If you’re experiencing an all-time low in your sales and a dip in your customer flow, it’s time to incorporate intelligent strategies on your eCommerce store to bring back those conversions.
Discount coupons and promo deals are powerful marketing tools that drive traffic to your website like bees to honey.
However, many eCommerce coupons and deal ideas are floating in the market. Even though you’d be desperate to use most of these for your online store, you have to make your coupon selection wisely, without overdoing it.
We’ve picked the best types of coupons and promo deal options that you can incorporate into your website to meet your sales targets.
These strategies are proven to boost sales and attract customers by offering appealing deals and incentives that motivate shoppers to choose your business.But first, let’s see why these discount tools are integral in marketing and their impact on sales.
- Discount Coupons: An Effective Marketing Tool
- What Are Coupons?
- 51 Types of Coupons Your eCommerce Store Should Offer
Discount Coupons: An Effective Marketing Tool
Coupons and special offers are one of the most potent forms of marketing. These have been huge players in driving sales and reducing losses. Why? There’s psychological reasoning behind this.
Discounts and deals play with the consumer psyche of urgency and fear of missing out on an opportunity. Since most discounts are time-bound, people make impulsive purchase decisions before they miss the boat.
Flash sales and huge discounts, in particular, create even more urgency and excitement among shoppers, encouraging quick decisions and boosting engagement during these limited-time events.
During sale time, many buyers check out their carts with items they had been on the fence about for a while.
Another psychological component behind sales success is the human urge not to miss out on something important. In other words, it’s FOMO. This is why stores spill over with customers, with many waiting outside, during the sales season. Everybody wants a slice of the best deals.
Discounts also operate on the feeling of loss-aversion in consumers. People feel they’ve averted some kind of financial loss if they buy an item at half price. Though they may be spending more on sales, the reduced price tag brings a sense of security with it.
What Are Coupons?
In eCommerce, coupons are promotional tools that give shoppers a reason to hit buy now instead of waiting. They can take many forms—coupon codes, clickable links, or automatic discounts at checkout—but the goal is the same: Motivate customers to complete their purchase.
When used strategically, coupons do more than cut prices. They help attract new shoppers, boost average order value, clear out inventory, and keep existing customers coming back for more.
In a crowded eCommerce market, coupons give your store a competitive edge by increasing conversions and building long-term loyalty.
Benefits of Offering Coupons
Smart coupon marketing comes with real advantages for your online store:
- Increase sales: Discounts reduce hesitation and drive faster purchase decisions.
- Build loyalty: Exclusive deals and rewards keep customers returning to your brand.
- Move inventory: Clear out seasonal or excess stock without heavy losses.
- Promote new products: Give shoppers an incentive to try something new.
- Boost repeat purchases: Coupons encourage ongoing engagement beyond a single sale.
- Gather insights: Tracking coupon usage reveals customer preferences and shopping habits.
The right coupon strategy doesn’t only improve short-term conversions—it creates a shopping experience that strengthens customer satisfaction and fuels long-term growth
51 Types of Coupons Your eCommerce Store Should Offer
We’ve listed the best discount coupon ideas you can use on your online store and start driving your sales today.
Creative coupon code ideas and code ideas can make your promotions more effective and memorable, helping you engage customers and boost sales across different campaigns.
1. Free Shipping Coupons
One of the essential coupons you need to add to your store (if you haven’t already) is free shipping.
Customers are willing to pay a significant amount for their orders without batting an eye, but hate spending even an extra few dollars on shipping. Cart abandonment because of shipping costs is one issue you’ll want to avoid.
Customers often perceive free shipping as a valuable benefit that reduces their hesitation to complete a purchase, as it lowers their perceived risk and encourages them to spend more.
So, consider offering free shipping on all your orders now, irrespective of the total cart value.
2. Percent-off Coupons
Percent-off is the most widely used type of coupon. Percentage discounts are popular for their flexibility and appeal to a wide range of customers, making them a preferred choice for both businesses and shoppers.
You can use them across different spheres, from seasonal deals to X% off over orders of $Y type options to abandoned cart discounts and welcoming returning customers.
Offering small discounts through percent-off coupons is the best way to grow your email list. This way, you entice site visitors with 10% off on their first order in exchange for their email. People are willing to do anything for a discount.
3. Free Trials
You can offer free trials to first-time shoppers on your site. These offers are a great way to kickstart your eCommerce campaign. Free trials are a powerful way to attract and retain customers long-term, as they’re more willing to stick around and pay for permanent services once they’ve used the free trial.
Free trials are especially effective for subscription services, as they encourage sign-ups and ongoing engagement by allowing customers to experience the value before committing.
Compare that to a company without a free trial option. The user may be on the fence before making a purchase decision. Most consumers want to avoid the risk of not liking something after paying for it.
4. Holiday & Seasonal Sales
There is a reason why seasonal and holiday sales like Cyber Monday and Black Friday are so successful. These are perfectly timed to be carried out when the shoppers are most likely to shop impulsively.
Targeted discounts during these periods can further increase sales by appealing to specific customer segments, such as offering unique coupon codes or seasonal offers to create urgency.
Holiday sales like Christmas and Easter are when people buy not just for themselves but for friends and family. So, you have a chance of doubling your sales during such times.
Never let go of the possibility of generating discount coupons during the holiday season and on special sales days.
5. Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Also called BOGO offers, the buy 1 get 1 free option is great for driving sales during specific times of the year.
BOGO coupons are a popular way to clear inventory and incentivize larger purchases from buyers.
The BOGO offers are often suitable for a specific set of items—things that you could give away for free with a major purchase.
For example, people buy costumes, candy, and decorations during holiday sales like Halloween or Christmas.
You can also generate these coupons when people need a supply of different things, like summer holidays (swimwear, hats, flip flops) or back to school (uniforms, books, stationery, bags).
6. Abandoned Cart Coupons
A fantastic way to bring back customers who leave their carts without making a purchase is to entice them with 5 or 10% off their order.
Abandoned cart coupons are another verified form of recovering lost sales and improving overall conversion rates.
You can send these types of coupons through email to customers who leave their carts and add an easy CTA for them to return and make their purchases quickly. According to research, abandoned cart coupons are effective in retrieving and fulfilling 3—11% of orders.
7. First-Time Purchase Discount
First-time discounts are a great way to push through purchases by new site visitors who are apprehensive about buying from you.
Welcome coupons are a proven strategy to make a positive first impression. They encourage repeat business by incentivizing both initial and future orders. These can be designed to appear in exit-intent pop-ups right when the customer is planning to leave.
A little discount, like 5 or 10% off on their purchase, will make people happy and give them a good feel of your brand.
8. Newsletter Subscription Discount
Building an email list and gathering email addresses is one of the biggest challenges businesses experience in their marketing efforts. People are often wary of subscribing to new websites as they don’t want emails flooding their inboxes.
Offering discounts, however, is the perfect route to build your email list. If you’re looking for eCommerce solutions beyond Shopify, consider these Shopify alternatives to find the right platform for your business.
Subscription coupons can incentivize sign-ups and boost engagement with your brand. Entice your site visitors with a discount code of 10—20% off in exchange for their emails, and see how your list grows.
9. Loyalty Points
Rewarding your loyal customers with redeemable points on each purchase fosters relationships with them and encourages future sales.
Research indicates people are more likely to make purchases when given the incentive of discounts through redeemable points as opposed to having no such option.
Loyalty points help build customer loyalty by rewarding repeat customers and encouraging ongoing engagement. These loyalty points can be cashed in for different options, like discount coupons, free shipping, and more.
10. Referral Promo Codes
Everybody loves discount coupons and equally love sharing them with friends and family. Many major businesses have made this an official part of their coupon campaign, generating special referral promo discount codes.
Referral coupons and customer referral promo codes incentivize both the referrer and the new customer by offering discounts or rewards to each. Affiliate coupons can be used to expand your reach through affiliate marketing programs by providing unique discounts for referrals and encouraging wider sharing.
