How are codes and coupons redeemed or validated?

It depends on where your customers receive the benefit of your coupon.

If you run an online store, you would normally create a list of unique coupons that you import into Coupon Carrier for distribution. Your customers then enter the coupon during checkout to receive a discount. Your store validates that the coupon exists and decides what discount it should apply.

If your campaign is redeemed at a counter, door, event, or physical location, Coupon Carrier can help you redeem vouchers in person without POS integration.

For offline businesses, like restaurants, retail stores, venues, or events, Coupon Carrier can generate unique codes and give staff a way to verify each redemption in real time.

The most common validation methods are:

Mark as Used: Staff taps a button on the customer’s voucher page.
QR code scanning: Staff scans the customer’s QR code with a phone.
Manual admin updates: An admin marks a code as used from the Code List.
E-commerce redemption: Shopify or WooCommerce marks the code as used after checkout.
Zapier workflows: A connected workflow marks the code as used after another event happens.

For a full overview of staff scanning, validation status, and redemption tracking, see QR code redemption.

If you’re unsure which in-person method fits your campaign, compare Mark-as-Used and QR scanning.

Read the offline setup guide here:

How to distribute unique codes for restaurants, physical stores, and events