How to auto-apply a discount code on Shopify

Three ways to apply a discount without typing

1. A shareable discount link

Shopify can turn any discount code into a link. When a shopper opens it, the discount applies automatically to their checkout. To make one:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Discounts and click the discount.
2. Click Promote, then Get a shareable discount code.
3. Choose the page, product or collection the link opens, then Copy link or download the QR code.

The link looks like yourstore.com/discount/SUMMER15. To send shoppers somewhere other than the home page, add a redirect: /discount/SUMMER15?redirect=/collections/sale.

It’s the best fit for emails, social posts, ads and printed QR codes, anywhere you control the link. Two limits from Shopify: a link carries one discount, and it works only while the discount is active. Shoppers who arrive any other way, from search or by typing your address, never see it.

2. An automatic discount

An automatic discount needs no code at all: it applies at checkout when the cart qualifies. Create one in Discounts and choose Automatic discount instead of a code.

It suits a store-wide sale everyone should get. The trade: with no code, there’s nothing to share in a post or an email, and nothing that tells you which channel a sale came from. If you run codes alongside it, check each discount’s Combinations settings so they stack the way you mean.

3. An Apply button on your storefront

Show the code on the page with a button that applies it to the shopper’s cart. It reaches the shoppers the link misses: the ones who arrive from search, from a bookmark, or by typing your address. This is what PromoDrawer’s discount code card does, inside a slide-out drawer that never covers the page.

	Shareable link	Automatic discount	Apply button
Shopper types a code	No	No	No
Reaches shoppers who	Open your link	Qualify at checkout	Visit your store
A code to share	Yes	No	Yes
Best for	Email, social, ads, QR	Store-wide sales	Search and direct visits

They work together. Send the link in your email, and show the same code with an Apply button for everyone who comes in another way.

Set up one-tap codes with PromoDrawer

Install PromoDrawer from the Shopify App Store and turn on its app embed in your theme editor; Getting started walks through both. Then:

1. Create the code in Shopify. In Discounts, with its start and end dates. PromoDrawer shows and applies a code you made; it doesn’t create or check codes, so a mistyped or expired code shows exactly as typed.
2. Add a discount code card to a drawer. Type the code and a heading, and pick a layout: Code box, Code bar, Ticket or Big code.
3. Make the button apply the code. Choose Apply to cart, which adds the discount for the shopper and can then send them to any page on your store. Or choose Copy code if you’d rather they paste it.
4. Show when the code ends. A countdown card in the same drawer can count down to the end of the drawer’s schedule. See How to add a countdown timer to Shopify.
5. Show it on the right pages and dates. Give the drawer the same start and end as the discount, and choose its page types, URLs or devices. See Targeting and scheduling.
6. Test it before you share it. Open your store, tap Apply, and go to checkout to see the discount. If it doesn’t take, the code has to exist in Shopify Discounts and be active; see Troubleshooting.

The discount code card, the countdown card, schedules and page targeting are on Basic and Pro, each with a 30-day free trial. The Free plan has announcement, image and follow cards on your home page.

Codes that are easy to use

• Make it readable. A word and a number, like SUMMER15, beats a string where 0 and O look the same.
• One code per offer. If two codes do the same thing, shoppers wonder which is better.
• Give it an end date in Shopify. Then the discount, the drawer’s schedule and any countdown end together.
• A code per channel, if you want to compare. A different code for email and for social shows in Shopify’s reports which one brought orders.

Questions merchants ask

Can I make a discount apply from a link?

Yes. Shopify’s shareable discount link applies the code automatically at checkout. Add ?redirect= to send shoppers to a product or collection first.

Does PromoDrawer create the discount?

No. You create the code in Shopify Discounts, and the card shows it with a button that applies it. That keeps every rule, limit and end date in Shopify, where your other discounts live.

What if the code has expired?

The card still shows the code as you typed it, because the app doesn’t check codes. Schedule the drawer to end with the discount so shoppers never see a code that no longer works.

Should I use an automatic discount instead?

For a store-wide sale everyone gets, an automatic discount is simplest: there’s no code to apply. Announce it in the drawer with an announcement card. Use a code when you want to share it, limit it, or see where it was used.