- Short answer
- Yes — limit it in the Eligibility card; in our October 2026 test, checkout dropped the discount for each unlisted email we tried.
- Limit
- Up to 100 specific customers per code; the same help sentence gives 100 for products and variants.
- Segments
- Existing customers only; a first-time buyer isn't included until after the first order is complete.
- Before email
- In our test, anyone saw the code applied until checkout had an email.
- Sign-in
- Not needed for a listed email in our test; we didn't test a signed-in shopper outside the list.
How do you limit a discount code to specific customers?
In the discount's Eligibility card, pick Specific customers to name people one by one — a code can apply to up to 100 specific customers, products and variants — or Customer segments, up to 100 segments per code.
- Discounts
- Discount name
A segment covers existing customers only: a first-time buyer isn't included until after the first order is complete. Membership then updates on its own.
The same card holds Markets, to limit a code to one country instead.
What happens when someone outside the list uses the code?
We tested this on a development store on October 19, 2026: an Amount off order code, guest checkout, email as the contact.
- Before any email, the code showed as applied for everyone.
- With an email not on the list, checkout removed the discount and showed the code's name plus "discount code isn’t available to you right now" — for a segment-limited code too.
- With a listed customer's email, the discount stayed without signing in; with Specific customers, the test order went through. We didn't test a signed-in shopper who isn't on the list.
For a code that doesn't fit the cart, Shopify's help documents "isn't valid for the items in your cart"; the help pages we read on October 19, 2026 don't print the eligibility line. Other checkout messages point to other causes.
Can a forwarded code still be used?
Not with the recipient's own email, in our test: the key is the email, and a listed customer's email was enough. No Shopify help page we read on October 19, 2026 addresses forwarded restricted codes.
An automatic discount leaves no code to share — the employee discount answer takes that route — but segments still identify shoppers by a valid email address or phone number at checkout. On the code itself, Maximum discount uses can cap total uses or allow one use per customer.
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