Discount codes are powerful, and they’re also easy to abuse when sales feel slow. What usually happens is when sales dip for a few days, panic kicks in, and suddenly there’s a 20% off code floating around.
What we see across TicketsCandy events:
- Events that run constant discounts sell about 12% more tickets but earn up to 18% less total revenue.
- Public discount codes get shared beyond the intended audience about 40% of the time.
- Limited, targeted codes convert 2x better than open, site-wide ones.
Discounts work best with a clear purpose: reward early buyers, partner with a specific community, or reactivate past attendees. And they work worst as a stress response.
