Welcome discount for email signup
Know what the code costsbefore you give it.
A welcome discount pays back when the people it wins are worth more to you over the year than it costs you on everyone who uses it. So the most you can give is your margin on the first order, plus what repeat orders add, less the share of people who would have bought at full price anyway. Put your own numbers into the calculator to find that ceiling, then offer well under it. Further down are seven offers to compare, six settings to check in your shop and how to hand out the code with Builderify.
By the Builderify team
An example, made up for this page
How big should a welcome discount be?
Smaller than your margin allows.
A welcome discount should be small enough that the people it wins, together with their later orders, are worth more than the discount you give everyone who uses it. That is a sum, not a rule of thumb, and it rests on three numbers of your own: your margin, how often new customers order again and how many code users were buying anyway. Four things to keep in mind before you run one.
It comes out of margin
A discount is paid from what is left after your costs, not from the price. With a 30% margin, 10% off takes a third of the profit on that order.
Some were buying anyway
Everyone who uses the code gets the discount, including people already on their way to checkout. Causality Engine puts people who fill in a welcome popup into two groups: those who would not have bought today and those who would.
The second order pays for the first
A first order at a discount can earn little, or lose money, and still pay back if the person buys again. How often that happens is yours to check: one analytics firm found 14.7% of customers ordered again within 12 months.
The answer is a ceiling
The biggest discount that pays back is the point where you earn nothing extra. Offer well under it, then compare first orders with and without the code after a month.
Margin here means what is left of a sale after the product, packaging, the shipping you pay and payment fees. Count only the product and the ceiling comes out too high.
How much can you afford to give?
Put in your numbers, get the ceiling.
Enter your average first order, your margin and how often customers come back, and the calculator returns the biggest discount that still pays back. It also shows what a discount you choose does to your profit per 1,000 sign-ups, and which of six common offers pass. It runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
The biggest discount that still pays back is 23 percent. With 10 percent off, profit per 1,000 sign-ups changes by +$643.
The biggest discount that still pays back
Up to23%off the first order
Above 23% off, the discount costs more than the people it wins are worth over the year. At 23% you earn nothing extra, so offer less.
First order breaks even at
30%
Budget per code user
$14.04
On the first order alone, 30% off is where you stop earning anything. Above it, each first order loses money until the person comes back.
Each person who uses a code can cost you up to $14.04 before the offer stops paying. That goes for a discount, free shipping or a gift.
Per 1,000 sign-ups, with 10% off
- Sign-ups
- 1,000
- Buy with the code
- 80
- of them, new buyers
- 48
- of them, would have bought anyway
- 32
- First orders from the new buyers
- +$576
- Their repeat orders over the year
- +$259
- The discount given to people who would have bought anyway
- −$192
- Net profit, against no offer
- +$643
A 10% offer pays back: about $643 more profit per 1,000 sign-ups than no offer.
Six common offers, with your numbers
| Offer | You keep on a first order | Net per 1,000 sign-ups | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% off | $15.00 | +$883 | Pays back |
| 10% off | $12.00 | +$643 | Pays back |
| 15% off | $9.00 | +$403 | Pays back |
| 20% off | $6.00 | +$163 | Pays back |
| 25% off | $3.00 | −$77 | Does not pay back |
| 30% off | $0.00 | −$317 | Does not pay back |
The table keeps your sign-ups and buyers the same on every row. A bigger offer may bring more of both, which only your own numbers can show.
The starting numbers are examples
None of the starting figures is an average. Repeat orders are assumed to be the same size and margin as the first, bought at full price, and a year is the window. Amounts are rounded to whole dollars, and the percentages work in any currency.
Where “bought anyway” comes from
Causality Engine suggests checking how soon after signing up people order, how many first orders carry the code, and whether people sign up on product pages or the home page. To measure it properly, hide the popup from a random share of visitors and compare margin per visitor.
