Affiliate Marketing and Promo Codes, Explained: How OllaCart Helps You Save (and Stores Get Found)

November 2, 2026

Two things shape almost every online purchase, even when you don't notice them: affiliate links and promo codes. One decides who gets credit for sending you to a store. The other decides what you actually pay at checkout. Both are everywhere, both are a little confusing, and both are easier to deal with when every product you're considering is in one place.

This post explains how affiliate marketing and promo codes work, why hunting for codes is such a chore, and how OllaCart now finds possible codes for the products you save.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is how stores pay for recommendations. When a website, creator or app sends a shopper to a store and that shopper buys something, the store pays a commission to whoever sent them.

Here's how it works:

1. A store runs an affiliate program, either on its own or through an affiliate network such as Rakuten Advertising, CJ, Impact or Awin.
2. A publisher (a blog, a creator, a shopping app) applies and is approved.
3. The publisher shares tracked links to the store.
4. When someone buys through one of those links within the program's attribution window (often 1 to 30 days), the publisher earns a commission, usually a percentage of the sale.

The important part for shoppers: an affiliate link doesn't change your price. The commission comes out of the store's marketing budget, not your cart.

What are promo codes, and why are they so hard to find?

Promo codes (also called discount codes or coupon codes) are short codes you type at checkout for a percentage off, free shipping, or a dollar amount off. Stores hand them out in newsletters, on social media, through creators and on their own sale pages.

The trouble is that they're scattered:

• One code lives in a welcome email you never opened.
• Another is in a creator's caption from three weeks ago.
• A third is on a coupon site, next to ten expired ones.

So people end up opening a new tab at checkout, searching "[store] promo code" and trying codes one by one. That's often where a purchase falls apart: the shopper gets distracted, the tab gets closed, and the cart is abandoned.

How OllaCart helps with promo codes

OllaCart is a universal shopping cart. You save products from any store into one cart, from the website, the Chrome extension or the iPhone app. Now, when you save a product, OllaCart also searches public sources for discount codes for that product and its store, in the background.

When you're ready to buy, open your cart and tap Buy. Items are grouped by store, and any store with codes shows a possible codes button. Tap it to see:

• The code, with a Copy button.
• What it's for: the offer (for example, "15% off your first order") and any restrictions.
• Whether it's store-wide or for this item. Store-wide codes are listed first, since they can cover your whole cart at that store.
• When it expires, if the store published a date. Codes past their expiry date are hidden automatically.
• Where it was found, with a link to the source.

Copy the code, go to the store's checkout and paste it in.

What we're careful about

We'd rather be honest than oversell this:

• Codes are untested. We find them on public pages but don't try them at checkout, so some won't work for your items. Each one is labeled Untested code.
• We never apply a code for you or change your cart behind your back. You stay in control.
• Codes never replace your product details. If nothing turns up, your saved item is exactly what you saved.

If a code works, you save money without leaving OllaCart to go hunting. If it doesn't, you've lost a few seconds instead of twenty minutes in coupon-site tabs.

How OllaCart uses affiliate programs

OllaCart is free to use. Like many shopping apps and publishers, we earn a commission from some stores when you buy through OllaCart, through approved affiliate programs. You pay the same price either way. On Amazon, for example, we're an Amazon Associate and earn from qualifying purchases.

The same lookup that finds promo codes also tells us which affiliate programs a store offers. That shows our team which stores OllaCart shoppers love but we don't yet partner with, so we can apply to their programs. More partnerships let OllaCart keep its core features free and bring more stores into one-tap checkout.

A program we've found isn't one we've joined. Stores still have to approve us, and we only use tracked links for programs that have.

Sharing, creators and earning

Affiliate marketing isn't only for big publishers. On OllaCart you can share a single product or a whole list with friends, and eligible purchases through shared links can earn rewards. For the details on how sharing and earning work, see How Affiliate Shopping Works on OllaCart.

Tips for getting the best price

• Save first, decide later. Save products to OllaCart as you browse instead of buying on impulse. By the time you're ready, the code lookup has had time to run.
• Group by store. The Buy view groups your cart by store, so one store-wide code can cover several items.
• Check the restrictions. "New customers only", minimum spend and excluded brands are the most common reasons a code fails.
• Look at the date. Codes with a published expiry date are usually more reliable than ones without.
• Ask your friends. Share a list and let people weigh in before you buy. Someone may know a better deal.

Start saving smarter

Create your free OllaCart account, add the Chrome extension or the iPhone app, and save the next few things you're thinking about buying. When you tap Buy, look for the possible codes button next to each store.