Single-use discount codes stop discount code leakage. A standard affiliate code is reusable: anyone who has it gets the discount, including people who found it on a coupon site or were forwarded the code. With single-use codes, customers claim a unique code after clicking an affiliate's referral link. That code works once. The reserved name on the affiliate is not a working Shopify code.
How to enable single-use discount codes
Enable discount codes: Turn on the discount code rule for the group first. Follow How to enable Discount Codes and set discount rules (Pro plan) if the group's discount code rule is not already Active.
Choose single-use: Open the group, go to the Discounts tab, and under Discount code type, select Single-use discount codes.
Save: Click Save. If the group already used standard codes, confirm the switch. Saving deactivates every affiliate's standard Shopify discount code. Those codes stop working for discounts and commission. Each code name stays reserved if you switch back to standard discount codes. Affiliates keep their referral links; customers claim a single-use code on your store.
Open a referral link: Click a referral link for an affiliate in this group.
See the claim popup: A popup appears at the bottom of the storefront, for example, Claim your 25% off from SIMPLE, with Claim and Reject.
Click Claim: The customer claims a unique single-use code. Reject dismisses the popup without applying a code.
See the code at checkout: The unique code, such as
SIMPLE-XXXX, is applied on the checkout discount line.
Why this prevents leakage
Standard codes are meant to be shared, and they keep working for anyone who types them at checkout. Once a code is posted publicly, you cannot tell a referred customer from someone who copied the code.
Single-use codes are minted when the customer claims them from the referral-link visit. A leaked reserved name does nothing in Shopify. A claimed code can be used once, so coupon-site copies and forwarded codes do not keep unlocking the discount.
Important rules to remember
Pro plan: Single-use discount codes require the Pro plan.
Customization: Change the colour by going to Referral settings and the text by going to Translation settings.
Country and variant discounts: Single-use codes are not available when the group's discount is restricted to specific countries or variants.
Reserved names: The name shown on the affiliate is the base for future single-use codes. It is not a working Shopify discount code.
Referral links, not auto-apply: Customers get the code from the claim popup after clicking a referral link. Auto-apply of a reusable code is not used in this mode.
Switching back: You can switch the group back to Standard discount codes. Reserved names are kept, and the same codes can be recreated.