What it cannot know
The table holds sign-ups and buyers steady from row to row, but a bigger offer may bring more of both. It ignores what you paid to get the visitor. Run one offer for a month, then put your real numbers back in.
To compare two offers on live traffic, the A/B test calculator says how many visitors you need before a difference means something.
What else can you offer for an email address?
Seven offers, and what each costs.
Besides a discount, the usual email signup incentives are free shipping, a free gift, first access, a guide or quiz and a giveaway. Klaviyo's guide to sign-up forms lists percentage off, dollar amount off, a free gift with purchase, a contest or giveaway and free shipping, and quotes an ecommerce agency’s director of strategy: it does not have to be a discount, but there needs to be a reason to sign up. Whatever you pick, the test is the one in the calculator: what it costs you for each person who uses it should be under the budget it shows.
| Offer | What it costs you | Fits when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A percentage off the first order | A share of the price, which is a bigger share of the margin. With a 30% margin, 10% off takes a third of the profit. | Price is what stands between a visitor and a first order, and your margin leaves room. | It goes to people who would have bought anyway, and a shared code travels. |
| An amount off over a minimum order | A fixed amount for each person who uses it. | You know your usual first order and want people to add one more item. | A minimum below the usual order is a plain discount. Shopify counts product prices only, not shipping or tax. |
| Free shipping on the first order | What you pay the carrier, which changes with the weight and the place. | Shipping, not the price, is what people say holds them back. | The cost is not fixed: a heavy parcel sent far can cost more than the order earns. |
| A free gift with the first order | What the gift costs you to buy, store and post. | The gift costs you little and is worth more to the buyer. Klaviyo suggests a gift for products that cost very little to make and sell for a high price, as in skincare. | Stock to hold, and a gift in every box. A minimum order keeps it from going to tiny baskets. |
| First access to launches or restocks | Nothing per order. | You sell in drops or sell out. Shopify describes a brand with a quarterly drop model that offers first access to new products instead of a discount. | It only works if early really is early, so it needs a launch calendar. |
| A guide, checklist or quiz | Your time, once. | People need help choosing or using what you sell. Klaviyo suggests gated content if profit margin is your main concern and you accept lower-intent visitors. | It does not give anyone a reason to buy today. |
| A giveaway or prize draw | The prize. | You want to grow a list quickly and the prize is something your customers want. | Entrants may want only the prize. The rules on prize draws differ by country, so check yours before you run one. |
Selling a service rather than products? The guide to lead magnet ideas for service businesses has six ideas for each of thirteen kinds of business. Running the offer for a sale only? The Black Friday checklist for your website puts it on a timetable.
How do I limit a welcome discount code?
Six settings to check in your shop.
Set the limits on the code in your shop, not in the popup: your shop is what accepts or refuses the code at checkout. Shopify and WooCommerce both have the settings below, under different names. Check what your own platform calls them, then try the code yourself before you publish.
01
First order only
Shopify can limit a discount to a customer segment, such as people who have not ordered before, and to one use per customer by email address or phone number. Its instructions for the mobile app add that the one-per-customer limit only applies to fixed value discounts, so test the type you use. WooCommerce has a usage limit per user and an allowed-emails list.
02
A minimum order
Both platforms can require a minimum spend. Set below your usual basket it is a plain discount; set above it, it asks for a bigger order. Shopify counts product prices only, not shipping or tax.
Read in Shopify WooCommerce
03
No stacking
WooCommerce has Individual use only and Exclude sale items. Shopify lets you choose whether a discount combines with others. A welcome code on top of a sale can take the price below your cost.
Read in Shopify WooCommerce
04
A cap on total uses
Shopify can set a total limit on how many times a discount is used, and WooCommerce has a usage limit per coupon. On a shared code, a cap means a leaked code cannot cost you more than you planned.
Read in Shopify WooCommerce
05
An end date
Shopify discount codes have a start and end date, and WooCommerce coupons an expiry date. Without one, a code that leaks keeps working.
