Coupons are the fastest way to move sales — and the fastest way to eat your margin if set carelessly. Here are both sides.
Creating one in 5 minutes
Marketing → Coupons → Add coupon:
- Code — short and readable: SUMMER10, NEWCLIENT, not x7Kq2 (people type it by hand)
- Type — percentage discount · fixed cart discount · fixed product discount
- Amount — the value
- Expiry — always set one: without it a coupon lives forever and spreads across the internet
The limits that protect you (Usage restriction tab)
- Minimum spend — a discount only above a certain amount, so you do not sell at a loss on a tiny order
- Exclude sale items — mandatory! Otherwise it is a discount on a discount
- Products / Categories — restrict what it applies to
- Allowed emails — for personal codes tied to one client
Usage limits tab
- Usage limit per coupon — total redemptions (e.g. 50)
- Usage limit per user — 1 (crucial for welcome codes)
When coupons hurt
Permanent discounts teach buyers never to pay full price — they wait for the next code. If you are at minus 20% every month, that is not a discount, that is your new price. Let coupons be an event: a season, a first purchase, an abandoned-cart recovery.
Smart uses
- An abandoned-cart code (in the automatic email after 24 hours)
- A code for joining your email list — you pay for the contact, not the product
- A code for a review or referral — a coupon that brings a new client