Using the dashboard

In the Shopify admin, Benson's pages sit in five groups: Overview, Traffic, Affiliates, Protect and Grow, with Settings at the end. This page goes through them in that order. At app.trybenson.com the pages are the same. Inbox and Results open from the Overview there. Live feed, Stand-down, Attribution, Playbooks and Subscribers open from the ⌘K menu, and Stand-down and Attribution also open from their checks on Integrity.

Most pages have a How it works link that opens their section here. Most figures and columns have an (i) beside them that says what they count.

Coupon extensions are new to most teams. If you're not sure what they are or why they cost you money, start with Coupon extensions 101.

Overview#

The Overview is the first thing you see. From top to bottom:

• The briefing: one sentence on the share of visits that had a coupon extension running in the period.
• Next up: the one step that would help most right now. For example, switching the blocker on, or setting checkout rules when extension sessions are using your codes.
• Key metrics: four figures. Each one links to the page that explains it.
  • Extension sessions is the share of visits with a coupon or cashback extension active on the page.
  • Conversion gap is the conversion rate of extension visits minus that of visits without one, in percentage points.
  • AOV gap is the average extension order minus the average order without one.
  • Excess discount is the discount extension orders got beyond your usual discount depth.
• What Benson is doing: three cards.
  • Protected shows the money Benson kept, by week, month or all time.
  • Protection lists each of Benson's layers and whether it's on.
  • Inbox shows the top items from your inbox.

The tabs at the top (7, 30 or 90 days) set the key metrics and the cards below them. The comparison is the period before, of the same length. Coupon extensions and Orders add today, yesterday and custom dates, and can compare with last year or with nothing.

Inbox#

The inbox lists what changed on your store, ranked by what's worth your time. Each item says what Benson saw and gives one recommended action. When Benson can put a figure on an item, it shows what the item is worth. Examples:

• a code turning up in coupon extension sessions;
• a new extension visiting;
• an affiliate case opening;
• a sale period getting close.

You can snooze an item for a day, a week or a month, dismiss it, or use its action. Items sit under Open, Snoozed and Closed. An item closes itself when the problem clears or hasn't been seen for two weeks. A dismissed item stays away for 14 days and an acted-on one for 30, unless it comes back much bigger.

Results#

Results shows what Benson protected on this store, how each figure was measured, and what's still leaking.

• Measured figures come from a holdout. Benson leaves a small random share of extension sessions alone and compares them with the rest, so the difference is caused by Benson rather than guessed. How holdouts work.
• Extrapolated figures apply a finished holdout's result to the next 90 days.
• Estimated figures compare discount depth before and after you set checkout rules. They're never added to the protected total.
• Still leaking estimates two things: the excess discount in extension orders, and the affiliate commission extensions took.

Each month's results become a report. Anyone on the team can download the PDF. Owners and admins can also share it with a link that expires after 7 or 30 days, or send it to up to three teammates.

Traffic#

Live feed#

Events on your store as they happen, newest first:

• a new session starting;
• an extension detected;
• a pop-up hidden;
• a code applied;
• an order placed.

Each event shows the device, country and page. It's the quickest way to check Benson is installed and working: open your store in another tab, and your own visit shows up within seconds.

Coupon extensions#

Every coupon and cashback extension Benson has seen on your store. For each one you see:

• its sessions and share of your traffic;
• the conversion rate, average order value and discount depth of its sessions;
• what the blocker hid, or would hide;
• how its share moved since the last period.

Open an extension for its own page. It shows how the extension behaves on your store, how it stands down for your affiliate partners, and its entry in Benson's extension directory.

Orders#

Every order with its session: whether an extension or an AI agent was there, the code used and the discount given.

The Codes tab lists each discount code with its redemptions, the discount given, and how many uses came from extension sessions. It also shows whether shoppers typed the code at checkout, and where the code's sessions came from. A code that extensions use far more than your shoppers do has usually leaked.

AI & agents has its own guide: AI referrals and agents.

