Why does the “coupon code is not valid” error occur?

Question

Accepted Answer

Coupons are typically special codes given to a customer by the shop. These codes are utilized with rules the store configures for its active shopping carts. Coupons set a designated discount level when many predefined conditions are met.

For instance, a coupon code can be made for a particular segment of clients or for any individual who makes a buy over a specific sum. To apply the coupon to a particular purchase, the client can enter the coupon code in the corresponding field when filling his shopping cart.

Alternatively, the coupon can be applied at the sales register of a physical store.

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Reasons for this error to occur

The shopper may see the message "coupon code is not valid" when trying to apply the coupon provided in some way on the shopping cart page. For example, the error may occur in the following cases:

The coupon has expired. Typically, promotions launched by stores are conducted for a limited time. If the period has ended, a shopper cannot obtain a discount on such a coupon. The date for the coupon activation period is set in the Rule Information > From - To.
The number of attempts to use the coupon exceeds the limit. This setting is used to set the allowed number of times for the customer to apply the single coupon to get a discount. The option is located in Rule Information > Uses per Coupon.
The number of attempts to use a coupon by one user exceeds the limit. This option controls the number of coupon usages by one customer. The option is located in Rule Information > Uses per Customer.

Note: If there is no need to set limits on the number of uses for the coupons, simply leave the Uses per Coupon and Uses per Customer fields empty.

How to solve the coupon error

The fastest and easiest solution to this problem is to generate a new coupon and give it to the shopper who experiences this error. To do this, follow the algorithm:

Generate a coupon for the specific task.

Create a rule for evaluating the current cart price and executing a correspondent action;
In the admin panel, navigate to the Rule Information section. On this page, set an option Coupon to Specific Coupon;
Enter a Coupon Code to be used with the promotion. The configuration controls the length and format of automatically generated coupon codes. The characters can be set to all numbers, letters, or combinations. You can insert a dash at set intervals to make it easy to read and add a .prefix and suffix to associate the code with a specific campaign or initiative;
Set limits so that the shopper could use the coupon only once;
Set the coupon expiration date;
Complete the cart price rule.

Generate a batch of coupons.

Create a cart price rule;
Under Coupon Code, select the Use Auto Generation checkbox;
To limit the number of times each customer can use the coupon, enter the number of Uses per Customer.
In the Manage Coupon Codes section set:

For Coupons Qty, enter the number of coupons you want to generate;
Enter the Code Length, not including the prefix, suffix, or separators;
Set the Code Format to one of the following: (Alphanumeric / Alphabetical / Numeric);
Configure Code Prefix, Code Suffix, and Dash Every X Characters if necessary;
When complete, click Generate.

Note: The coupons creation process is a nonconcurrent activity, which executes behind the scenes so a manager can keep working in the admin panel without inconveniences for the activity to wrap up. The framework shows a message when the assignment is finished.
  Use more flexible extended shopping cart rules to improve the coupons implementation, increase the average cost of orders and motivate customers to buy more.