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Create many unique discount codes at once

One Shopify discount can carry many codes, and up to 20 million unique codes are allowed per store. Hand-E Discounts generates up to 200 codes per campaign on the Starter plan or 1,000 on the Pro plan with your own prefix, creates them as one Shopify discount and gives you a CSV file.

How to solve itWorked example

One code for everyone gets passed around

A shared code like NEWSLETTER10 is quick to set up. With the limit to one use per customer, every email address or phone number can redeem it once. But if the code ends up on a coupon site, anyone who enters a new address can use it.

Unique codes solve this: every recipient gets their own code that can be redeemed once. For printed coupon cards at a trade show, an influencer campaign with its own prefix or a welcome series in your newsletter, you quickly need several hundred of them.

Shopify is built for this: one discount can carry many codes that share active dates, value and conditions. The question is how the codes are created, whether they're easy to read, and how they get cleanly into your email marketing tool or to the print shop.

Shopify nativeWith Hand-E Discounts
Many codes on one discountvia the Admin API, up to 250 codes per callup to 200 (Starter) or 1,000 (Pro) per campaign
Prefixfree, if you generate the codes yourselfyour own prefix per campaign
Easily confused charactersdepends on who generates the codesno 0 and O, no 1, I and L in the random part
CSV fileput it together yourselfdownload with the codes actually created
Coding requiredyes, for the API routeno

What works without an app

For one code or a few, the admin is enough. For several hundred, it becomes a question of coding or tooling.

  • Discount form in the admin: You type in a code or generate a random one with a button. Then you set active dates, minimum purchase requirements, maximum discount uses and combinations.
  • One shared code limited per customer: fine if it doesn't matter that the code gets around, for example as a thank-you to all subscribers.
  • Admin API: The discountRedeemCodeBulkAdd mutation adds up to 250 codes per call to a discount and works asynchronously. For 1,000 codes that's at least four calls, plus checking which codes were actually created. That's a route for developers.
  • Upper limit: According to the help center, a store can have 20,000,000 unique discount codes in total. Once the limit is reached, you have to delete existing codes.
  • Shopify Forms: The app can attach a discount to a signup form for email, SMS or WhatsApp marketing.
  • Apps in the Shopify App Store: There are several code generators. Compare prefix, character set, codes per run and whether the CSV file contains nothing but real codes.

How to generate a code campaign in Hand-E Discounts

A campaign is one Shopify discount with many codes. You set up the discount once, and the app generates the codes for it.

  1. Choose the Bulk codes discount type.
  2. Set prefix and number of codes, for example ANNA with 120 codes. The Starter plan allows up to 200 codes per campaign, the Pro plan up to 1,000.
  3. Set up the discount: percentage or fixed amount, on the entire order or on a selection.
  4. Decide on Each customer can redeem only one code and Each code can be redeemed only once. For personal codes and coupon cards, both make sense.
  5. Generate the codes and download the CSV file. It contains the codes Shopify actually created, nothing else.
  6. Import the file into your email marketing tool or send it to the print shop for the coupon cards.

Worked through: three campaigns for one fall season

Three promotions, three campaigns, each with its own prefix. Because each campaign is its own Shopify discount, Shopify's Sales by discount report keeps the promotions apart.

CampaignPrefixCodesDiscountFits in
Newsletter welcomeHELLO18010% off the orderStarter (up to 200)
Influencer AnnaANNA12015% off the orderStarter (up to 200)
Trade show coupon cardsEXPO750$5 off the orderPro (up to 1,000)

Limits and pitfalls

  • At most 200 codes per campaign on the Starter plan and 1,000 on the Pro plan. For 2,400 coupon cards you create three campaigns on the Pro plan, each its own discount.
  • Without Each code can be redeemed only once, a code can be used several times. For coupon cards you usually don't want that.
  • According to Shopify, customers can use at most five product or order discount codes and one shipping discount code per order. Whether your code applies alongside other discounts is set on the Combinations card.
  • Avoid special characters in the prefix. Shopify advises against them so that links with a discount code work properly in checkout.
  • The codes remain after you uninstall the app. They're regular Shopify discounts that you end in the admin when the promotion is over.
  • Keep the CSV file to the people who need it. Whoever has the list has every code.

Common questions

Can one Shopify discount have multiple codes?
Yes. One discount can carry many unique codes that share value, active dates and conditions. Hand-E Discounts creates every campaign exactly that way: one discount, many codes.
Which characters appear in the random part of the bulk codes?
Letters and digits without easily confused characters: no 0 and no O, no 1 and no I or L. That helps when customers type a code from a printed card.
Why does the CSV file contain fewer codes than I requested?
The file contains the codes Shopify actually created, nothing else. That way you never send or print a code that doesn't work at checkout.
How many discount codes can a Shopify store have in total?
According to Shopify's help center, there's a limit of 20,000,000 unique discount codes per store. Once it's reached, you can create new codes after deleting old ones.

Related problems

Creating discounts takes too many clicks

On the Pro plan of Hand-E Discounts you describe a discount in one sentence. The AI assistant looks up the matching products and collections, suggests the complete discount, and creates it after your click, inactive until you remove the end date in the admin.

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The discount is set up but does not apply at checkout

When a Shopify discount does not apply, start with its own conditions and with Shopify's rules for how discounts interact: combinations, minimum purchase requirements, customer eligibility, active dates, and the limit of 25 active automatic discounts. Walk through the points in order, then check the result with a test order.

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An order value discount needs several tiers

Shopify gives an order discount one minimum purchase amount, which means one tier. Natively you build several tiers as separate automatic discounts, and Shopify applies the one with the bigger advantage. Or you set up one Cart value tiers discount in Hand-E Discounts.

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