Affiliates#

The Affiliates pages check whether your affiliate partners earned the commission they're claiming. They have their own guide: Affiliate integrity.

Protect#

Pop-up blocker#

The blocker hides coupon-extension pop-ups on your storefront, by rule, so shoppers who weren't going to look for a code aren't handed one.

It starts Off. Pick Observe to count the pop-ups it would hide without hiding any, then Block when you're happy.

Rules choose where the blocker acts: by extension, page, country, traffic source, or day and time. You can also add Allow exception rules for the cases you want left alone. Test a visit shows what the blocker would do for a given visit, without changing anything on your store.

A rule treats every extension it covers alike. The blocker never changes your prices or what's in a shopper's cart. Coupon control on Shopify walks through when to block and when to watch.

Checkout rules#

Checkout rules work inside Shopify's checkout, so they hold even when an extension's pop-up still shows.

In Strict mode, a coupon-extension session can use only the codes on your allowlist. Any other code is turned down at checkout with your message, which you can edit. Off lets every code work.

• Allow all public codes puts your active public codes on the allowlist. You can still leave single codes out.
• Holdout leaves a share of extension sessions (5, 10, 20 or 50%) unchecked, so Results can measure what the rule saves.
• "Buy it now" and express checkouts skip the cart. Benson can't tag those sessions, so it doesn't check their codes.

On stores outside Shopify, the rules run on your checkout page, and in your store's own coupon check once the plugin or the check API is in place. Stop discount code leaks on Shopify covers the codes worth protecting first.

Discount codes#

The codes and no-code deals Benson can show shoppers in your offer widget, with who each one is for and when it runs. Verified means the code was there at the last Shopify sync. Codes you add by hand aren't checked.

Checkout rules use the same list, so a code you add here is one they can allow. Unique vs shared codes helps you choose which kind to use.

Grow#

Offer widget#

Your own offer on your store, on brand and shown to the shoppers you choose, so they don't need an extension to find a deal.

Each campaign has an offer, a look, a trigger and who it's for. The trigger is when the widget appears: on page load, after a delay, on scroll, when the shopper is about to leave, or when they come back to the tab. Who it's for can include shoppers with a coupon extension. When several campaigns match a page, the one highest in the list shows.

An offer can ask for an email before it reveals the code. Those emails land in Subscribers, and in Klaviyo or Mailchimp if you've connected one under Site settings › Integrations.

Subscribers#

The emails shoppers gave to unlock a code. For each one you see the consent given, the campaign it came from, and whether it reached your email tool. Export them as a CSV at any time.

A/B tests#

Test one set of codes against another, or the widget against no widget. Benson splits shoppers at random and keeps each one in the same group: by visitor where they consented, and by session where they didn't. A verdict appears only once there's enough data to trust it. Until then, the test shows how far along it is.

Tools has its own guide: Third-party tools.

Sale periods#

Benson gets you ready for the big sales. Three weeks before each one you get:

• a checklist;
• last year's numbers for the same days;
• the codes coupon extensions could apply.

After the sale ends, a report shows how it went. The Black Friday code freeze explains the plan most stores follow, and the peak season track goes deeper.

Playbooks#

Step-by-step plans for what to do about extension traffic on your store, such as "No deals: stop paying for extensions" or "Own the moment: your own on-brand widget". Steps tick themselves off as you set things up in Benson, and you can mark any step done yourself. If you have a deal with an extension, the playbook links to that extension's page, where a readout shows how its orders compare.

Site settings#

• General: the site's name, domain and currency.
• Install: how Benson runs on your store. On Shopify it's an app embed in your theme, with no code to add (Shopify install).
• Tracking: consent and what Benson stores (Consent and storage).
• Integrations: your email tool, Klaviyo or Mailchimp.
• Affiliates: your networks, their commission rates, and the partner ids Benson reads from your links (Before you start).

Slack alerts live in your account settings, under Notifications.

Getting help#

Email [email protected] and a person answers. The glossary explains the terms the dashboard uses, and Learn has reading paths for each topic.