Coupons & Flash Deals

SnapCart provides two complementary discount mechanisms — Coupon Codes that customers enter manually at checkout, and Flash Deals that automatically apply discounted pricing to selected products for a limited time.

Coupons list showing code, type, discount value, usage count, and validity dates

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Accessing Coupons

Click Coupons in the left sidebar. The page has two tabs: Coupons and Flash Deals.

:::info Permissions required

Action	Permission
View coupons	coupon.view
Create coupons	coupon.create
Edit coupons	coupon.edit
Delete coupons	coupon.delete
:::

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Coupon Codes

Coupon Types

Type	How It Works	Example
Percentage	Deducts a percentage of the cart subtotal	SAVE20 → 20% off
Fixed Amount	Deducts a specific amount from the cart subtotal	FLAT100 → ₹100 off
Free Shipping	Waives the shipping charge entirely	FREESHIP → ₹0 shipping

Creating a Coupon

Click Add New under the Coupons tab.

Create Coupon form showing all configuration fields including type, value, usage limits, and validity dates

Field	Required	Description
Coupon Code	✅	The code customers enter at checkout. Use uppercase letters and numbers for readability (e.g., SUMMER25, FLAT200)
Discount Type	✅	Percentage, Fixed Amount, or Free Shipping
Discount Value	✅	The percentage or fixed amount. Not required for Free Shipping type
Minimum Order Amount	—	The cart subtotal must be at least this amount for the coupon to apply
Maximum Discount	—	For percentage coupons, caps the maximum deduction (e.g., max ₹500 off for a 20% coupon)
Usage Limit (Total)	—	Maximum number of times this coupon can be used across all customers. Leave blank for unlimited
Usage Per Customer	—	Maximum uses per individual customer account
Valid From	—	Date from which the coupon becomes active
Valid Until	—	Expiry date after which the coupon no longer works
Status	✅	Active or Inactive
Applicable Products	—	Restrict to specific products (leave blank to apply to all products)
Applicable Categories	—	Restrict to specific categories

Click Save to create the coupon.

:::tip Coupon code conventions

• Use all-uppercase codes: WELCOME10, DIWALI50
• Keep codes short and memorable (6–10 characters)
• Avoid ambiguous characters like 0 (zero) and O (letter O), or 1 and l
• Include the discount in the code name so customers know what to expect: FLAT200, 20PERCENT :::

Testing a Coupon

Before announcing a coupon:

1. Log in to the storefront as a test customer
2. Add products meeting the minimum order amount
3. Enter the coupon code at checkout
4. Verify the correct discount is applied
5. Complete the test order and verify the coupon usage count increments

Editing a Coupon

Click the edit icon on any coupon. All fields are editable, including the validity dates — useful for extending a promotion.

Deactivating vs Deleting

• Deactivate (set Status to Inactive) — The coupon is disabled but preserved. Reactivate later if needed.
• Delete — Permanently removes the coupon. Historical usage data in existing orders is not affected.

Viewing Coupon Usage History

Click a coupon's code to open its detail view, which includes a table of all orders this coupon was applied to:

Column	Description
Order #	Linked order number
Customer	Who used the coupon
Discount Applied	Amount deducted
Date Used	When the order was placed

This is useful for analysing which coupons are most popular and calculating the total discount liability.

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Flash Deals

Flash Deals are time-limited sales applied directly to product prices — no coupon code required. The discounted price and a countdown timer appear automatically on the product page.

Flash Deals list showing deal title, start/end times, discount, and participating products

Creating a Flash Deal

1. Click the Flash Deals tab.
2. Click Add New Flash Deal.

Flash Deal creation form showing title, date range, discount type, and product selector

Field	Required	Description
Title	✅	Internal deal name (e.g., "Diwali Sale", "Weekend Blowout")
Start Date & Time	✅	Exact moment the deal begins
End Date & Time	✅	Exact moment the deal ends
Discount Type	✅	Percentage or Fixed Amount
Discount Value	✅	Amount deducted from the regular price
Products	✅	Select which products are part of this flash deal
Status	✅	Active or Inactive

3. Click Save.

How Flash Deals Appear to Customers

Product page showing the flash deal price, original price with strikethrough, and countdown timer

When a flash deal is active:

• The product listing card shows the discounted price with the original price struck through
• A countdown timer appears on the product detail page showing time remaining
• A "Flash Deal" badge appears on the product thumbnail in category listings
• The discount is automatically applied when the customer adds the item to cart

When the flash deal expires:

• The product reverts to its regular price automatically
• The countdown timer and badge disappear
• No admin action is required

Flash Deal vs Coupon — When to Use Which

Use Case	Flash Deal	Coupon Code
Limited-time sale on specific products	✅ Best	—
Sitewide percentage discount	—	✅ Best
Reward for loyal customers	—	✅ Best (share privately)
Holiday sale visible to all	✅ Best	✅ Also works
Minimum purchase requirement	—	✅ Supports this
One-time-use code	—	✅ Use Per Customer = 1

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Best Practices

Preventing Coupon Abuse

• Set Usage Per Customer = 1 for new-customer welcome discounts
• Set Minimum Order Amount to ensure discounts are only applied to meaningful purchases
• Set short Valid Until dates and deactivate immediately after the promotion ends
• Never share coupon codes publicly if they have no usage limit

Flash Deal Timing

• Schedule flash deals to start at a specific time (e.g., midnight or 9am) for maximum impact
• Shorter deals (24–48 hours) create more urgency than week-long deals
• Announce flash deals via the Notifications → Broadcast feature before they go live

Measuring Discount Impact

After a promotion ends:

1. Go to the coupon detail to see total usage and discount value given
2. Compare order volume during the promotion period using the Dashboard revenue chart
3. Calculate net revenue (gross revenue minus discounts) to assess profitability