A discount code is a short code that lowers the price at checkout. Common types are a percentage off, a fixed amount off, free shipping, and buy one, get one offers. Shopify supports discount codes as well as automatic discounts that apply without a code.
Codes are useful because they are trackable and targeted. You can give one code to new subscribers, another to a creator's audience and another to lapsed customers, then see exactly which sales each one brought.
- Use them with a purpose: a first order, a win-back, a launch or a seasonal sale.
- Set limits: an end date, one use per customer, or a minimum order value that raises AOV.
- Prefer free shipping or a gift with purchase when a percentage off would cut too deep.
- Check your margin first: a 20% discount on a product with a 40% gross margin halves the gross profit on that sale.
Common mistakes: discounting so often that customers wait for the next code, and codes leaking to coupon sites. Unique single-use codes help with both.
To see how often competitors run promotions and which events they discount for, filter by promotion type and event in the Email Library.