Building a promo codes strategy that converts and protects margins
Promo codes are powerful conversion tools, but without a clear strategy they can quickly eat into profitability. The most effective retailers design campaigns that are not only goal-driven but also responsive to shopper behaviour – ensuring incentives are purposeful, targeted, and margin-conscious.
Read on to learn the top-tips to perfect your strategy in preparation for peak season.
1. Set Clear Objectives
Your promo code strategy should align with your goals, to avoid over-discounting that erodes margins or under-discounting that stifles conversions. For example:
- For volume growth: Use broader, higher-value discounts to attract a large customer base.
- For customer acquisition: Focus on first-time customer offers, perhaps with a minimum spend threshold.
- For profitability: Implement tiered discounts, product-specific offers, or minimum purchase requirements to maintain healthy margins.
2. Leverage Intent Signals For Personalisation
Utilise behavioural cues such as idle browsing, high basket value, repeat visits, exit intent, or scroll depth, to reveal whether a shopper is ready to buy, hesitating, or just browsing. This approach – central to intent.ly’s technology – allows you to trigger the right type of incentive at the right moment, and only if necessary to convert.
- High-intent shoppers: Offer a small nudge (free delivery, low-value incentive) to close the sale.
- Low-intent shoppers: Use a larger, time-bound discount to create urgency and pull them over the line.
- Returning customers: Reward with exclusive loyalty-based codes instead of generic discounts, reinforcing long-term value.
3. A/B Test Promo Delivery
To optimise both conversions and profitability, test not only what you offer but how and when you offer it.
- Showing vs. hiding codes: Does surfacing codes early increase engagement, or is it more effective to reveal them later in the journey?
- Timing of overlays: Compare triggers such as exit intent, inactivity, or basket thresholds to see where they drive the best results.
- Audience splits: Run controlled experiments with different segments (new vs. returning customers, mobile vs. desktop) to refine your targeting.
This data-driven approach ensures you’re not relying on assumptions – but on measurable outcomes. Learn more about effective A/B testing.
4. Align Promo Codes Across Channels
Promo codes shouldn’t sit in isolation. For maximum impact, they need to work seamlessly with your affiliate marketing channels, email campaigns, paid media, CRM, and other onsite activity. Aligning incentives across channels avoids confusion, minimises discount leakage, and gives customers a consistent experience.
Using bespoke, trackable codes for top partners, you can measure true ROI, strengthen affiliate relationships, and ensure every discount serves a clear purpose in your overall strategy – especially during Black Friday.
To learn more about how to unlock the psychology, tactics, and tools behind
high-performing promo code strategies this peak season, download our free eBook.
Couponlytics, intent.ly’s promo code insights platform, gives retailers full visibility and control over all discount activity to track performance, fix invalid codes in real time, and measure true revenue impact. By turning promo data into actionable insights, it helps brands reduce cart abandonment, optimise budgets, and strengthen top-performing partners – turning discounts into a driver of growth. Book a demo and personalised code performance audit at intent.ly/contact.
Patience is intent.ly’s marketing executive, with a passion for creative content marketing and social media strategies.