This way, shoppers get extra loyalty points for sharing their codes. Sometimes the person being referred to also receives discounts alongside the referrer. Through these offers, you encourage double-spending between friends, resulting in more conversions and online traffic for your website.
11. Customer Milestone Discounts
Another great way to strengthen your relationship with your existing customers, the customer milestone program is a delightful initiative that can be used to benefit your sales. Just as in the loyalty program, where you reward your returning buyers with discounts, with this program, you celebrate a milestone for your existing customers.
The milestone can be any, from special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries to something like marking the time the customer has been shopping with you. Such clients can be rewarded with special discounts and promos that will not only create a feel-good factor for your brand but also drive sales and conversions.
Milestone discounts are an effective way to reward loyal customers and foster long-term customer relationships, helping to build trust and encourage repeat business.
12. Automated Coupons
Often, customers forget to apply the discount codes to their cart before checking out, which can result in a lot of frustration. You can generate automatic coupons and integrate them with your checkout app to avoid such scenarios.
These codes are self-applied to the final checkout page once a purchase is made, making the buying process much more convenient and stress-free.
Automated systems can also help enforce usage-limited coupons to prevent abuse and maintain profitability. Customers no longer have to worry about remembering or copy-pasting codes, as it’s already taken care of.
13. Minimum Purchase Discount
A fantastic strategy to increase the total cart value and encourage bulk purchases is to entice customers with a special discount for completing a minimum order value. For example, during events like Black Friday, people will be motivated to spend that amount or purchase that many products just to get that discount.
Minimum purchase discounts often apply to the entire purchase, which encourages customers to purchase more items or add extra products to their cart in order to qualify for the deal.
For instance, you can offer deals like: Save big with us! Buy 5 or more items/Buy $100 or more worth of items to enjoy 15% off on your order.
Such discounts play on the consumer psyche of impulsive buying and not missing out on cost-saving opportunities. As a retailer, you drive a high-value in your sales.
If you don’t want to tackle the hassle of manually creating and implementing these specialized discounts, dedicated plugins like Disco can help you streamline your entire discount management within seconds.
Such coupons play on the consumer psyche of impulsive buying and not missing out on cost-saving opportunities. As a retailer, you drive a high-value in your sales.
14. Exit-Intent Discounts
Sometimes, people may explore and browse your store but decide to leave without making a purchase. While you cannot manually retain your customers and force them into buying, you can surely encourage them with a special 10% or 15% off discount that appears in an exit-intent pop-up.
Such pop-ups are specially timed to appear just when the customer has finished browsing the site and is about to leave, often offering discount coupons to encourage them to complete their purchase.
An exit intent discount offer can be a powerful way to reduce cart abandonment and recover potentially lost sales.
When you surprise them with a sweet little discount, you may get your conversion right then and there.
15. Gift Cards With Purchase
Gift cards work double magic for your store. They bring in higher conversions and returning customers. When you offer people a gift card with every purchase they make, you’re pushing them to make that purchase and return for some more shopping with the gift card.
Cards like these can be used as store credit for future purchases, encouraging ongoing engagement. Alternatively, offering a free gift with a purchase is another effective way to incentivize customers and boost perceived value.
Such coupons are effective when your business is new or needs to pick up speed. By offering gift cards, you kick-start your store’s eCommerce functionality through increased sales and conversions.
You also establish a steady flow of returning customers that may keep returning even after using the gift card. Some may also refer you to friends and family.
At the end of the day, what’s essential isn’t the amount of money you make in the initial months, but an active and upward buying graph and a steady flow of customers.
16. Pre-Launch Promos
Are you at the pre-launching phase of your business and nervous about how many sales you’ll drive in the initial months? Try the pre-launch promo coupons! These are a foolproof way of opening the stream of customers and revenue to your business by creating interest around your store before its launch.
You can generate discounts and free trials store-wide or on specific items. Using a promo code or flash sale offer can create excitement and urgency for your pre-launch campaign, especially as more people turn to online shopping for convenience.
