Discount Codes vs. Automatic Discounts
What are they? These are the two methods Shopify provides for applying a discount to a customer's order. The choice between them affects both your control over the promotion and the customer's experience.
Why is it important?
Choosing the right method ensures your promotion is both effective for your business and easy for your customers to use. A complicated discount process can lead to frustration and abandoned carts.Key Differences and Best Use Cases:
| Type | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Discount Code | The customer must manually enter a specific code (e.g., WELCOME10) into a field at checkout. | Controlled, targeted offers. Perfect for email subscriber exclusives, influencer marketing codes, or providing a discount to a specific customer for a service issue. |
| Automatic Discount | The discount is applied automatically in the cart or at checkout once certain conditions are met (e.g., cart total is over $100). | Broad, frictionless, site-wide sales. Ideal for promotions like 'Free shipping over $75' or a 'Buy One, Get One Free' event that you want everyone to get easily. |
Crucial Rule to Remember
You can have many discount codes active at once, but you can only have one automatic discount active on your store at any given time. If you enable a new automatic discount, it will deactivate the previous one. This requires you to plan your major site-wide promotions carefully.
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Curriculum: 1.6.2 - Shopify Discount Codes vs. Automatic Discounts (Difficulty: Beginner | Path: Launch)
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