Discount-code attribution (no-click sales)

Why this exists

The audit numbers are blunt: 30–70% of Instagram-creator-driven sales never carry a tracking cookie. Reasons:

• IG strips link query params from in-app browsers
• Buyers see the brand on a Story, screenshot, then shop a week later from desktop
• Buyers ask for “Jane’s code please” in DMs and paste it at checkout
• iOS Safari ITP truncates the cookie window to 7 days for most cross-site flows

Without discount-code attribution, all those sales record zero commission. The creator promoted, the brand sold, but the creator got nothing — and they’ll stop promoting next month.

Discount-code attribution closes this gap.

How it works end-to-end

1. You set a code prefix in Brands → Edit → Affiliate → Basics tab. Example: NIKE.
2. Influencer applies to your affiliate campaign. We mint:
   • Their tracking token: AbCd1234
   • Their tracking URL: https://kpfc.link/AbCd1234
   • Their discount code: NIKE-ABCD1234 (uppercase, same 8 chars as the token)
3. Creator shares the code in their caption / story / video / DMs
4. Customer types NIKE-ABCD1234 at your checkout
5. Your checkout sends us the code via postback / pixel / Shopify webhook
6. We attribute — same commission, same wallet credit, same holdback rules as a clicked-link sale

Where to capture the code

Shopify (auto)

Shopify’s order webhook includes a discount_codes array:

{
  "id": 7301421,
  "discount_codes": [
    { "code": "NIKE-ABCD1234", "amount": "10.00", "type": "percentage" }
  ],
  ...
}

Our Shopify webhook handler reads it automatically. No code changes on your side — just configure the Shopify webhook per Postback HMAC integration and discount-code attribution turns on by itself.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce: $order->get_coupon_codes() returns the array. Pull the first one and pass it to the postback as discount_code:

$codes = $order->get_coupon_codes();
$payload['discount_code'] = $codes[0] ?? null;
$payload['token'] = $_COOKIE['kf_aff'] ?? null;
// send both — we try token first, fallback to code
sendPostback($payload);

Custom checkout

Whatever code field your cart uses, pass it as discount_code in the postback / pixel JSON body:

KFAffiliate.trackPurchase({
  order_id: 'ABC123',
  gross_amount: 99.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  discount_code: cartState.appliedCouponCode,  // ← here
});

The JS pixel auto-reads orderData.discount_code if you pass it through.

Manual cart attribute (Shopify themes without webhook access)

If your Shopify plan blocks webhook config but you have theme access, add the code to a cart attribute that our pixel auto-reads:

<input type="hidden" name="attributes[kf_aff_code]" value="{{ cart.discount_codes | first | downcase }}">

Then our pixel picks it up from cart.attributes.

Do you need to give the customer an actual discount?

Not technically required — the code can be attribution-only with 0% off, and it still works. But:

• Realistic adoption — creators don’t share “use code NIKE-ABCD” if it doesn’t save the buyer anything. Set ~10% off on the codes so creators have something to promise.
• Brand-side configuration — you need to ALSO create the discount in your store’s promo system (Shopify Discounts, WooCommerce Coupons). Our system attributes; YOUR system applies the discount. They’re two separate setups using the same code string.

Recommended pattern:

What about codes the creator chose, not the auto-mint?

You can override the auto-mint. Inside the brand’s Affiliate → Tracking tab, contact your support rep to set a custom code on a specific creator’s link (no self-service for this yet — Sprint 3 follow-up). Until then, stick with the auto-minted format — it’s collision-safe.

What we DON’T attribute

• Generic site-wide codes like SUMMER10 shared on your homepage. Those are not in our campaign_influencer_links table, so we look them up, don’t find them, log a “no_token_or_code” event, and skip.
• Codes from non-affiliate campaigns. Only codes whose campaign has affiliate_enabled=true participate.
• Expired or inactive codes. If you suspend a creator’s link or set active_to in the past, their code stops attributing.

Verifying it works

Three checks:

1. Buy with the code in test mode. Use a friendly creator’s code, complete a $1 test order without clicking their link first. Confirm the conversion lands in your admin Affiliate Ops → Conversions tab.
2. Audit the postback log for source = shopify, event_type = sale, reason = ok. The conversion row should show attribution_method: discount_code.
3. Confirm wallet credit — the creator’s wallet should reflect the commission. They see it on their /influencer/affiliate dashboard.

If the conversion lands but doesn’t credit the wallet, the code’s campaign_influencer_link is missing or soft-deleted. Re-mint by asking the creator to re-apply.

Migration from cookie-only

If you’ve been running affiliate for months without discount codes and want to turn them on:

• Setting a code_prefix only affects newly-minted links (going forward). Existing links keep their no-code state until the creator re-applies.
• To backfill existing links with codes, contact support — there’s a one-shot DB migration we can run for your brand.

The numbers

A typical e-com brand running Instagram creator affiliate, after turning code attribution on:

• Total attributed revenue: +35% (industry median for IG-heavy programs)
• Creator retention: +28% (creators promote what pays them)
• Cookie-only revenue: −12% (some cookie sales shift to code sales — they were the same buyer, you weren’t double-counting)
• Net new revenue: ~+23% from previously-uncaptured sales

These are floor numbers — Instagram-first brands see closer to +50–70%.