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A new customer voucher rewards the first order. Technically, it is a universal voucher that is given the restriction “new customers only” when it is created. The code can be distributed freely, but only someone who has not yet purchased in the shop can redeem it. The real work lies in a single question: who actually counts as a new customer in your shop? This determines whether the campaign works or whether it locks out exactly the people it is meant to reach.

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Who counts as a new customer

The shop knows two definitions. You define which one applies in the configuration.

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Why the default becomes a problem with a merchandise management system

Some prospects register in the shop but do not order right away. If a merchandise management system is connected, it may already assign a customer number to the account without an order ever having taken place. With the default setting NoCustomerNumber, this is enough for the shop to classify the prospect as an existing customer. When they come back weeks later with their voucher, the voucher is rejected even though they have never bought anything. NoOrder solves exactly this case: the shop then does not check the customer number but whether an order already exists for the customer. If not, they remain a new customer and can redeem the voucher with their first order.
Without a merchandise management system, NoOrder changes practically nothing; with a connected system, it is usually the only usable setting. Before starting a new customer campaign, check when the customer number is created in your setup. Once the campaign is running, only very few affected customers will get in touch. Most will abandon.
For both definitions, the customer must be logged in. Without a login, the shop can check neither the customer number nor the order history and rejects the voucher with a notice that login is required.

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Prerequisites

The voucher generator must be activated. If you want to use it, contact your WEBSALE representative.
If the vouchers come from an external system and are therefore not in WEBSALE format, add the entry ExternalVouchers-Allow = yes in the <Voucher-Txt> section of the shop.config.
Voucher entry must be integrated in the shop. If your shop does not offer vouchers yet, the input field on the basket page ws_basket.htm and the order overview page ws_place_order.htm is missing. Guide: Provide voucher entry

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Step 1: Defining the new customer definition

If the shop does not recognize the value, it uses NoCustomerNumber. A typo is therefore not noticed as an error but silently falls back to the default. Check the spelling.
The setting applies to the entire shop, not per voucher or per batch. You cannot have one campaign checked by customer number and another by order history.
Reference: Voucher-Txt section

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Step 2: Creating the voucher

Create the voucher as a universal voucher in the voucher generator in the online service area and select the restriction to new customers there. Guide: Create or import vouchers

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Step 3: Providing the appropriate error messages

A new customer voucher is rejected more often than an ordinary one, simply because the condition is narrower. Without stored texts, the customer sees an empty message and does not know why their code is not accepted. Four rejection reasons are relevant for new customer vouchers.
Reasons 10 and 12 are the most important. They affect everyone who enters the code before logging in, which is the normal case in a promotional campaign. The text should therefore not just state the rejection but lead the customer to log in.
Guide: Provide voucher entry, section “Placing messages”
  • Guide: Offering vouchers: Overview
  • Guide: Create or import vouchers
  • Guide: Provide voucher entry
  • Guide: Universal and promotional vouchers