Coupons
Discount codes your customers type at checkout, what they are, when to use them, and how to create, target, manage, and track them.
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:
WELCOME10for new email subscribers, to turn sign-ups into buyers. - 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
SUMMER25and 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:
- You share the code by email, social post, an influencer link, a QR code, a printed insert, or a sitewide banner. (You can also sync it to a connected platform app, such as Google. Not to Shopify or WooCommerce: those are one-time import sources, and nothing is ever pushed back to them.)
- The customer enters it at checkout, in the discount-code field.
- 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.
- You track redemptions. The Used counter on the coupon ticks up live. See Track redemptions.
Coupon vs Discount Rule: which one to use
| Mechanism | Customer types a code? | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Coupon | Yes | One-off promos, influencer codes, win-back emails, time-limited campaigns. |
| Discount Rule | No, applied automatically | "Buy 2 get 1 free", tiered pricing, segment-specific pricing, bundle discounts, free-shipping thresholds. |
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.
In this section
Work through the stages in order, or jump to what you need:
- Create a coupon opens the form and sets the discount, limits, validity, and stacking (or quick-create an inline row).
- Target products & regions scopes a coupon to specific products or categories, excludes items, or limits it to specific regions.
- Manage & edit coupons covers inline edits, bulk edits, per-channel overrides, and the errors customers see at checkout.
- Track redemptions covers the live usage counter and the per-platform breakdown.
- 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.