How can I offer a free shipping coupon that's accepted online on just certain items?

[ArtColStl]

I want to offer customer free shipping on certain items when using a promo code. I want them to have to pay shipping on other items that they might order. I can't find a way to limit the free shipping to just certain items using a code. I don't want to refund shipping after. I don't want to give free shipping on a whole order if it includes other items. 

[RobynR · Accepted solution]

Hey @ArtColStl,

Thank you for reaching out! Currently, Square’s coupon functionality allows you to set specific conditions, but it doesn’t yet include the ability to limit free shipping to just certain items.

Here are the conditions you can apply when creating a coupon:

• Limit the number of times customers can use the coupon
• Limit the total number of redemptions for the coupon
• Set a minimum purchase amount for the coupon to apply

I understand how valuable item-specific free shipping promotions can be for your business, and this sounds like a great feature request. While this functionality isn’t available just yet, I recommend submitting your suggestion to our Product Team directly through this link: Submit a Feature Request. 

I'm here to support you, so let us know if you have any other questions. 

[ArtColStl]

I just copied this information from a Square post about Valentine's Day marketing: "In Square Online, you can create a coupon and set the limit per customer, the start and end date, the discount type (percentage, dollar value, free delivery), and which items or categories are discounted." Notice that it says you can choose which items are discounted. But that's not true. 

[RobynR]

@ArtColStl, the article you linked is referring to creating discounts, not coupons.

Square Coupons and Discounts both help sellers offer price reductions, but they serve different purposes:

• Coupons: These are promotional codes that customers can enter at checkout. They are typically used in marketing campaigns, can have specific expiration dates, and may have restrictions (e.g., minimum purchase amounts or usage limits).

• Discounts: These are applied directly at checkout by the seller. Discounts can be fixed amounts, percentages, or automatic for specific items or customers. Unlike coupons, they don’t require a code and are usually applied manually or set up for automatic use.

Coupons are more suited for marketing and customer engagement, while discounts are flexible for in-store or online promotions.

I hope this helps.

[ArtColStl]

I think in many cases Coupons and Discounts are effectively the same thing. But it doesn't matter. I copied and pasted language from Square's own Valentine's Day marketing, which said "In Square Online, you can create a coupon and set the limit per customer, the start and end date, the discount type (percentage, dollar value, free delivery), and which items or categories are discounted." I take issue with the language of this post - because it begins the sentence with "you can create a coupon" and ends the same sentence with "which items or categories are discounted." I read that as a coupon can be created to do those things, and I know now that it cannot. I have made the suggestion to Square to offer that ability for coupons, so there's no need for you to reply further. 

[RobynR]

Thank you for pointing this out to us @ArtColStl. I understand your frustration with the verbiage. Can you please provide a link to the post so I can take a look?

[willowbrooknh]

I also need the ability to create coupons or shipping promotions targeted to specific categories or items. This was previously possible before the system merged the coupon and discount functionalities. The original setup, which allowed for online-only coupons with category-level restrictions, has since been removed. This change has made it significantly more difficult to execute targeted marketing campaigns.

It’s unclear why the distinction between online and POS coupons was eliminated, but the current system no longer provides this functionality for me. As a result, I'm now exploring alternative platforms that can better support these marketing needs.