Promotion Stacking: Pros & Cons of Letting Customers Double Dip
If you’ve ever used a discount code at checkout, paid with a gift card you bought on special, and then earned cashback from a loyalty program — congratulations, you’ve stacked promotions like a pro.
But while savvy customers love the thrill of a good “double dip,” for merchants, the impact of promotion stacking is more complex. In the card-linked offer (CLO) space especially, stacking can happen more often than you think — and it can have unintended effects on your margins, data accuracy, and attribution models.
Let’s unpack the upsides and downsides.
✅ The Pros: Why Stacking Can Be a Good Thing
1. Supercharges Customer Motivation
Allowing customers to combine rewards — whether it’s a card-linked offer, a coupon, or an affiliate cashback deal — can push them over the line. It turns a “maybe” into a “yes.”
2. Appeals to Deal-Seeking Behaviour
Loyalty is increasingly driven by value. The most engaged shoppers often expect to be rewarded in multiple ways. Offering stackable promos can help you attract this high-intent segment.
3. Drives Incremental Conversions
In digital commerce, it’s hard to argue with results. If the total incentive package makes the customer convert faster or spend more, stacking may be worth the margin hit.
⚠️ The Cons: Where It Gets Risky
1. Erodes Margins
Each promotion eats into your bottom line. When they pile up — cashback + gift card discount + coupon + affiliate commission — your profit on that transaction might disappear entirely.
2. Attribution Chaos
Which offer drove the sale? With multiple programs claiming credit, marketers lose visibility into what really worked. This muddies ROAS reporting and can lead to overpaying for performance.
3. Fraud or Unintended Abuse
Some customers exploit loopholes — enrolling the same card in multiple CLO platforms, or combining offers in ways that weren’t intended. Without proper tracking and controls, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s “valid.”
So… Should You Allow Stacking?
It depends on your business model, margin tolerance, and goals. For some merchants, allowing limited stacking creates a competitive edge and boosts customer satisfaction. For others, it’s a drain that needs to be tightly controlled.
Best practice is to:
- Define clear promotion rules in advance
- Use tracking tools that detect overlapping incentives
- Work with partners (like affiliate networks or CLO platforms) that provide transparent reporting
Final Word
Promotion stacking isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it can be a powerful motivator for the right customer. But without proper guardrails, it can quietly eat away at your profits. Like most things in loyalty, the key is balance.
