How abuse is detected
Discount check plus duplicate check on email, phone, name.
DiscountHero's core is a two-step process that runs live during checkout.
Step 1: Discount check
The app checks whether the entered discount code carries any restrictions. If the code is open to everyone, there is nothing to enforce and nothing is removed. If the code is limited by either of these criteria, step 2 kicks in:
- restricted to the customer segment "customers who haven't purchased", or
- limited to one use per customer
Step 2: Customer duplicate check
Now the app checks whether THIS customer is actually eligible. The data provided in the checkout is matched against your shop's existing customer base from previous orders.
While Shopify only checks whether the exact same email was used before, DiscountHero calculates a similarity score across a combination of matching factors:
- Email address
- Phone number
- First and last name
- Shipping address
- IP address
So even when a returning customer tries a fresh email address, the chance of detecting the duplicate rises dramatically. You can see and adjust every rule, see Fine-tune duplicate detection: strategies and sensitivity.
What happens on a match
The discount is removed from the checkout before payment, the customer sees a message, and the case appears in your Activity Log with the removal criteria and the matching details. See Activity Log and your numbers.
💡 Tip: instead of removing the code, the app can swap it for your existing-customer code, so the sale is not lost. See Smart Discount Replacement: swap instead of remove.
Prerequisites
- Your discount codes must carry one of the two restrictions above, otherwise there is nothing to enforce. See How to set up your discount codes correctly.
- The order import must be completed, since the duplicate check runs against your imported customer history. See the Setup guide.
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