Create a percentage discount code in Shopify

A discount code is the simplest promotion a store can run: a customer types a code at checkout and the order total drops. This tutorial sets up one welcome code, WELCOME15, worth 15% off orders of $50 or more, limited to one use per customer, running 11 to 30 November 2026.

Written November 11, 2026 · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 6 minutes read

1Open Discounts and start a new discount

From your Shopify admin, go to Discounts, then click Create discount. From the discount type menu, click Amount off products or Amount off orders. The difference matters: an amount off products discount applies to the products you choose, while an amount off orders discount applies to the whole order. For a welcome code that works on anything, either type works; this tutorial uses Amount off orders.

2Choose the code method

Under Method, select Discount code. Then enter the code name in the Discount code section, or click Generate code for a random one. This tutorial uses WELCOME15. Codes are typed by customers at checkout, so keep the code short and readable.

3Set the value to 15%

In the Value section, select Percentage and enter 15. The other choice is Fixed amount, a dollar value off instead of a percent. The planner file has a fixed-amount example too: SAVE20, $20 off orders of $100 or more.

An amount off discount does not apply to shipping costs, so a customer still pays full shipping on a discounted order. That is stated in the Shopify help page linked below.

4An order code covers the whole order

An Amount off orders discount has no Applies to section: it applies to the whole order, so there is nothing to select here. If the code should only work on some items, go back to Step 1 and create an Amount off products discount instead. That type has the Applies to section, where you select Specific products or Specific collections and add them. The choice also changes the minimum purchase in the next step: on a product discount, only the selected items count toward the minimum; on this order discount, the order subtotal counts.

5Set a minimum purchase of $50

In the Minimum requirements section, select Minimum purchase amount and enter 50. The minimum counts product prices only. Shipping costs and taxes are not included, so a $48 cart plus $5 shipping is still under a $50 minimum and the code will not apply. The other choice is Minimum quantity of items, which requires a set number of products in the cart.

6Set who can use it

In the Eligibility section, select All customers for a public welcome code. The other choices are Specific customers, Customer segments, and Markets, which limit the code to the customers or regions you pick.

7Limit it to one use per customer

In the Maximum discount uses section, check Limit to one per customer. Shopify tracks a customer's email address or phone number to enforce the limit. You can also check Limit number of times this discount can be used in total and set a total, for example 200 uses across all customers. If you set a total limit and pick no per-customer limit, a single customer can use the code more than once.

8Set the dates

In the Active dates section, set the start date to 11 November 2026 and click Set end date to set the end date to 30 November 2026. If you do not set an end date, the code does not expire. If you set the same day for start and end, the code is valid for one day only. Start and end times follow the time zone set in your Shopify admin: a start date of 11 November means the code starts at 12:00 am on 11 November in your store's time zone.

9Check combinations and tags, then save

In the Combinations section, check the discount classes this code may combine with, or leave it blank so it does not combine with other codes. In the Tags section, add a tag such as welcome so the code is easy to find in your discounts list. Then click Save. The code appears on the Discounts page and is ready to use.

The arithmetic

The discount applies to the order total before tax and shipping.

A $49.99 cart is below the $50 minimum, so the code does not apply at all. When a discount covers a whole order, Shopify splits it across the items in proportion to their prices, and that split decides how much of the discount comes off each item on a return. Split strictly in proportion, a $50 discount on a cart with a $50 item and a $100 item works out to $16.67 on the first item and $33.33 on the second. Shopify's help page uses the same example but gives the split as $16.50 on the first item and $33.50 on the second; the two figures add back to the full $50 either way.

Held at the counter

Sources

• Amount off discounts — Shopify's help pages: the full create-discount steps, the minimum purchase rules, the time zone note, and the proportional-split example.
• Exporting discounts — Shopify's help pages: discounts export to CSV only; discount codes cannot be imported with a CSV file.