Coupons

A coupon is a code your customer types at checkout to get a discount: SUMMER25, WELCOME10, BLACKFRIDAY. Because the discount is tied to a specific code, you decide exactly who gets it and how it spreads: hand the code to the right people and only they can redeem it.

You may know it as a promo code, discount code, voucher or coupon code, all the same thing here. A discount that applies on its own, with no code to type, is a discount rule instead.

What you can do with coupons

Coupons are how you run targeted, trackable promotions. The most common uses:

• First-order welcome: WELCOME10 for new email subscribers, to turn sign-ups into buyers. A coupon cannot check that an order is the customer's first; see First-order discount for the two ways that do.
• Influencer & affiliate. Give each creator a unique code; redemptions are tracked so you can pay out on results.
• Win-back & abandoned cart. Email a code to lapsed or hesitating customers to bring them back.
• Time-limited sales such as SUMMER25 and Black Friday. Schedule them ahead and let them expire on their own.
• VIP & loyalty. Reward your best customers with a private code that isn't posted publicly.
• Wholesale / B2B: a standing code for a specific buyer or partner.

How customers get and use a coupon

A coupon follows the same life cycle every time, and knowing it helps you plan the campaign around it:

1. You share the code by email, social post, an influencer link, a QR code, a printed insert, or a sitewide banner. Publish the coupon to the sales channel (storefront) where it should work, or that storefront will refuse it. Brainerce does not push coupons to Google, Meta, TikTok, Shopify or WooCommerce: they stay a Brainerce code.
2. The customer enters it at checkout, in the discount-code field.
3. The discount applies instantly. The cart total updates and the coupon appears as its own line in the order summary, so the customer sees exactly what they saved.
4. You track redemptions. The Used counter on the coupon ticks up live. See Track redemptions.

Coupon vs Discount Rule: which one to use

The two can stack: a customer with SUMMER25 can also trigger an automatic "spend $100, get free shipping" rule, when that rule is set to combine with coupons (a per-rule setting; see Stacking). Each discount then shows as its own line in the order summary, so customers see exactly what they're getting.

Need something a coupon can't do? A coupon is a flat percentage or fixed amount off the cart. For free shipping, "buy 2 get 1 free", tiered / volume pricing, bundles, or a deal aimed at a specific customer segment (first-time buyers, VIPs, logged-in only), use an automatic discount rule instead; those live there, not on coupons.

In 30 seconds: open Marketing → Coupons → Add Coupon, pick a Discount Type (Percentage or Fixed Amount), type a Code and a value, and click Create Coupon. Everything else is optional.

Can I limit a coupon code to VIP customers, a customer tag or a segment?

No. A coupon code has no customer field: anyone who has the code and meets its other limits can use it, and a coupon cannot be restricted to a customer tag, a saved segment, a customer group or a signed-in customer. Three real options:

• A discount rule with the Customer Tag condition. Tag your VIP customers, then create an automatic discount rule with Customer Tag set to that tag. It applies on its own to signed-in customers who carry the tag, with no code to type. Guests never carry a tag.
• A personal one-time code. The newsletter welcome offer gives each new subscriber their own single-use code.
• A code you send to a group. Mail the code to a saved segment in a campaign. It is only a message: the code itself still works for anyone who receives it or is given it.

In this section

Work through the stages in order, or jump to what you need:

1. Create a coupon opens the form and sets the discount, limits, validity, and stacking (or quick-create an inline row).
2. Target products & regions scopes a coupon to specific products or categories, excludes items, or limits it to specific regions.
3. Manage & edit coupons covers inline edits, bulk edits, choosing which sales channels accept a coupon, editing in a spreadsheet, and the errors customers see at checkout.
4. Track redemptions covers the live usage counter and the usage caps.
5. Coupon recipes are ready-made campaigns to copy.

What's next?

• Discount rules are automatic discounts that don't need a code (BOGO, tiered pricing, free-shipping thresholds, bundles).
• FAQ & troubleshooting covers why a discount didn't apply, stacking, scheduling, and more.