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Promo Codes

Promo codes discount specific products or whole categories at checkout. Manage them from Manage myShop → Promo Codes.

Creating a code

Code is what purchasers type. It's automatically converted to uppercase when saved, and matching ignores case — seniors10 and SENIORS10 are the same code. Keep them short and unambiguous; avoid characters that are easy to confuse, like 0 and O.

Description is internal. Use it to record who the code is for and why, so a code you find next season still makes sense.

Discount type

  • Percentage — takes that percent off each qualifying line
  • Fixed amount — takes that dollar amount off each unit, capped at the line's value

The per-unit behavior of fixed discounts is worth understanding. A $5 fixed code against three $20 shirts takes off $15, not $5. The cap means a $5 code against a $3 item discounts $3, not $5 — a line can never go negative.

If you want "$5 off the whole order" rather than "$5 off each item", a percentage code is usually the closer fit.

Scoping: which products it applies to

You can attach a code to individual products, to whole categories, or to both.

A code with nothing selected applies to everything

If you select no products and no categories, the code discounts every product in your store. This is the single most common promo-code mistake — a code intended for one item quietly applies storewide.

Always attach a code to something unless a storewide discount is genuinely what you want.

Category scoping is the efficient option for recurring sales: attach the code to "Spirit Wear" once, and every product you add to that category afterwards is covered automatically.

Limits and conditions

Setting Effect
Active Off switches the code off immediately, without deleting it or its history
Valid from / Valid until The window the code works in. Leave either blank for open-ended
Maximum uses Total redemptions allowed across everyone
Maximum uses per user Redemptions allowed per signed-in account
Minimum subtotal Cart must reach this before the code applies

Two things to know about maximum uses per user: it counts against a signed-in account, so it can't restrain someone checking out as a guest; and it counts redemptions, not items.

A code stops working automatically once its window closes or its maximum uses is reached — you don't have to remember to switch it off. Active is for pulling a code early.

How purchasers use a code

Purchasers enter the code in the cart before checking out. The discount applies immediately to qualifying lines, and they can remove it and try a different one.

If a code doesn't apply, the usual causes are: nothing in the cart matches its scope, the subtotal hasn't reached the minimum, the window hasn't opened or has closed, or the usage limit is spent.

Analytics

Each code has an analytics view showing:

  • Total discount given — real money off, not a redemption count
  • Average discount per redemption
  • Remaining uses, when a maximum is set
  • Top products the code was used against — the ten most redeemed
  • Redemptions over time, by date

The pairing that matters is total discount against what the code brought in. A code with heavy redemption and a large total discount may be subsidizing purchases that would have happened anyway; a code with a spike in redemptions right after an announcement is doing real work.