One BonusDiscount programs
Updated 31 August 2026
A discount takes money off the bill in front of the customer. A bonus gives it back for next time. They pull in opposite directions, and which one fits depends on what a business needs from the visit.
Discount or points
A discount is felt immediately and needs no explanation, which makes it the stronger tool for winning a first visit or clearing stock. It gives the customer no reason to come back.
Points cost the business nothing today and are only paid out on a return visit. That is the trade: a discount buys the sale in front of you, points buy the next one.
Percentage or fixed amount
A percentage scales with the basket, so it stays proportionate on a small purchase and gets expensive on a large one. A fixed amount off does the opposite — meaningful on a small bill, barely noticed on a large one.
Businesses with a wide range of basket sizes usually want a percentage with a ceiling, or a fixed amount above a minimum spend.
The discount that trains people to wait
A permanent discount stops being a discount. Customers learn the real price and treat the marked price as fiction, and a business that discounts every week finds nobody buys in the weeks it does not.
A discount attached to a level or a coupon avoids that, because it is earned rather than announced, and it ends when the coupon is used.
Discounts on One Bonus
A discount on One Bonus is a reward like any other: it can be earned, claimed with points, granted by a level, or attached to a coupon. The till applies it at checkout and records it, so the business can see what a discount campaign actually cost and what it brought back.
Because every reward is recorded against the customer who received it, a discount program can be measured rather than guessed at.
Common questions
Is a discount or a bonus better for a business?
A discount wins the sale in front of you and gives no reason to return. A bonus costs nothing today and is only paid when the customer comes back. Use a discount to win a first visit or clear stock, and a bonus to build a regular.
What discount percentage should I set?
Work backwards from margin, not from price. On a thirty percent margin a ten percent discount gives away a third of the profit. If the discount does not measurably increase how often people come or how much they buy, it is a price cut with extra steps.
Can a discount and a bonus program run together?
They can, but on the same purchase they usually should not — the customer gets the discount and stops noticing the points. A common split is a discount for the first visit and points from then on.
Set up discounts that pay for themselves
Read next
- Loyalty programsPoints, stamps, levels, discounts, cashback, coupons and referrals — what each mechanic rewards, who it suits, and how to pick one for a business in Armenia.
- Bonus programsHow each kind of bonus program works and which one fits a business: points on spend, stamp cards, levels, coupons and referrals. Run any of them on One Bonus.
- CashbackWhat a cashback program returns, how the percentage is set, and where cashback beats a straight discount. Run cashback as points on One Bonus and measure what returns.
- Stamp cardsHow a digital stamp card works, how many stamps to ask for, and why paper punch cards leak. Every stamp on One Bonus is recorded against the customer, not the card.
- Points systemHow to set an earn rate, what a point should be worth at the till, and how expiry and minimum redemption change behaviour. The arithmetic behind a points program.
- Tiers and levelsHow a tier program lifts spend, where to put the thresholds, and what each level should actually give. Levels on One Bonus rank on lifetime points, not the current balance.
- CouponsWhen a coupon works better than a standing discount, how to price one in points, and how to stop a coupon being used twice. Coupons on One Bonus are redeemed once.
- Referral programsHow a referral program brings new customers at a known cost, what to reward each side, and how to stop it being gamed. Referrals on One Bonus pay out on a real purchase.