Average Order Value and impact of discounts and gift cards

[candicec]

What impact, if any, do discounts and gift cards have on the Average Order Value as reported in our Analytics, within our Shopify store?  If we give out a large volume of 100% off discounts, will it drag our AOV down (including the dashboard figure)?  Same question again for if we give out a large number of Gift Cards..?

[Doyle50]

Don't offer this deal year-round as it can lose its effectiveness over time. 15$ Gift Card from Amazon. First Time Offers.

[candicec]

It's not a public deal so we're not worried about it's effectiveness from a marketing perspective - just need to know the affect on internal reporting/analytics.