The LVSYS CMS allows you to create promo codes, which are special discounts or coupons customers enter during checkout. Promo codes can be for a fixed dollar value or a percentage of the shopping cart total. They can be applied to totals before or after shipping. Promo Codes appear in Orders so you can easily track their use.
To create a Promo Code:
- From the Promo Code List Screen, click Add New Promo Code.
- In the New Product screen, complete fields as shown in the table below.
Promo Code Fields
Review the following promo code fields.
| Fields | Entry Instructions | Required | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Select to enable the promo code. | ||
| Use Once | Select to prevent users from supplying a promo code already used. This field is only valid when Promo Code contains patterns, as is often the case for Living Social or Groupon campaigns. | ||
| Restricted | Check box to allow a product code to be allowed or excluded in the product's pricing settings. | ||
| Title | Enter the title of the promo code that appears on the website. | YES | |
| Promo Code |
Create and enter a promo code. The promo code can be any combination of alphabetic and numeric characters. This is the code customers must enter in the shopping cart. The value entered must be unique. You may use the asterisk (*) character to enable pattern matching. For example, LS1205* would match all entered promo codes starting with LS1205. When patterns are used, it is strongly recommended that you check Use Once to prevent customers from re-using promo codes. |
YES | |
| Pricing | |||
| Price Value |
Use to enter a fixed dollar disount. Price value is expressed in cents and does not use decimals. A promo code of $29.95 is entered as 2995. A $5 promo code is entered as 500. Please make sure to set Min (Minimum) Cart Cost to a value to prevent invalid $0 orders. |
||
| Percent Discount | Discount rate applied to the shopping cart total. This value is ignored when Price Value is used. | ||
| Include Shipping |
Select to include shipping charges in the total cart cost to discount. This option is not recommended, unless when your shopping cart is using flat shipping rate and you wish to create a promo code for "free shipping" that matches the flat shipping rate. |
||
| Min. Cart Cost | Enter the minimum dollar value that must be in the shopping cart (including shipping charges if Include Shipping is checked) for this promo code discount to appear. |
Include Shipping in the Discounted Total
By default, the Promo Code discounts the shopping cart's total dollar value, excluding shipping charges and sales tax. For example, if a customer's shopping cart shows $100 worth of goods, a $5 shipping fee, and $8 of sales tax, the promo code applies only to the $100.
If you wish to include shipping charges in the discounted total, select the Include Shipping field.
Pattern Promo Code Examples
To simplify loading large promo code lists, you can also supply a pattern promo code.
Ex: assuming all your promo codes start with an LS1211 prefix, you would use the following configuration:
- Check Active
- Check Use Once
- Set Promo Code to: LS1211* ; notice the asterisk character to denote pattern matching
- Set Price Value of this promo code, or the percent discount off the order
- Set Min. Cart Cost to the minimum amount in the shopping cart.
