Why are my customers unable to add a coupon code when an item in their cart has a discount applied?

[SassyAlpaca]

Some of my customers have coupon codes for when they order online. We have found that the option to enter a coupon code is removed from the purchase page when any of the items have discounts automatically applied. If we remove the discounted items from the cart the option for a coupon code reappears immediately. Is there a work around for this?

[ryanwanner]

Hello @SassyAlpaca !

You know, I never noticed that before, and I can duplicate it on my website. If an automatic discount is applied to the cart, the option to "Add Coupon or Gift Card" changes to "Add Gift Card" only and a code won't work. Interesting!

The only thought process I can think of is that with the automatic discount, there's a chance that the coupon code would run the total amount due into negative numbers, meaning us sellers would owe buyers money. That doesn't seem like a good reason though.

Let's tag some moderators on this one, especially if this turns out to be a bug. 

@Violet_ @MayaP @Sammie_C @Summer2024 and others: any insight on this one?

[SassyAlpaca]

Thanks, at least I know it isn't just me. I could have sworn there was a setting in discounts that ensured that only the greatest/highest discount would work at a given time, but maybe the system has difficulties reconciling discounts and coupons simultaneously. 

[JTPets]

I get frustated customers all the time about this! I swear it was never an issue before migration to the new marketing but I could be wrong.

[Summer2024]

Hey hey, 

This is how Square Online currently works. When any item in the cart has an automatic discount applied, Square Online hides the coupon code box and won’t allow a coupon to be entered. Only one discount type can be used at a time in the online checkout. In-person on Square POS, coupons and discounts can be combined; this limitation is specific to Square Online. 

Here are a few workarounds for this: 

• Use “sale price” instead of an automatic discount for items you want to be coupon-eligible. Sale prices are baked into the item and don’t block the coupon field, so customers can still enter promo codes at checkout.

• Remove/limit automatic discounts on items or categories during the time you’re running a site-wide coupon, so the coupon field remains available. 

I hope this helps!

[JTPets]

Here is the issue with limitations for your current setup:

I use buy 12 save 5% on cans of dog and cat food by brand. This is a never ending sale, I cannot use sale price with this option, i cannot allow promo codes with this setup.

Makes it VERY frustrating shopping experience for customers when i am trying to use promo marketing. PLEASE FIX THIS!

[JTPets]

@Summer2024 Additionally the box should still be visible and show - coupon codes unavailable due to discount stacking rules - please reach out to store for suggested purchase options or something similar - now it disappears with no way for customer to think they are not being scammed by the store witht he promo code and no way to redeem

[doc_choc]

Probably related to the discount stacking. We use codes in-store and online, but we have auto discounts online switched off. It's a real shame as we want to offer the Omni channel experience the offers you get in store are the same on line. But at this point it's not possible. Discounts and stacking can get very complicated.