Overview

Coupons are a central part of modern retail promotions and customer engagement. Within shopreme, coupons can be supported in multiple ways depending on how the retailer’s existing systems (e.g. POS, pricing engine, ERP) handle promotions.

shopreme itself does not replace the retailer’s promotion logic. Instead, it acts as an integration layer that:

• Identifies coupons (e.g. via scanning)

• Displays them correctly in the apps (e.g. SDK, smart cart, hand scanner)

• Ensures they are reflected in the basket

• Synchronizes with the retailer’s pricing and checkout systems

💡 Understanding how coupons can behave—and where they are validated—is essential for a smooth integration.

What are coupons?

Coupons are promotional mechanisms that provide a benefit to the customer when certain conditions are met. These benefits can include:

• Discounts on specific products

• Discounts on the total basket

• Fixed-value reductions

• Cashback for future purchases

• Voucher-based deductions

✨ From a technical perspective, coupons are either:

• Explicitly triggered (e.g. scanned by the user, or selected from a list), or

• Implicitly applied (e.g. automatically added by a pricing engine)

Types of supported coupons

Shopreme supports different coupon types depending on how they are provided and processed.

General scannable coupons

These are coupons that the user actively scans using the Scan & Go app. Examples include: Printed coupons, digital barcodes from newsletters or apps, or QR codes on receipts or flyers.

Key requirement

• The coupon must be known to shopreme to be validated. This can be done by providing coupons in a similar manner to product information, so they are in the shopreme database, or by implementing a custom solution.

Validation Options

1. Validation within Shopreme

   • Coupon database maintained or synced

   • Immediate validation in-app

2. Validation via External Systems

   • Pricing engine

   • Promotion engine

   • POS backend

Automatically applied coupons

These coupons are applied without user interaction. Some examples are: “10% off your basket today”, loyalty-based discounts, or time-based promotions for all customers.

These coupons are typically provided at customer check-in through a customer-info or unlocking API, calculated by an external pricing or promotion engine, and returned as part of the basket pricing response

Flow

1. User scans products

2. Basket is sent to the pricing engine

3. Pricing engine evaluates promotions

4. Response includes:

   • Updated prices

   • Applied discounts

   • Promotion metadata

Requirements

• A preexisting integration with a pricing or promotion engine is required

• shopreme relies on this system as the source of truth

Industry coupons

Industry-standard coupons (e.g. manufacturer coupons) that follow predefined barcode formats. Unlike regular discounts, industry coupons typically do not reduce the taxable base of a product. This means that the original product price remains the basis for tax calculation, and the coupon value is applied after tax, not before. For example:

Regular discount (store promotion):

• Product price: €10.00

• Discount: -€2.00

• Tax is calculated on: €8.00

Industry coupon:

• Product price: €10.00

• Tax is calculated on: €10.00

• Coupon: -€2.00 applied afterward

Final payable amount is reduced, but the tax portion remains unchanged.

Requirements

• A preexisting integration with a pricing or promotion engine is required

• shopreme relies on this system as the source of truth

Vouchers

Vouchers represent a fixed monetary value rather than a conditional promotion. Examples:

• Deposit return vouchers

• “€2 off your next purchase” receipts

• Gift vouchers (depending on retailer setup)

They are typically handled as:

• A separate line item in the basket

• A payment-reducing mechanism

How coupons are displayed in the app

Coupons can appear in the shopreme apps in different ways depending on how the backend systems return them.

A single retailer may use multiple display types simultaneously.

1. Product-level discounts

A coupon reduces the price of a specific product.

Example:

• “€1 off Product A”

Display behavior:

• Discount shown directly on the product line

• Adjusted product price visible in the cart

2. Basket percentage discounts

A coupon applies a percentage reduction to the entire basket.

Example:

• “10% off your total purchase”

Display behavior:

• Total basket value is reduced

• Discount may appear as a summary line

3. Basket value discounts

A fixed amount is deducted from the total basket.

Example:

• “€5 off when you spend €50”

Display behavior:

• Discount shown as a deduction in the basket summary

4. Coupons as separate basket positions

Some systems represent coupons as their own line item.

Example:

• “Voucher -€2”

Display behavior:

• Appears as an entry in the list of products with a negative-price in the cart

5. Cashback promotions

These promotions do not reduce the current basket but grant value for future purchases.

Example:

• “Get €3 cashback for your next visit”

Display behavior:

• Informational message in the app

• No immediate price reduction

Integration Considerations

When implementing coupon support, retailers should clarify:

• How do shoppers add coupons or promotions to their purchase?

  • Automatically vs. scanning

• Where are coupons validated?

  • shopreme vs pricing system vs promotions engine

• Where are promotions calculated?

  • Pricing engine vs promotions engine

• How are coupons represented?

  • Line items (cart positions) vs price adjustments

• What data is returned for UI display?

  • Labels, values, conditions

A consistent approach ensures:

• Correct pricing

• Transparent user experience

• Smooth checkout at POS