As a Shopify merchant, if you’re not offering your customers discounts from time to time, you’re quite likely missing out on major benefits to your business. If you’re hoping to bring in new customers and encourage repeat purchases from existing ones, a discount codes strategy is one you should absolutely consider.Keep reading to find out:
- What discount codes are and how they're used
- Benefits of using discount codes for your Shopify store
- How discount codes work
- How to set up Shopify discount codes
- Discount code ideas to help boost sales
Discount Codes Help Drive Traffic and Boost Sales
Sell more using Back in Stock discount code notifications for restocked products.
What are Discount Codes and How are They Used?
Discount codes are exactly what they sound like: a code of alphanumeric characters created to provide a discount to customers. They’re entered at the checkout stage when placing an online order and bring the subtotal down to reflect whatever the offered discount is. Online stores often work them in as part of a broader marketing strategy to encourage sales from new and existing customers.Discounts from these codes can be tracked by sales campaign, so you know which ones have been the most successful and model them similarly in the future. Your discounts can be off a single item or a whole order, and you can offer them to your whole customer base or specific targeted groups, like new subscribers or regular purchasers.
Types of Shopify discount codes
There are many types of discount codes you can use in your Shopify store to encourage new and repeat customers to purchase. Here are some of the most common types.
Dollar value
A dollar value discount is essentially a credit for a certain amount off a purchase. Especially when there’s an associated expiry date, it can create a sense of urgency among shoppers if they don’t use it. These offers are often coupled with a minimum purchase amount, like $15 off a $100 minimum purchase.
Percentage-based
Percentage-based discounts can range in smaller amounts like 5 or 10% to pique interest, more significant deals like 20-30% off, or massive price cuts like 50% or more to really move inventory. You can use percentage discounts on multiple products or collections, too, such as buying a new jacket and getting 30% off a scarf. Choosing how much to discount will depend on your marketing strategy.
Free gift
People love free stuff, so throwing in a small gift with purchase can really attract buyers. You can be strategic about this, too, if you have a surplus of items that simply aren’t moving quickly. Again, as with other discount code types, you can set a minimum purchase amount, item quantity, or type of item that would qualify a customer to receive the free gift.
Free shipping
There’s no doubt about it - people hate high shipping costs, especially when compared to the cost of a relatively inexpensive order. So, a free shipping discount code can really help you address this concern and boost your conversions. Free shipping codes are often paired with a minimum purchase value so that you’re raising your average order value (AOV) and not losing too much profit.
Earn More With Shopify Discount Codes and Back in Stock
Sell more restocked products with Shopify discount codes using Back in Stock.
Benefits of Using Discount Codes in Your Shopify Store
Discount codes are a clear win-win for both you as a Shopify store merchant and your customers. The discount you give to incentivize a purchase helps your customers save money and, in turn, that business helps your bottom line since you likely wouldn’t have earned it otherwise. Plus, they make people happy: a study done by Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Neuroeconomics Studies showed higher oxytocin levels in those who received discount codes (oxytocin is a hormone that creates a feeling of joy or happiness). Happy customers are likely to remember it was your brand that made them feel that way, and they may return to buy again, spread the word, or both.
Discount codes or digital coupons bring customers to your site, introduce new product lines, help move excess inventory, raise existing customer engagement and loyalty, and create new revenue. And since discounts are seen positively by about 55% of consumers, and drive about 60% to try out a new product and nearly 50% to change their purchase plans, you’re missing out on a huge market if you don’t offer your customers discounts or digital coupons. The great news is it’s easy to do so through messages on your store’s site or social media pages.
Need more convincing? You may be a little hesitant to offer discounts and miss out on some profit per sale, but it can be very worthwhile in the long run and raise your ROI overall. Here are some other advantages of using discount codes in your business that you may not have considered. And when you use a back in stock app like Back in Stock to alert customers of the discounts offered, you stand to engage them further and entice them to visit your store more than before, resulting in even more benefits to your business.
Creates loyalty
When you get repeat, loyal customers, your business is set up for more success than if you’re simply attracting one-time customers who move on after a single purchase. Why? Repeat customers spend about 70% more than new customers. They believe in your products and what you stand for and know they can expect a great experience and value. So, they’re more likely to buy more from you and recommend you to those they care about.
As well, repeat customers are more likely to offer helpful, authentic feedback that can truly make a difference to your business - feedback you wouldn’t have been aware of otherwise. When you know what you’re doing well and continue with it, along with where you can improve and take steps to do so, again, you stand to do even better.
Discount codes play a huge role in getting that repeat business you need, so running campaigns targeted to new customers is a great business move. Of course, you can also earn repeat sales in other ways, like through reward programs, improving the customer experience (maybe through cross sell product suggestions), offering added conveniences (like gift-wrapping), and engaging your audience through social media with helpful information.
Boosts sales
Discounts can drive more sales from existing and new customers, resulting in more profits for your business. Not only do discounts make people happy, since they get to save their hard-earned cash, but they also make it easier for new customers to choose you over your competition if everything else is equal. And, once they’re happy with a discounted item or two, they’re more likely to browse your shop and try your other products, even at full price.
