No. SAVE10 and save10 are the same code. When a code fails at checkout, capitalisation is almost never the reason, and a promo SOP that tells people to check it is pointing them the wrong way.
No. Shopify discount codes are not case sensitive. Shopify's own developer documentation puts it plainly: the discount system treats SAVE10 and save10 as the same code. A customer who types save10, Save10 or SAVE10 gets the same discount.
So when a code fails at checkout, capitalisation is almost never the reason. And a support macro or promo SOP that tells people to check the capitals is sending them the wrong way.
Capitalisation still matters for one thing: how the code looks. Codes in capitals are easier to read and to say over the phone. That is a reason to pick one format and use it everywhere, not a checkout rule.
Start from what the customer saw. Most failures fall into one of a few groups.
| Cause | What to check |
|---|---|
| The code isn't live | It has expired, has not started yet, or was switched off. A switched-off code gives the customer an error saying the store is "Unable to find a valid discount matching the code entered" |
| The customer isn't eligible | The discount is limited to certain customers, customer segments or markets, and this shopper is outside them |
| The cart doesn't qualify | A minimum spend not reached, or products or collections the discount does not cover |
| The limit is used up | A total redemption cap reached, or a one-use-per-customer limit already used, while the discount still shows as active |
| Combination rules | Another discount is in the cart and the two are not set to combine |
| A simple typo | A zero typed as the letter O, or a trailing space from copy and paste |
Two more worth knowing. Shopify allows up to five discount codes on a single order, so a shopper stacking codes can hit that limit. And on a phone, the order summary at checkout is often collapsed, so some shoppers never find the box to type the code into at all.
A code written in the wrong case in your SOP does no harm. A code written down with the wrong minimum spend, the wrong dates or the wrong combination setting does, because the promotion will launch and then fail for a reason nobody tested.
So each code's line in the promo SOP should carry:
The combination setting in full: which discount types stack, the limits, and how to test a stack properly.
Unique codes per creator, and how codes leak to coupon sites when nobody owns them.
Try it on one of your own procedures.
Record a process once, AI writes the structured SOP. 3 free SOPs, no credit card.
A VA, contractor or seasonal hire copies the code and the minimum spend exactly as your SOP says. If someone changed the minimum in Shopify after the SOP was written, the SOP does not say so, and the new hire has no way to know.
Shopify will not catch it for you either. A discount's history shows when it was created, when it went live or expired, and when edits were saved. But in Shopify's own words, it doesn't describe the specific edit made. The store activity log is view-only, cannot be exported, shows at most 250 entries, and sometimes lists Shopify itself as the one who made a change.
So the SOP is often the only record of what a promotion was supposed to be. That makes keeping it accurate more important, not less.
Handing promo work to a VA in the right order, and checking it without micromanaging.
Add this to the promo SOP as a step before every send, with one named owner:
Then fix the support macro. Remove any instruction to check capital letters. Replace it with a short checklist: spelling, whether the customer is eligible, what is in the cart, the minimum spend, and whether the code is still live. Tag "code not working" tickets with the real cause afterwards, so capitals stop being the default answer.
Running a win-back offer, including switching the code off when the offer ends.
Three things move underneath a promo SOP without anyone rewriting it.
Duplicated codes carry old settings. Shopify lets you duplicate an existing discount and then change it. Clone last season's code for a new campaign and it can carry last season's minimum spend straight into this year's email.
Shopify's documentation says that when you reactivate an expired discount, it becomes active and has no set end date. Turn last season's code back on to help one customer, and it stays live until someone remembers to switch it off again.
Mid-campaign edits leave no trace. Someone changes the combination setting to rescue one order, Shopify records that an edit was saved without saying what it was, and the SOP is now wrong about the live promotion.
Why the documented version and the live setting quietly part ways, and what that costs when someone checks.
This is where ReccordSOP helps. Record your screen while you set up a discount, and it turns the recording into a step-by-step SOP with a screenshot of each step and the clicked button highlighted. Record the setup again next quarter and it shows which steps changed, instead of overwriting the old version. What it will not do is watch your Shopify discount settings or test a live code. Someone still has to open a real checkout. The free plan includes 3 SOPs in total, and Team is $19 per user per month, with a 3-user minimum.
Before your next campaign email, open the promo SOP and read the line for each code. If it tells anyone to check capital letters, delete that sentence. Replace it with who can use the code, the minimum spend, the usage limits, the dates and the combination setting. Then run the test above and write down who ran it.
No. Shopify's developer documentation says the discount system treats SAVE10 and save10 as the same code, so customers can type a code in any combination of upper and lower case. When a code fails, check whether it is live, whether the customer and the cart qualify, its usage limits and its combination settings instead.
Usually one of five things: the code has expired, has not started or was switched off; the customer is outside the customers, segments or markets it is limited to; the cart misses the minimum spend or contains products it does not cover; its usage limit is used up; or it does not combine with another discount in the cart. Typos such as a zero typed as the letter O are the next most common cause.
No. Shopify treats them as the same code, so they cannot be two different offers. Pick one spelling and use it everywhere so your emails, banners and support replies match.
The question does not apply, because the customer never types an automatic discount. It appears at checkout when the cart meets its conditions. If one is missing, check its eligibility, product conditions and combination settings.
Shopify makes it active again with no set end date. It will keep working until someone switches it off, so set a new end date straight away if you only meant to reopen it briefly.
3 free SOPs to start. No credit card required. See if drift detection keeps your docs honest.
Start for freeI built ReccordSOP after watching too many DTC ops teams lose months to undocumented workflows. These SOPs are battle-tested with Shopify operators running $1M to $50M brands.
Last reviewed October 6, 2026
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