Guides / How to run a WhatsApp discount campaign on Shopify

How to run a WhatsApp discount campaign on Shopify

A private code for your WhatsApp list is one of the simplest offers a Shopify store can run. Here is how to set it up so it applies in one tap and gives away only what you planned.

The short answer

Make a discount code just for your WhatsApp list. Give it its own name, an end date and one use per customer. Turn it into a link that applies the code when tapped, so nobody has to type it. Then test the final price on a phone before you send the message.

If your store shows an MRP next to a sale price, check one more thing: what the percentage is taken from. That decides how much you really give away.

Why WhatsApp needs its own code

Your WhatsApp list is often your warmest audience: past buyers, regulars, people who asked to hear from you. A code made only for them keeps the offer off your public site, so normal visitors still pay your normal price. It also shows you how many orders came from the message, because each order records the code used.

If WhatsApp, Instagram and email all share one code, you lose that. Give each channel its own code, for example WAFLAT40 for WhatsApp and a different one for email.

Step 1: Create the code

In your Shopify admin, go to Discounts and create a discount code.
Pick a short code in capitals that is easy to read on a phone. Avoid O and 0, or I and 1.
Choose the percentage and the products or collections it covers.
Under customer eligibility, leave it open to all customers unless your WhatsApp list matches a customer segment in Shopify. A guest shopper who is not in that segment will be refused.
Set a start date and an end date. Dates follow your store's time zone.
Turn on one use per customer. Add a total usage limit only if you want to cap the offer, and say so in the message.
Check the combinations section, so the code does not clash with an automatic discount that is already running.

Step 2: Make it a tap-to-apply link

Typing a code on a phone is where many WhatsApp orders are lost. Shopify can turn a saved code into a link. Open the discount, choose Promote, and get a shareable link. When a shopper taps it, the code is applied to their cart by itself.

By default the link opens your home page. To send people straight to the products on offer, change the end of the link from /discount/CODE to /discount/CODE?redirect=/collections/your-collection. Open the link on your own phone before you send it.

Put the code in the message as plain text too, for anyone who reaches the store another way.

Step 3: Write the message

Keep it short. Say the offer the way the shopper will see it at checkout, when it ends, and the link. For example:

"Flat 40% off for our WhatsApp family, till Sunday midnight. Tap to shop, the code is already applied: [link]. Code: WAFLAT40."

Only message people who agreed to hear from you. On the WhatsApp Business app, a broadcast only reaches contacts who have saved your number, so check that your list has.

Step 4: Check what "Flat 40% off" really costs you

Do not skip this if your store shows an MRP. Say a product has an MRP of Rs 1,000 and you sell it at Rs 800. Your message says flat 40% off.

A normal Shopify code takes 40% from the selling price. 40% off Rs 800 leaves Rs 480. That is 52% below the MRP, more than you meant to give.
To land at Rs 600, which is 40% below the MRP, you would have to raise every price back to the MRP before the campaign and drop it again after. Everyone on your site sees that.

So before sending, tap your own link, add one product and read the final price. If it is lower than you planned, lower the percentage, or use a code that takes the discount from the MRP. Our guide on MRP vs sale price discounts explains the gap, and how to give a discount on MRP in Shopify covers the ways to fix it, including by hand.

One option is the MRP Discount app, which we make. You create the code in the app, it takes the percentage from the compare-at MRP, and the prices on your store stay as they are. On our own store, a flat 50% off WhatsApp campaign with an MRP-based code returned 15x on spend. That is one store's result, not a promise for yours.

Step 5: After you send

Open one of the first orders and check the code and the final price.
Reply quickly to anyone who says the code failed. Ask for a screenshot of their cart and fix the setting.
End the code on time. A WhatsApp code that still works a month later gets forwarded to people it was never meant for.
Count the orders. The discount page shows how many times the code was used. Compare that with the size of your list before you plan the next campaign.

Common mistakes

Using your public sale code. You cannot tell which orders came from WhatsApp.
Sending only a code, no link. Shoppers on a phone drop off at the typing step.
A segment that blocks guests. People on your list who never made an account get refused.
No end date. The code keeps travelling after the campaign.
Skipping the MRP maths. The message says 40% and you give away 52%.

Planning a festive campaign?

A private WhatsApp code sits well next to a public festive sale. See festive sale discount ideas and how to run a Diwali sale on MRP in Shopify.

Quick checklist

Create a code only for WhatsApp, short and easy to read.
Set the end date, one use per customer and the combination rules.
Make the shareable link and point it at the right page.
Tap the link on your phone and read the final price.
Check that price against the MRP, not only the sale price.
Send only to people who opted in, with the code in the message too.
End the code on time and count the orders.

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