Clean up old discount codes

You find the active codes by listing every discount in your store along with the codes under it, then checking each one's end date and usage limit. Kite does this for you through your store connection, so you don't have to click through each discount in your admin.

In Shopify, Kite reads every discount you've set up and the codes attached to each one. That includes the discount's start and end dates and how many times each code has been used. In Stripe, it reads your coupons and the promotion codes that customers type in, and it filters for the ones still marked active. Each promotion code shows its coupon, its expiry date if it has one, and how many times it's been redeemed.

The result is one list of every code a shopper could use today, wherever it lives. Codes with no end date go to the top of the list, because those are the ones that never switch themselves off.

Old codes are costing you money if they still show up in your recent orders but no longer belong to any campaign you're running. The way to tell is to read the orders themselves rather than guess from the list of codes.

Kite reads your recent Shopify orders, or your Stripe redemption counts, and adds up how often each code was used and how much it took off. For a WooCommerce store, Kite reads the discount codes recorded on each order. That turns a long list of codes into a short ranking of what each one cost you over the last few months.

The ranking usually surprises people. A store might have 60 codes, but only five or six of them carry most of the discount, and one of those is often a code from a campaign that ended long ago. Kite points those out first, because switching off the biggest leaks is worth more than tidying up dozens of codes nobody uses.

You should switch off a code when its campaign is over and nothing you've promised depends on it. Kite makes that call for each code using what it knows about your business, and it shows you its reasoning before anything changes.

Kite sorts the codes into groups like these:

• Keep. Codes tied to something still running, such as your newsletter welcome offer, a current partner or influencer code, or a promotion on this month's calendar.
• Switch off. Codes from campaigns that have ended, especially ones still being used by shoppers who clearly didn't come from that campaign.
• Leave alone. One-time codes made for a single customer, such as an apology code from support. These usually can't be reused, so they cost nothing to keep.
• Ask you. Codes Kite can't match to any campaign it knows about. Kite asks who made them before it touches them.

If your team has a discount policy, Kite also flags codes that break it, such as a code deeper than your ceiling or one that combines with other discounts when your rules say it shouldn't.

Once you approve the list, Kite switches off the old codes directly in Shopify and Stripe. For WooCommerce, it hands you the exact codes to switch off yourself.

• In Shopify, Kite deletes each approved code from its discount. The discount itself stays in your store with its other codes, and your past orders still show which code each customer used. If you also want to end the whole discount, Kite tells you which ones to deactivate in your Shopify admin.
• In Stripe, Kite deactivates each approved promotion code, so nobody can redeem it again. Customers who already have the discount on a subscription keep it unless you ask Kite to remove it.
• In WooCommerce, Kite reads which codes appear in your orders and how recently, then gives you the list of codes to move to the trash under Marketing, then Coupons, in your WordPress dashboard.

Kite asks before it deletes or deactivates any code. When it's done, it reports which codes it switched off and which ones it left in place.

The reliable way to stop a code from spreading is to switch it off, because coupon sites and checkout extensions keep passing along any code that still works. Once a code stops working, those sites stop being a cost and simply show shoppers a code that fails.

Kite searches the web for your store's name on coupon sites and reads the pages it finds. It records which of your codes are posted where and whether each one still works. That shows you which leaks came from which campaigns. A code meant for one podcast that now appears on four coupon sites is a strong candidate to switch off, even if it seemed harmless on the list.

Some coupon sites accept removal requests. Kite can draft a short request for each site that lists your expired codes, and send it from your team's Kite address once you approve it.

A cleanup only holds if new campaigns stop creating the same problem. Kite does that in two ways.

First, the codes Kite sets up for new campaigns are built to end. In Shopify, Kite can add up to 100 unique codes at a time to a discount, so each influencer, partner, or customer gets their own code. A unique code is hard to share widely, and it shows exactly who drove each sale. Kite also reminds you to give each new discount an end date when you create it.

Second, Kite can repeat the check on a schedule. A monthly run lists the codes that are live, flags anything new that isn't tied to a campaign, checks coupon sites for your store's name again, and sends you the short list to approve. After each round, Kite reads your orders to compare discounts before and after, and it records the result in your wiki so the next promotion starts from what the last one cost.