Discount code

Sara Heegaard March 3, 20222 minute read

Sara is a copywriter focused on lifting up Recharge's merchants, partners, and their customers. Before Recharge, her past lives included writing and editing at four different subscription... Full bio

What is a discount code?

Discount codes (also known as promo codes, coupon codes, and offer codes) are codes provided to customers and applied at checkout that reduce an order’s price. They are often used in ecommerce as a tool to add value to the order, incentivize purchasing, and build loyalty for both new and returning customers. They can be applied to both one-time purchases and subscription products. 

Discount codes are often used as part of a larger promotional marketing strategy, as they can increase site traffic and conversion rates. They can also be used to track which platforms are most effective at generating interest or conversions, and be tied to certain campaigns or advertisements for tracking purposes.

Types of discount codes

Promo codes typically fall into one of three categories: fixed amount discounts, percentage discounts, and shipping discounts. Fixed amount discounts offer a specific dollar discount off a purchase, which can be tied to a minimum purchase amount or applied to any order value. Percentage discounts offer a set percentage off the cost of the shopper’s order. A shipping discount provides reduced shipping charges or free shipping for the customer’s order. Merchants can also set limits around the time frames of the offers, as well as if coupons can be recurring, only used once, only used for first-time purchases, or limited to a certain number of total customers.