Coupons are WooCommerce's most effective built-in marketing tool. But most stores use them without strategy, handing out 10 percent to everyone and hoping for the best. There are better ways.
Basic coupons
Under Marketing → Coupons. Fixed discount (50 SEK), percentage discount (10%), free shipping. Limit per customer, total uses, minimum order value. This is the foundation, and it works well.
Auto-apply coupons
Since WooCommerce 5.0 you can create coupons that apply automatically at checkout. The customer doesn't need to enter any code. Good for campaigns like "Free shipping on everything this week" or "15% off category X".
Strategic uses
Welcome coupon: new newsletter subscriber gets 10% off first purchase. Abandoned cart: personal coupon sent automatically 48 hours after cart abandonment. Volume discount: 5% at three products, 10% at five.
Coupons with expiration dates create urgency without being aggressive. "Valid for seven days" is just right.
Abuse protection
Limit to once per customer via email address. Exclude already-discounted products. Set minimum order value so the coupon doesn't give away more than it drives. And watch the margins: if the coupon costs more than the new customer is worth, it's a bad deal.
URL coupons
The Smart Coupons plugin (or a simple PHP snippet) lets you create URLs that apply the coupon automatically: your-store.com/cart/?coupon=VIP10. Perfect for newsletters and social media. Customer clicks, coupon applies, they shop.