How to set up a monthly discount for a year-long giveaway?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Goal: set up a year-long giveaway where winners get 100% off select items, redeemable once per month.

  • Shopify discount codes can: define a 1-year timeframe, target specific products, and limit use to once per customer. They cannot enforce “once per month” on a single code.

  • Workaround: create a new discount code each month and send it to the winner(s). Each code should have a 1-month expiry and a once-per-customer usage limit.

  • Automatic discount apps (auto-apply discounts at checkout without codes) currently cannot limit usage to once per customer, so they cannot automate monthly redemptions. The Regios Automatic Discounts developer may add this functionality in the future.

  • Outcome: manual monthly code generation and distribution is the practical approach under current platform constraints.

  • Status: no built-in or app-based automated solution for per-customer monthly enforcement; remains open pending potential app updates.

Summarized with AI on January 24. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello, I am in prelaunch right now and am planning on doing a giveaway for a year supply of the product. My question is on the discount. I can see how to make the discount apply for specific items, price, and time frame. I do not see how I can set it so the discount can only be used once per month. I was thinking I would have to send them out a discount monthly for a year. Any suggestions on how best to accomplish a discount that applies for 1 year, is only usable once per month, is 100% off of select items? Thank you.

2

Hi, I’m Tobe, the developer of Regios Automatic Discounts.

With Shopify’s built-in discount codes, you can create discounts that:

  • Apply for 1 year (set the end date 1 year from now)
  • Give 100% off select items
  • Is only usable once per customer.

If you do so, then you’re right - you would have to create a new discount code once per month, and send it to your specific customers who won your giveaway.

Each new discount code would probably need to have an end date 1 month into the future, and have a once-per-customer usage limit.

As of the time of this writing, automatic apps can’t limit usage to once per customer. Otherwise, they would have been a good option.

I’ll keep you updated if I ever add the functionality you’re looking to your app.