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How to Offer a One-Time Use Subscription Discount

This guide explains how to offer a larger discount to new subscription customers—and ensure it can only be used once. This setup is perfect if you want to give first-time subscribers a bigger incentive (e.g., 15% off) and then apply a smaller recurring discount (e.g., 5%) for ongoing orders.


Table of Contents



When to Use This Guide


Use this method if you want to:


  • Offer a higher discount (e.g., 15%) only to new subscription customers.
  • Prevent returning customers from reusing the same discount by canceling and resubscribing.
  • Automatically transition those customers to a smaller ongoing discount (e.g., 5%).


Step-by-Step: Create a One-Time Discount for New Subscribers


  1. Navigate to Shopify Admin > Super Subscriptions > Settings > Tags


  1. Enable the “Has subscription contract” customer tag

Learn more about Super Subscriptions Tags


  1. Navigate to Shopify Admin > Customers > Segments and click "Create segment"

Learn more about creating customer segments


  1. Create a segment that excludes customers with the “Has subscription contract” tag**.

Example condition:

NOT customer_tags CONTAINS 'has subscription contract'



  1. Click Save and choose an appropriate title


  1. Navigate to Shopify Admin > Discounts, click "Create discount" and select "Amount off order"


  1. Set up the discount
  • Select Discount code (automatic discounts are not supported for customer segments)
  • Under Discount value, set the desired discount and the Purchase type to Subscription
  • Under Customer eligibility, select Specific customer segments and choose the segment you created in Step 2.
  • Under Recurring payments for subscriptions select "Limit discount to the first payment" or "Limit discount to multiple recurring payments"


  1. Save your discount


How It Works


Once a customer places a subscription order, the system automatically tags them with “Has subscription contract.” This removes them from the new customer segment, preventing them from using the 15% discount again—even if they cancel and later resubscribe.



Troubleshooting


  • The customer reused the discount

Make sure the tag was properly applied and that your segment excludes tagged customers.


  • Discount code is not applying at checkout

Double-check that the discount is restricted to the customer segment and set to “first order of a subscription.”


  • Customer was not tagged

Confirm that Super Subscriptions is enabled and the Has subscription contract tag is active in Tag Settings.


Tips and Best Practices


  • Test your discount flow with a test account before launching it publicly.
  • Use clear discount names like “WELCOME15” and “SUBSCRIBER5” to help track usage.
  • Consider pairing this with a banner or email to explain the savings tiers.




Updated on: 07/14/2025

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