Sales by Discount Code Report

Discounting is a great strategy for merchants to quickly move their stock and increase sales volume. But offering discounts can be tricky. Offer too little and a promotion fails. Offer too much and your profits go downhill. Offer at the wrong time or to the wrong people and you lose brand value along with revenue. One bad choice of discount code is all it takes to create such problems.

You need to track your discount campaigns in detail to make them a success. The Sales by Discount Code report helps you do that by recording sales by individual discount codes over a defined period.

Offering discount codes to promote a new product or clearing out year-end inventory? Expressing gratitude to repeat customers or driving seasonal sales? Whatever the reason, you’ll find data on sales generated by each discount code in this report.

Analyze this report and gain insights into:

• customer reactions to new products
• customer buying behavior
• product lineup
• pricing strategy
• marketing strategy

… and a whole lot more!

The Sales by Discount Code report ensures your discount campaigns help improve customer loyalty and brand awareness.

How the Sales by Discount Code Report Works

Let’s first look at how Shopify discounts are calculated.

• Fixed Amount Discount: a conditional flat discount value.

Example: a flat $20 discount on orders above $100; or, $20 off a customer’s first order

• Percentage Discounts: a percentage-based discount applied on the total order amount. It may or may not be conditional. The rate may apply to all ordered items or vary per product.

Example: a 20% overall discount applied to a $150 sale; the discount will be ($150 x 20 / 100) = $30

Here’s a look at how the Sales by Discount Code report uses the above methods to help merchants. We’ll follow Jenny’s seller journey for a better understanding.

Jenny is an online gift store owner who’s new to ecommerce. She has an eye for unique sourcing products from gifts, all over the world. She knows she must move her goods fast to keep up with costs, especially when importing niche products.

Those are some big shoes to fill for a newcomer.

Despite the unique appeal of her products driving good sales, they didn't reach Jenny's expected targets.

Jenny knew it was time for a game-changing strategy to boost sales, brand recognition and trust. So, she decided to discount her products.

Luckily, Valentine’s Day was just around the corner. It was the perfect opportunity for Jenny’s first discount campaign. She put her best foot forward, offering attractive discounts to get more people to fall in love with her brand.

Much to her delight, she sold a lot during the campaign. But she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.

Jenny operated on a tight budget, and she wasn’t sure how the flood of discounted sales affected her.

Did she offer too high of a discount rate on her products? Or was there room for more? Which of her products benefited the most from the campaign? Would a flat rate across all products have been better? These and other similar questions worried Jenny.

She needed comprehensive data of her Valentine’s Day sales to put those concerns to rest. The Sales by Discount Code report gave Jenny just that.

Analyzing the report’s data on her sale revealed that:

• Jenny’s discount percentages were right on target, bringing in sales without affecting profits.
• A flat discount rate would’ve lost her profits on some products.
• The 15% discount on hand-painted Couples Mugs worked out best for her.
• Her idea to offer combo packs at a discount paid off, moving products faster than selling them individually.
• She identified an opportunity to attract more customers in the budget-friendly market.
• Taxes took a significant slice of her revenue.
• Regularly sold products also experienced solid sales, clearing some inventory left over from the previous year.

Jenny was relieved. The report made it clear that a few smart changes in her sales and marketing strategy could really boost business.

She decided to:

• Regularly discount unsold inventory to clear it without affecting profitability.
• Grow her customer base with more affordable products.
• Beat her competition by starting her seasonal sales early.
• Prioritize selling more of her current products instead of introducing new ones.
• Conveniently track multiple discount codes, along with related returns.

In essence, Jenny is taking her discount campaigns and customer satisfaction to the next level using this report.

Jenny’s example shows that the Sales by Discount Code report:

• Helps the store owner/ merchant understand which discount code drives most sales.

Repeating it is likely to bring in more sales and retain repeat customers.

• Makes it easy to segment customers and market to them more effectively.

They’ll know what to expect from your brand, when and how much, improving brand awareness and loyalty.

• Reveals the best time and methods to distribute discount codes.

You’ll increase sales and get a leg up on the competition during special sales seasons. Combine with Sales by Channel report to recognize the most rewarding channels to distribute discount codes.

• Details discount campaign finances for accurate accounting

Learn the impact of your discount campaigns on your overall finances with an eye on taxes. You can use this data to rework your procurement process, lowering cost and increasing margins and customer satisfaction.

You get more insights about your discount codes-based sales as you dig deeper into this report.

Data Fields in the Sales by Discount Code Report

The standard fields in this report are:

Discount Code: alphanumeric code applied by customers during the checkout process to reduce their final purchase cost. Also includes codes applied by staff for POS orders

Order Count: number of orders placed by discount code over a specified period

Gross Sales: revenue earned from a specific discount code before discounts and returns over a specified period. Calculated as Product price * Order quantity

Discounts: total discount amount resulting from an applied discount code

Refunds: amount refunded for an order placed using a specific discount code

Net Sales: actual returns on a sale by discount code. Calculated as Gross Sales - Discounts - Refunds

Tax: total tax collected for an order placed using a particular discount code

Shipping: shipping amount collected to deliver orders placed using a specific discount code

Total Sales: total returns made on a sale by discount code. Includes taxes, shipping, discount and refunds

How to View the Sales by Discount Code Report

It’s a simple 3-step process:

1. In your Report Pundit app, click Library in the navigation bar.
2. Find the Sales & Order reports section.
3. Under it, click Sales by Discount Type.

Quick Tip: Type ‘Sales by Discount Code’ in the Library’s search bar to quickly access the report.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why use the ‘Sales by Discount Code’ report?

The Sales by Discount Code report reveals which discount codes drive the most sales, enabling merchants to focus on impactful promotional efforts. It also segments customers by discount codes used, providing valuable insights to better your target marketing strategies.

• How can I know the most used discount code?

The Sales by Discount Code report gives merchants data on their most used and highest sales generating discount codes.

• Can I know the revenue generated by discounts alone?

Yes, it’s possible to calculate discount-specific revenue to compare sales generated with and without applied discounts. Use the sales by Discount Code report by Report Pundit for relevant data.

• How do I find products sold with high discount rates?

Check out the Sales by Discount Code report for data on products sold with high discount rates. It shows order count data by discount code.

• How to run the Sales by Discount Code report in Report Pundit?

Navigate to: Report Pundit App -> Library -> Sales & Order Reports -> Sales by Discount Code.