Read in Shopify WooCommerce
06
Try it before you publish
Use the code as a new customer, then as an existing one, then on a basket below the minimum. WooCommerce's guide suggests testing a cart outside the restrictions to confirm the coupon is turned away.
Read in WooCommerce
One shared code works for anyone who has it. A batch of single-use codes, one per person, cannot be passed around, and the Discount Code popup in chapter 06 can hand them out one at a time.
Why is my welcome discount not working?
Six causes, in the order we’d check.
Usually because the code goes to people who would have bought anyway, or because it leaks beyond new customers. Work down the list: the first two are settings in your shop, not changes to the popup.
After any change, sign up with a new address from a phone and use the code at checkout, then try it again as an existing customer. It takes ten minutes. If few people sign up at all, start with why your website is not generating leads.
-
01
Regulars use it as well
You seeExisting customers sign up with a second address and take the discount.
FixLimit the code in your shop to people with no orders, one use each, and keep it off sale items.
A code that anyone can use is a price cut, not a welcome. Enalitica's advice is first order only, new emails only, and not on sale items.
-
02
The code travels
You seeIt turns up on coupon sites or in group chats.
FixSwitch the popup to Unique code per signup and paste in single-use codes made in your shop, or add a one-use limit and an end date to the shared code.
One shared code works for anyone who has it. Builderify's Discount Code popup keeps the code out of the page until someone signs up, but after that it is theirs to pass on.
Read in Popups
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03
The popup says it will email the code
You seePeople ask where the email is.
FixChange the words to "Get my code". For an email, put a shared code in the first email of a sequence. There is no tag for a unique code, so a unique code can only be shown on the screen.
The Exit Offer + Coupon template says "Enter your email and we will send the code straight to your inbox" and its button says "Email me the code", but it shows the code on the thank-you screen and sends nothing.
Read in Welcome email sequence
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04
The pool runs dry
You seeNew sign-ups see a shared code, or none.
FixPaste in more codes before it empties, and leave the fallback blank unless a shared code is acceptable.
With Unique code per signup, each person takes the next unused code. When none is left they get the fallback code if you set one, and nothing if you did not. The editor warns when fewer than ten are left.
Read in Add a popup to your website
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05
The popup promises more than the shop gives
You seeThe card says 20% and the checkout takes off 10%.
FixPut your ceiling from the calculator in the Value field, set the same figure on the code in your shop, and change the text if the offer is not for every product. A fixed amount shows as the number and the word OFF, with no currency sign.
The percentage on the popup is a label: the code does what your shop says. The Discount Code popup also starts at 20% off, with the code WELCOME20 and the words "get an instant discount on any product".
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06
You cannot tell if it paid
You seeSign-ups are up and you do not know whether profit is.
FixAfter a month, compare first orders with the code and without it: their profit, and how many came back. Causality Engine suggests a holdout, where a random share of visitors never sees the popup.
Builderify counts sign-ups and, in unique mode, how many codes it has handed out and how many are left. It does not count codes used at checkout, so it cannot say how many people used one. Your shop counts those.
Read in Causality Engine Enalitica
How do I give a welcome discount with Builderify?
A popup, a list and a welcome email.
Use the Discount Code popup to ask for an email address and show the code, collect the sign-ups into a list, and let a sequence send the welcome email. Builderify does not make the code or change prices: your shop creates it, applies it at checkout and enforces its limits.
Start with Popups. Everyone who claims a code is added to the list you pick, so Sequences can send the welcome email: the welcome email sequence guide has the emails, and how to add a popup to your website covers the trigger and the pages. The people it collects are your Leads. For where you may email them, read can I email customers without consent and single or double opt-in.
The Discount Code popup
Set Coupon Type to Fixed or Percentage and a Value, then choose One code for everyone or Unique code per signup. The code appears only after a valid sign-up, with the text you write for the coupon screen. Pick a list under Add signups to. There is no consent box, so say in the text above the email field what people are signing up for.
