Give customers a reason to order now
A coupon lets you connect an Instagram story or WhatsApp message to an offer customers can actually redeem in your store. Keep the code short and state the conditions beside it. Customers apply the code in the ordering flow; having seen your post does not automatically apply the discount.
Open Marketing → Coupons → Add new in the dashboard, or the coupon area available in Soko Store. Store-funded coupon reductions are your promotional expense.
Create and check your first coupon
- Decide the business goal: for example, encouraging nearby customers to try ordering through your store link. Choose how much discount or delivery cost your shop can afford.
- Open the coupon creation form for the correct store. Enter a title and a short code that is easy to type.
- Choose Default for a purchase discount or Free delivery for a delivery offer. Complete only the fields relevant to that type.
- Enter the dates and minimum purchase. For a purchase discount, set the amount/percentage and any maximum discount; for free delivery, set a positive distance limit if the offer is local.
- Set the same-customer limit and overall Max uses separately. Read the examples below before promising “first five customers”.
- Save, find the coupon in the list and check its status and saved conditions.
- In a customer checkout for your store, apply the code to a qualifying basket and inspect the resulting discount before placing an order. Checking a basket does not require completing a purchase.
- Share the code, your store link and all important conditions together. Monitor usage and stop advertising the offer when it is used up or expired.
Use a small, affordable first offer while you learn what customers respond to. A coupon can make an Instagram post easier to act on because the customer has both a reason to buy and a direct place to order.
Understand the fields
Scroll sideways to compare all columns.
| Field | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| Title and language | A name for the promotion, such as “Weekend essentials”. |
| Coupon type | Choose Default for a discount on an eligible purchase from your store, or Free delivery to remove the eligible delivery charge. The type determines which other fields apply. |
| Code | The code the customer enters, for example KARIBU5. |
| Limit for same user | The maximum redemption allowance for one customer. It is different from the overall maximum uses. |
| Start date and expiry date | When the code is valid. Include dates in your promotional message. |
| Discount type | Percentage or fixed amount. |
| Discount | The amount or percentage reduction. |
| Minimum purchase | The eligible purchase threshold needed to use the code. |
| Maximum discount | Caps the reduction, especially useful for percentage offers on large baskets. |
| Free delivery distance | For free-delivery coupons, the maximum eligible distance in km. Beyond it, the coupon is rejected rather than silently extending your offer. |
| Max uses | The maximum overall redemptions of the coupon. Empty means no configured total cap; use a positive number for a limited offer. |
| Status | Enables or disables the coupon. Dates, limits and other conditions still apply. |
Example: free delivery nearby
Create a free-delivery coupon with a 3 km limit, a minimum purchase you can fulfil profitably, and a defined expiry. Before promoting it, check the offer at a qualifying address and outside the radius.
A useful message states the store name, code, minimum basket, 3 km limit and expiry together. A distance limit controls eligibility; it does not describe a fixed list of neighbourhoods, because delivery distance determines the check.
A blank or zero distance is not “nearby only”. Enter a positive distance when you need a boundary. Agree the rider’s compensation for these trips: free to the customer does not mean cost-free delivery for the business.
Example: first five redemptions
Set Max uses = 5 and Limit for same user = 1, with your chosen discount, minimum purchase and dates. Describe it as “the first five eligible redemptions” so the promise matches the counter. Without the one-use-per-customer limit, the same customer could redeem the code more than once.
Post the code with your Soko store link, and stop promoting it when used up or expired. Use a distinct code for each social promotion if you want a cleaner comparison of response.
Who pays for the discount?
Your own coupon is funded by your store. Soko can also create admin-funded coupons to promote a store or a matching manufacturer-barcode item across eligible stores and zones. The admin-funded coupon amount is recorded as a subsidy in the order’s settlement and compensated through the wallet accounting.
For item-specific promotions, correct manufacturer barcodes are essential. Match the exact brand and pack; an internal POS code may miss the promotion.
If a customer cannot use a code
Check spelling, active status, dates, minimum purchase, store/item eligibility, same-user limit, overall uses and delivery distance. Ask for the error shown and the order context before promising an exception. Do not describe a discount as available to everyone when the code’s rules say otherwise.