Discounts

How Discounts Work

The shop supports two distinct kinds of discount, and they behave differently.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → Commercial:

• Carts — the cart itself and its options
• Shop Insights — what buyers looked for
• Vendor Approvals — applications waiting on a decision

Architect Panel → Data:

• Datastores — then View Data on a cart table, where most shop administration lives

Discount codes

A code the customer enters. It carries an amount, a minimum spend, a currency, a maximum number of uses, a start and expiry, whether it is restricted to new customers, and whether it is advertised as a banner on the shop.

Multi-buy discounts

A different shape: buy a minimum number, get a number free. These carry their own name, code, dates and banner setting, and are scoped the same way.

Scoping is the important part

Both kinds are scoped four ways, each reached as a row action on the discount:

• Applicable products — what it applies to.
• Excluded products — carved out of the above.
• Applicable categories — the broader version.
• Excluded categories.

Exclusions are what make a discount safe. "Ten per cent off everything" is rarely what you mean; "ten per cent off everything except the clearance range" usually is.

Special prices can be excluded

A product on a special price can be marked as excluded from offers, so a promotion does not stack on top of a price that is already reduced. This is the control that prevents a discount code being applied to already-discounted stock.

What lands on the order

Every discount applied is recorded against the sale with its type, its identity, its name and its amount. So an order shows what was discounted and why, which is what you need when a customer queries a total or when finance reconciles.

Set an expiry, always

A code without one lives forever, gets posted publicly, and is still being redeemed years later. Even for an internal code, set a date.

Cap the uses

The maximum-uses limit is the difference between a promotion and an unbounded liability. Codes escape — to deal sites, to social media, to anywhere — and the cap is what bounds the damage.

Worked example

A shop runs a ten per cent code capped at 500 uses, expiring in four weeks, with a minimum spend and clearance products excluded by category. It appeared on a deal site within two days; the cap meant the cost was known rather than discovered.

Recommendations

• Always set an expiry and a use cap.
• Use exclusions rather than trusting "everything".
• Exclude special-priced stock from offers.
• Check the discount recorded on the order when testing.

Creating a Discount

Creating a code is a row and a handful of decisions. The decisions are where the money is.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → Commercial:

• Carts — the cart itself and its options
• Shop Insights — what buyers looked for
• Vendor Approvals — applications waiting on a decision

Architect Panel → Data:

• Datastores — then View Data on a cart table, where most shop administration lives

The settings

• Name — for you, not the customer. Say what the promotion is, so the order record makes sense later.
• Code — what the customer types.
• Amount and currency.
• Minimum spend — the basket value required.
• Maximum uses — the cap.
• Start and expiry — when it works.
• New customers only — restricting acquisition offers.
• Show banner — whether the shop advertises it.

Choose the code carefully

Short and typeable, because customers type it on phones. Avoid characters that look alike, avoid anything that reads as a swear word, and avoid guessable patterns — a code named after this month is a code somebody will try next month.

Minimum spend is the profitability control

A flat amount off with no minimum can exceed the basket value, or turn a small order into a loss once shipping is counted. Set the minimum against what you actually want to encourage.

New-customer codes need thought

The restriction is real but it is not proof against a determined customer with a second e-mail address. Treat it as a nudge rather than a control, and set the discount at a level you can afford if some existing customers use it.

Scope it before announcing it

Applicable and excluded products and categories are separate row actions, and a code created without them applies more widely than you probably intended. Set the scope first, then test, then announce.

Test with a real basket

Add products, apply the code, check the total, check what is recorded on the order. Then test the edge: below the minimum spend, after expiry, on an excluded product. Each of those is a way a code can cost you money.

The banner is a commitment

Advertising a code on the shop means every visitor uses it, including those who would have bought anyway. That is sometimes the point and sometimes an expensive accident.

Watch it for the first day

Redemption rate against expectation. A code being used far faster than forecast usually means it has escaped, and the cap is what buys you time to react.

Worked example

A shop creates a code with a minimum spend above its average basket, capped at 1,000 uses, expiring in fourteen days, excluding clearance. It was tested below the minimum, after expiry and on an excluded product before being announced — the third test found the exclusion had not been saved.

Recommendations

• Set the scope before announcing.
• Minimum spend above your average basket.
• Test the edges, not just the happy path.
• Watch redemption on day one.