Or you can also use these types of coupons when you want to launch a new product—offering people discounts before the launch will do wonders for the product’s popularity and will create a buzz around it. Just what you need in your marketing efforts!
The prelaunch discount strategy works as a great advertising tool and is terrific for introducing your brand to your audience and strengthening its image.
17. URL Coupons
URL coupons are a modern, user-friendly way to deliver discounts. Instead of requiring shoppers to type in a code at checkout, a unique link automatically applies the promotion when clicked.
This frictionless process works for any type of deal—percentage-off discounts, free shipping, or BOGO offers—and can be especially effective in abandoned cart emails to re-engage potential customers.
They work well in:
- Email campaigns.
- Social media promotions.
- Influencer partnerships, where a single click leads directly to savings.
They also make it easy to track which channels drive the most conversions, helping you refine your promotional strategy while giving customers a smooth shopping experience.
18. Personalized Discounts
Personalized discounts connect with shoppers on a deeper level by tailoring offers to their purchase history, browsing behavior, or demographics. Imagine one of your customers has their birthday, and you celebrate with them by offering an exclusive discount code. Some other examples of personalized discounts include:
19. Exclusive email discounts.
20. Loyalty program rewards.
21. On-site recommendations based on past shopping activity.
These offers make customers feel valued while boosting loyalty and repeat purchases. Stores that leverage personalized discounts stand out with shopping experiences that feel customized, which not only improves retention but also fuels word-of-mouth marketing.
22. Repeat Purchase Coupons
You could also reward customers for coming back to your store. This captures the purpose of repeat purchase coupons and can be offered a few days or even hours after their first purchase, aiming to maximize profit while providing a strong incentive to buy again.
These repeat purchase coupons include:
- Discount coupons after multiple purchases.
- Coupons for free shipping for returning customers.
- Loyalty program milestone rewards in the form of coupon codes.
The benefits are twofold: You increase customer lifetime value while lowering acquisition costs. By giving shoppers clear reasons to buy again, you build long-term relationships and steady revenue growth.
26. Creative but Clear Coupon Code Names
Memorable, clear, and easy-to-use coupon code names can make a campaign far more useful. Remember to make the codes creative and include as much description as possible. Some examples to keep in mind are:
- Descriptive: SAVE25NOW instantly communicates the deal.
- Themed: Tie codes to holidays, events, or seasons (SUMMER20, FREESHIP).
- Unique: Avoid reusing codes across campaigns to simplify tracking.
Clear coupon names don’t just make life easier for shoppers—they also provide valuable insights into campaign performance, helping you optimize future promotions just by looking at them in your coupons software.
27. QR Code & Mobile Coupons
QR codes are being used in many aspects of marketing. They could be used in newsletters, flyers, websites, or even people’s resumes. They connect a digital asset with the real world. QR code coupons make it easy for customers to unlock deals on their phones. With one scan, shoppers can claim discounts, free shipping, or BOGO offers.
Where to use them:
- On product packaging or flyers.
- In-store promotions.
- Event handouts and trade shows.
28. Cross-Selling & Upselling Coupons
These coupons increase Average Order Value (AOV) by encouraging customers to buy more.
For upselling, offer a coupon for a higher-end version of a product, making the upgrade more attractive to the customer.
To cross-sell with ease, provide a discount when customers purchase multiple items together, encouraging them to add related products to their cart.
Examples:
- Buy a laptop, get 20% off a case.
- Spend $50, unlock 15% off accessories.
29. Review & Feedback Coupons
Want more customer reviews and social proof? Review coupons reward customers who leave product feedback. These are often underused by many eCommerce stores, so having them can be beneficial for your store.
Benefits:
- Boost credibility with authentic reviews.
- Increase engagement with your store.
- Encourage repeat purchases with thank-you discounts.
30. Support Coupons: Three Great Options
Mistakes happen. It could be due to a customer’s error or a misplaced product that caused the inventory issue. Support coupons turn a negative experience into a positive one, boosting loyalty in the process.
