection]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is not limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - Free shipping for selected customers

This coupon code restricts the usage, you can also just create a basic free shipping coupon, and just provide it to the customers you want to give it to. Note that the square brackets are where you can also enter your own options if you would prefer to add more criteria.

• You will first want to add a tag to all customers you want to provide this discount to.
• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is "Free Shipping"
  • ...for shipping rates less than or equal to [enter $100 or your own amount here]
  • Starts [today], and is valid until [deactivated], with [unlimited] uses
  • Discount is valid for [all orders]
  • Discount is available to customers tagged with [your tag]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is not limited] by email address

Example Coupon Code - Limit of 1 per Customer

This coupon code is restricted to a single use for every customer. Note that the square brackets are where you can also enter your own options if you would prefer to add more criteria.

• Create a coupon discount with the following rules. Make sure it has a nice name, as your customers will have to enter this code!
  • Discount type is [choose any type]
  • Starts [today], and is valid until [deactivated], with a maximum of [1] use(s)
  • Discount is valid for [all orders]
  • Discount is available to [all customers]
  • Discount [cannot] be used in conjunction with Shopping Cart Discounts
  • Each use of this Discount Code [is limited] by email address