Stop Losing $3,200/Month: Gift Cards, Loyalty & Promotions in Odoo 18 Website

You're leaving $3,200/month on the table because your discount codes are broken. Or worse—they work, but you have no idea which ones are actually profitable.

Last month, we watched a $4.7M D2C skincare brand realize they'd been running a "20% off" coupon that *stacked* with their loyalty program. Customers were getting 37% off orders. The founder thought cart abandonment emails were "working great" because conversions jumped 18%. What she didn't see: margin dropped from 42% to 11%.

Odoo 18's Website module has promotion and coupon tools that *actually* let you control what discounts do—before they eat your profit. Here's how to set them up without the usual spreadsheet disasters.

Turn On Discount Controls (The Thing Nobody Does)

Before you can set up promotions, enable the feature Odoo hides in settings. *(Yes, it's off by default. No idea why.)*

Now you can actually see your promotions menu. Head to Website → Products → Promotion Programs.

Promotion Programs vs. Coupon Programs (They're Different)

Here's where people screw up:

Use promotions for cart upsells. Use coupons for email campaigns. Don't mix them or you'll get double-dipping nightmares.

Building a Promotion That Won't Wreck Margin

Let's build a real example: "Spend $150, get 15% off—but only on products over $30." *(Stops people from loading up on low-margin impulse buys.)*

Create New Promotion

1. Go to: Website → Products → Promotion Programs
2. Click: New button (top-left)
3. Fill in:
   • Program Name: "High Cart Value - 15% Off"
   • Program Type: Promotions
   • Currency: USD
   • Available On: Check "Website"

Set the Rules (This Is Where You Save Money)

Click the Rules & Rewards tab. Here's where you control what triggers the discount.

Configure the Reward

Still in Rules & Rewards tab, scroll to the Rewards section:

For our example, select: Discount → Percentage → 15% → Apply on "On Order".

Set Max Discount: Enter $40. This caps the discount even if someone orders $500 worth. *(Protects you from whale customers gaming the system.)*

Click Save. The promotion is now live. Test it by adding $150+ to your cart.

Building Coupon Codes That Don't Leak

Coupon codes require customer input. Use these for targeted campaigns—email subscribers, influencer partnerships, paid ads.

Create a Coupon Code

1. Go to: Website → Products → Coupon Programs
2. Click: New
3. Program Name: "Email Subscriber - Welcome Offer"
4. Program Type: Coupons *(critical—don't pick Promotions)*
5. Currency: USD

Generate the Actual Code

After saving, Odoo auto-generates a code like 044d-d911-474f. If you want custom codes *(like WELCOME10)*, you need to:

1. Go to Sales → Configuration → Coupon Programs
2. Open your coupon program
3. Click Generate Coupons button
4. Enter your custom code: WELCOME10
5. Save

Set Coupon Rules

Same as promotions—go to Rules & Rewards:

How Customers Apply Coupons (The Checkout Flow)

When a customer shops on your Odoo website:

1. They add products to cart
2. Click Proceed to Checkout
3. On the Review Order page, they see: "Have a promo code?"
4. They enter the code (e.g., WELCOME10) in the text box
5. Click Apply
6. If valid, discount appears. Order total updates immediately

Advanced: Free Product Rewards

Want to give away a sample or bonus product? *(Smart for new product launches or clearing slow-moving inventory.)*

The free product gets added automatically when conditions are met. Shows as "$0.00" line item in cart.

Free Shipping (Do This Carefully)

Free shipping sounds great until you realize your average shipping cost is $11.20 and you set the threshold at $40. You just lost $11 on every order that would've converted anyway at $60.

To enable free shipping reward: In Rewards, check "Free Shipping" box. Done.

Common Mistakes We See Every Week

Track This Or You're Flying Blind

After setting up promotions, go to Website → Reporting → Coupons to see:

• Which codes are used most
• Revenue per code
• Discount amount given
• Orders per promotion

Compare this to actual margin impact in your accounting system. If "SAVE20" brings in $14K revenue but costs $11K in discounts + fulfillment, kill it.

Test These Configurations First

If you're new to Odoo promos, start with these 3 proven setups: