How to Prevent Affiliates from Using Their Own Discount Codes
To protect your margins and prevent affiliates from using their own discount codes for personal purchases, you can restrict code eligibility to a specific Customer Segment in Shopify
This process ensures that only legitimate customers can redeem an affiliate's discount code. By excluding anyone with an "affiliate" tag, you maintain control over your promotions and prevent self-referrals.
Step 1: Create a "Non-Affiliate" Segment in Shopify
First, you need to tell Shopify who should be allowed to use these codes.
Navigate to the Customers section in your Shopify admin.
Click the "Segment" or filter icon to create a new group.
Set the criteria to filter by tags. Choose "customer_tags", then select "does not contain", and enter the tag you use for your affiliates (e.g.,
affiliate).Save the segment with a clear name, such as "Non-Affiliates".
Note: Shopify segments are dynamic. As soon as a new affiliate is tagged in your system, they will automatically be removed from this "Non-Affiliates" segment and lose the ability to use the group's discount codes.
Step 2: Link the Segment in Simple Affiliate
Now that your segment exists, you need to apply it to your affiliate group.
Navigate to the Groups section within the Simple Affiliate app.
Select the group you want to restrict and scroll down to the "Edit discount rule" button.
Click "Edit discount rule". This will securely open the Shopify discount editor for that group.
Step 3: Set Customer Eligibility
In the Shopify discount editor, scroll down to the Customer eligibility section.
Select the option for "Specific customer segments".
Search for and select the "Non-Affiliates" segment you created in Step 1.
Click Save.
Important Rules to Remember
The "Affiliate" Tag: For this restriction to work, your affiliates must have the corresponding tag (e.g.,
affiliate) on their Shopify customer profile. You can automate this in the app settings or add it manually.Automated Management: Because Shopify segments update in real-time, you don't need to manually update this list. When a partner joins your program and receives the tag, Shopify immediately excludes them from using the codes.
Margin Protection: This setup is a "Best Practice" for professional programs. It ensures that affiliate commissions are only paid on external sales and that affiliates aren't "stacking" their own discounts.
What Happens Next?
If an affiliate tries to enter their own code at checkout, Shopify will display an error message stating the code is not available to them. All other customers who are not tagged as affiliates will be able to use the code without issue.