Best support coupon uses: Learn about the best free exit-intent popups for WordPress.
- Shipping delays or damaged items.
- Technical issues or checkout glitches.
- Customer service recovery.
34. Cashback & Rebate Coupons
Cashback coupons give shoppers money back after checkout, creating a sense of reward after getting their products in the mail.
Cashback is often a feature of credit cards or platforms, with a percentage of the purchase returned automatically to the user’s account. Rebates, on the other hand, are typically post-purchase claims, requiring customers to submit paperwork to receive a refund from the manufacturer or retailer.
Examples:
- Spend $75, get $10 back.
- Earn 5% cashback on your order.
35. SMS (Text Message) Coupons
SMS coupons cut through inbox clutter with open rates of over 90% within three minutes. SMS messaging is often regarded as the best method of communication in some industries because of its high open rates.
How to use SMS coupons:
- Send time-sensitive flash sales.
- Share exclusive VIP codes.
- Deliver cart recovery discounts instantly.
39. After-Purchase Coupons
After-purchase coupons reward customers immediately after checkout. A generous discount code or store credit will enable the same buyers or their friends to buy from your store again in the future.
Examples:
- Thanks for your order! Enjoy 15% off your next purchase.
- Free shipping code for repeat buyers.
40. Wholesale Coupons
The business-to-business market is booming, and it makes sense to reward these customers as well. If your store offers wholesale products, it’s a good practice to provide them with an incentive to purchase again.
Wholesale buyers often buy in higher quantities, so profits can become significant after a while. Wholesale coupons are designed for B2B or bulk buyers.
Use cases:
- Tiered discounts for volume orders.
- Special pricing for long-term clients.
- Exclusive codes for business accounts.
44. Retargeting Coupons
Retargeting coupons brings back shoppers who browsed but didn’t buy. By offering free shipping or other incentives, you’re warmly welcoming new customers and building a stronger, more trusted brand loyalty.
How they work:
- A discount is shown in ads after cart abandonment.
- Pixel-based tracking delivers personalized offers.
- Coupons reduce hesitation and recover lost sales.
48. Event Attendance Coupons
Event coupons reward people who engage with your brand at webinars, trade shows, or live events. They’re unique codes that offer a discount or special perk to an attendee for event tickets, working through a promotional code system at the point of purchase.
Ideas:
- QR codes on booth banners.
- Exclusive discount links emailed to attendees.
- Limited-time offers for event participants.
Final Thoughts
Discount coupons and deals are powerful tools to meet your business’s targets and enhance your customer base. The trick is to know at what point to use which coupon and identify what items are suitable for which promo deal.
Our list will help you pick the best options for your eCommerce store with a diverse range of discount ideas.
So, are you ready to generate some coupons to kickstart your sales and revenue flow?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What types of coupons work best for eCommerce stores?
It depends on your goals. Percentage-off coupons and free shipping offers are proven to drive conversions, while cross-sell and upsell coupons are ideal for boosting average order value.
Are coupons better than promo codes?
They’re often the same thing. A coupon code is a type of coupon that requires manual entry, while automatic or URL coupons apply discounts instantly. The best choice depends on your audience and which channel they often use. If they’re visiting your store more often, send them a notification while they sign in.
How do coupons affect profit margins?
Coupons reduce margin per order but often increase sales volume, repeat purchases, and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). It’s crucial to strike a balance and track ROI to maximize your business’s return on investment.
What are the most underused coupon strategies?
Many stores overlook review coupons, support coupons, and retargeting coupons. They might be niche, but they can boost sales very effectively.
How do I measure coupon performance?
Track redemption rates, revenue per coupon, Average Order Value (AOV), and customer retention rates. Coupon tracking software could be a good way of tracking that information if your eCommerce store doesn’t have the functionality.
Are SMS or QR coupons effective?
Yes. SMS coupons have open rates above 90%, making them ideal for flash sales and urgent campaigns. QR coupons are excellent for events, packaging, and offline-to-online promotions.