A designed popup with a coupon
The Exit Offer + Coupon template puts one shared code behind an email form and shows it, with a Copy code button, on the thank-you screen. A person joins a list only if you add the consent box and they tick it. Nothing is emailed to the visitor.
The welcome email
The first email of a sequence, set to Immediately, can repeat a shared code that you type in. There is no tag for a unique code. The new address is checked before the sequence mails it, so it is not instant, and a sequence stays a draft until it has a sender domain, a list and an active email.
Start on the free plan: 250 credits a month and no monthly fee. A new lead costs 1 credit, an email sent 0.5 and the widget 10 credits per 1,000 page loads. A thousand sign-ups who each get one welcome email cost 1,500 credits, which is $13.50 at the Starter pack’s price, plus page loads. Compare that with what the discount costs you in the calculator. The pricing page has the whole rate card.
Start freeWelcome discounts, answered.
The most that still pays back is your profit on the first order, plus what repeat orders add, less the share of code users who would have bought anyway. The calculator on this page does that sum from your own numbers and shows the ceiling. Offer well under it, run one offer for a month, and compare first orders with and without the code.
It can, but only if the people it wins are worth more to you over the year than the discount costs on everyone who uses it, including people who would have bought anyway. In one analytics firm's data on nearly 30,000 customers, 14.7% ordered again within 12 months, so the second order matters, but not for everyone. Check your own repeat rate and your own margin before you pick a number.
Free shipping on the first order, a free gift, first access to launches or restocks, a useful guide or quiz, and a giveaway. Klaviyo lists percentage off, dollar amount off, a free gift with purchase, a contest or giveaway and free shipping, and quotes an ecommerce agency's director of strategy saying it does not have to be a discount as long as there is a reason to sign up. The table on this page shows what each costs you and when it fits.
A shared code is simplest, but anyone who has it can pass it on. A batch of single-use codes, one per person, cannot be shared that way. In Builderify's Discount Code popup you choose One code for everyone or Unique code per signup: for unique codes you make single-use codes in your shop and paste them in, and each sign-up gets the next free one.
Set the limit in your shop, because your shop is what accepts the code at checkout. Shopify can limit a discount to customers who have not ordered before and to one use per customer, and WooCommerce has a usage limit per user and an allowed-emails list. Then try the code as a new customer and as an existing one before you publish.
Not on its own. The Discount Code popup shows the code on the screen after a valid sign-up, and the first email of a sequence can repeat a shared code that you type in. There is no merge tag for a unique code, so a unique code can only be shown on the screen. The Exit Offer + Coupon template says it will email the code but only shows it, so change that wording before you publish.
No. You make the code in your shop and Builderify hands it to the visitor; your shop applies the discount and enforces its limits, such as the end date. Builderify counts the sign-ups and, in unique mode, the codes handed out and the codes left, but not the codes used at checkout. Your shop has that number.
Incremental means it brought sales you would not otherwise have had. Causality Engine suggests four checks on your own data: how long people take from sign-up to first order, how many first orders use the code, where people sign up (product and cart pages are closer to buying than the home page or blog) and first-order margin with and without the code. The most direct test is a holdout, where a random share of visitors never sees the popup.
Sources
- Enalitica First Purchase Discounts: Do Those Customers Return? (updated 28 September 2026)
- Causality Engine Is your welcome popup discount actually incremental? (updated 6 October 2026)
- Klaviyo 17 Sign-Up Form Examples from Real B2C Brands, + Expert Tips
- Shopify How to Build an Email List: Tips and Tools (2026)
- Shopify Help Center Amount off discounts
- Shopify Help Center Managing and editing your discounts
- WooCommerce Managing Coupons in WooCommerce Documentation
The outside figures and settings were read on 1 November 2026; the 14.7% is one analytics firm’s data from the stores it measures, and yours will differ. The ceiling, the receipt and the table are our own arithmetic on the numbers you enter, and the starting numbers are examples, not averages. The Builderify details come from the product itself on that date.
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