by Tobe Osakwe Jul 21, 2025

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Screenshot of Shopify Discounts page showing a one-time discount code configured with usage limits.

Ever run a promotion only to watch your discount code get shared around, draining your profits?
If you want your Shopify discounts to be one-time only—whether for a customer’s first purchase, a VIP perk, or a limited promo—you’ll need to configure them correctly.

Here’s how to create both one-time discount codes and one-time automatic discounts in Shopify (with screenshots and a video walkthrough).

How to Create One-Time Discount Codes

Use Shopify’s built-in usage limits to prevent customers from using the same discount multiple times.

Shopify’s discount code feature has a built-in way to restrict usage:

• Go to Shopify Admin → Discounts → Create Discount.
• In the Usage Limits section, check “Limit to one use per customer.”
• This ensures each customer can redeem the code once, tied to their email or account login.
• If your discount uses multiple unique codes (like codes generated in bulk), Shopify will still only allow one redemption per customer, though each code is unique.

Quick Tip:
If your goal is just to limit each customer to a single redemption, you don’t need multiple codes—one code with “Limit to one use per customer” is simpler.

How to Create One-Time Automatic Discounts

Shopify Flow can tag customers automatically when they use a discount, and Regios Discounts can then exclude those tagged customers automatically.

Shopify’s automatic discounts don’t offer “Usage limits” like discount codes do.
To make these one-time only, you’ll need to combine your discount with Shopify Flow—or simplify it with our app:

• With Shopify Flow alone:

  • Create a workflow that triggers when an order is paid.
  • Add a condition: the order includes at least one discount application with the title matching your promo.
  • The action: tag the customer (e.g., “used-WELCOME10”).
  • Manually update your discount logic to exclude any customers with that tag.

• With Regios Discounts:

  • Our app can automatically exclude any customers with a specific tag from future discounts, no manual edits needed.
  • This keeps your automatic discounts true one-time offers, without extra maintenance.

Video Demo

For more details, see our full helpdesk guide: Applying Discounts Once Per Customer.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Forgetting to set limits or tags can turn a promotion into an expensive mistake—always double-check before launch.

When setting up one-time discounts, merchants often run into these issues:

• Forgetting to enable usage limits, allowing customers to reuse codes.
• Assuming multiple codes automatically limit usage—without usage limits, each code can be reused by the same customer.
• Not testing discounts with different email logins, which can bypass restrictions if customers use multiple addresses.
• Forgetting to update Flow or discount logic when changing promo titles (causing tags to break).

Always test your discounts in a staging environment or with test customers before going live.

Conclusion

Making discounts one-time use in Shopify isn’t hard—but it’s easy to overlook key settings.

• Use “Limit to one use per customer” for discount codes.
• For automatic discounts, use Shopify Flow to tag customers and exclude repeat redemptions.
• Always test your discounts before launch to avoid abuse.

With the right setup, you’ll protect your margins while still offering valuable incentives to customers.

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