Builds your digital marketing strategy
You can easily use discount codes or coupons to build your Shopify store digital marketing strategy. For instance, let’s say you’re hoping to create a subscriber base for regular newsletters in the hopes of getting repeat business, sales of new products, or an audience for other campaigns, but you don’t have many people on your list. In exchange for subscribing with their email address, you can offer people 10% off their first purchase.
Likewise, you can post coupon codes on your social media sites, like Instagram or Meta (previously Facebook). Be sure to include an expiry date in the near future so a sense of urgency is created and new or existing customers are encouraged to buy quickly.
Tracks marketing efforts
Discount or promotional codes can help you effectively track your marketing efforts to understand the platforms and campaigns that are creating the most traffic or converting best.
This is simply done by linking a specific discount code and marketing campaign together. Your discount can be the same, for instance, 15% off of a minimum $75 purchase, but with a unique discount code for each ad or campaign, you can quickly track and see how well it’s performing. You can design the codes to identify the platform from which they came (e.g. Insta15 would be 15% off from Instagram), so when a customer uses one you’ll know how well it's doing over another.
How Discount Codes Work
If you issue a discount code and a customer enters it at the checkout/cart page, providing all conditions are met the code will grant them the specified discount off their subtotal.
For example, if you’re offering $10 off of a minimum $50 purchase, the customer won’t get the discount if their subtotal is, say, $45. Or, maybe you don’t want a certain product line, brand, or new arrival included in the promotion - you can set the discount code requirements to reflect these types of exceptions. As well, you can allow customers to enter multiple discount codes or restrict them to using only one per transaction.
Simple steps to create discount codes with Back In Stock
Need info from BIS team
Discount Code Ideas to Boost Your Sales
Here are some proven uses for discount codes you can get started with right away.
1. Back in stock discounts
When a customer sees a product in your store that’s out of stock, there’s an easy way to encourage them to return and buy that product the moment you receive it again - and that's with an app like Back in Stock.
They can easily and instantly sign up to receive SMS, web push, or email alerts when the items they like are available to purchase. And when it comes to encouraging that purchase, there’s nothing like a discount code to sweeten the deal and entice them back over to you rather than the competition.
2. Abandoned cart discounts
Since nearly 80% of shoppers leave items in their cart without purchasing, there’s a huge untapped market here that you can try to reach with deals. Using an app like Back in Stock, you can easily send out an email or push notification with a link to those abandoned products. And, when you include a nice little discount, you’ll encourage that purchase and boost your bottom line.
3. Preorder discounts
Expecting large demand for a popular item? Maybe you sell gourmet holiday gift baskets and see a giant surge in orders around mid-December. Whatever the case may be, there are times you’ll need to manage your demand and do what you can to space out your orders to match delivery schedules and supply chain realities.
This is where discounts on pre-order items can come in super handy. By encouraging shoppers to pre-order early in exchange for a discount, you’ll sell more overall. Great news, Back in Stock also handles Shopify preorder alerts seamlessly.
4. Seasonal or holiday discounts
Holidays like Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Christmas are huge shopping holidays. And with that means shoppers have some serious choice, so you need to grab their attention if you want to earn their business. A great way to drive more traffic to your store and convert more browsers into buyers to boost your revenue even among that competitive landscape is to offer discounts on holiday gifts. Unique, fun, and novelty items work well for this purpose.
5. Recurring discounts
You might regularly find excess inventory at the end of each week, month, or quarter and wonder how to get rid of it. Or, maybe you’re just not meeting those sales goals. Holding a regular sale is a great way to get people clicking on your store, checking out discounted products, and adding more to their cart than they may have otherwise, which ultimately drives up your bottom line.
6. Rewards for social media following, liking, and sharing
Especially if you’re a newer store, it can be pretty tough to gain traction by spreading the word about who you are and what you offer. So, try to recruit help from the visitors and shoppers you’ve already attracted by offering them a discount code in exchange for taking some action to help your social media presence - whether that’s sharing your store’s page with their followers or commenting on and liking a specific post you’re trying to increase exposure to.
7. Referral offer
Many people are happier and more willing to try new products and services when they’ve already been vetted and enjoyed by their family and friends. That’s why offering a discount code in exchange for a referral can be a great way to earn more business. You can decide to offer a discount to just the person referring your store, to the new potential customer, or to both parties.
8. First purchase discount
As a first-time shopper, you’re not always super confident about making a purchase right away. Without being familiar with a brand and having seen and tried its products, it can be tempting to just stick with what you know. This is where a discount for first-time buyers is great - it helps to alleviate that perceived risk and get those new customers in the door. Be sure to provide a smooth experience for them from shopping to delivery, as this will encourage them to return again.
Now that you've seen how effective discount codes are at helping Shopify merchants achieve business goals and how many uses they have, why not give them a shot? When customers are notified via Back in Stock with an enticing discount, they'll have even more reason to return to your store and buy.
