Overview and concept of Ways to earn

Growave’s Points program increases customer engagement and customer lifetime value (LTV) by rewarding shoppers for completing specific actions. You can configure and manage these earning rules in the Growave admin panel under Rewards → Points → Ways to earn.

Earning actions allow you to align your rewards strategy directly with your marketing campaigns and storefront goals. By setting up targeted actions, you encourage repeat purchases, acquire customer data, and build social proof.

Benefits of diversifying your earning actions

While rewarding customers for making a basic purchase is foundational, activating a diverse mix of earning actions creates a much stronger loyalty loop:

Increase Average Order Value (AOV): Transactional actions like Spend X to get Y and Buy X to get Y directly motivate customers to add more items to their cart to reach reward thresholds.
Accelerate customer acquisition: Actions like Social media shares and Leaving a review turn your existing customer base into active advocates, driving high-converting organic traffic to your store.
Drive early retention: By rewarding first-touch interactions (like Account creation or Newsletter subscription), you lock customers into your rewards ecosystem before they even make their first purchase.
Enhance personalization: Actions like Celebrate birthday allow you to collect valuable zero-party data to fuel personalized, automated marketing campaigns.

Earning actions grouped by business goals

To help you design your rewards strategy, Growave's earning actions can be grouped by the business outcomes they drive:

Purchase and revenue boosters (transactional)

Aim: Directly drive sales, increase average order value (AOV), and incentivize repeat purchases.

Place order: Earn points or store credit automatically for every purchase based on total spend.
Spend X to get Y: Offer a fixed reward once a customer reaches a specific spending threshold in a single order.
Buy X to get Y: Reward customers with points, discounts, or free gifts for buying specific promotional items.
Points per item purchased: Reward customers based on the quantity of items purchased rather than total order value.
Place XX orders - Punch card: Reward customer milestones for completing a target number of orders (e.g., earn points on their 5th order).

Audience and profile builders (first touch)

Aim: Capture customer data, establish communication channels, and build early retention.

Sign up & Subscribe to newsletter: Reward customers for creating an account or subscribing to your newsletter.
Celebrate birthday: Build a personal connection by sending automated rewards to customers on their birthday.

Brand advocacy and social engagement (social and UGC)

Aim: Increase brand visibility, acquire organic traffic, and collect social proof.

Leave review: Reward customers for submitting product or shop reviews (and optionally offer photo review bonuses).
Social media follows and shares: Reward customers for visiting your social profiles or sharing website links on social networks.

Custom integrations (advanced)

Aim: Technical flexibility for custom developer workflows.

Custom action: Use Growave’s API endpoints to reward customers for external, third-party actions.
Customer metafield: Trigger rewards automatically when specific customer profile metafields are updated in Shopify.

Earning reward types and configurations

Different earning actions support different reward types. Below is a mapping of which rewards are available for each action:

Earning Action	Points	Store Credit (Variable)	Store Credit (Fixed)	Amount / Percentage Discount	Free Shipping	Free Product	Gift Card
Place order	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Spend X to get Y	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Buy X to get Y	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Points per item	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Punch card	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Sign up	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Newsletter	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Celebrate birthday	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Leave review	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Social follows/shares	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Custom action	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Customer metafield	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

Reward settings detail

When configuring the rewards for your Ways to earn actions, the following settings behave identically across the dashboard:

Points

Point value: The number of loyalty points issued to the customer.

Store credit (variable & fixed)

Growave supports two store credit configurations based on the action selected:

Variable store credit (Place order only): Rewards are calculated dynamically based on total spend (e.g., earn $1 credit for every $10 spent).
Fixed store credit: Rewards a set flat-rate monetary value when the action is completed (supported by most actions, excluding Place order, Points per item, and Punch card).
Available configuration settings:
- Store credit value (Fixed store credit only): The fixed monetary balance loaded into the customer's account (e.g., ).
- Store credit lifetime (days): Checkbox + input to set the validity period (in days) of the issued store credit. Unused credit expires automatically after this limit.

Amount discount and Percentage discount

Applies to: Apply the generated coupon code to the Entire order or Selected collections.
Set minimum purchase amount: The minimum order value required for the customer to use the generated coupon code at Shopify checkout. (Note: This restricts when the customer can spend the coupon, which is separate from the minimum purchase required to earn the reward).
Allowed discount combinations: Configure whether the coupon code can stack with Shopify's Order, Product, or Shipping discounts.
Advanced settings (under "More options" toggle):
- Set reward lifetime: Coupon code expiration window (in days).
- First notification / last chance reminder: Schedule automated reminder emails to go out to the customer a set number of days before their coupon expires.
- Add prefix to discount codes: Custom prefix appended to generated coupons (e.g., GW-10OFF).

Free shipping

Set minimum purchase amount: The minimum order value required at Shopify checkout for the free shipping coupon to be applied.
Set maximum free shipping rate: The cap limit on covered shipping costs.
Eligible countries: Apply to All countries or limit to Selected countries.
Allowed discount combinations: Stacking rules with Order or Product discounts.
Advanced settings: Includes coupon lifetime, expiration notifications, and code prefix.

Free product

Select product: Search and assign the individual product variant to be gifted.
Discount value (%): Set to 100% for a fully free product, or a lower percentage (e.g., 50%) for a partial discount.
Allowed discount combinations: Stacking rules with Order, Product, or Shipping discounts.
Advanced settings: Includes coupon lifetime, expiration notifications, and code prefix.

Gift card

Gift card value: The monetary balance loaded onto the digital card.
Set reward lifetime: The expiration timeframe for the gift card code.

Common configuration settings

While each earning rule has its own specific triggers, some of them share several common configuration settings across the dashboard.

Delay the reward: Postpones the issuing of the reward by a set number of days. This is especially useful for transactional actions to prevent customers from spending rewards before a return/refund period expires. Note: Delaying the reward is not supported for the Points per item purchased action.
Limit how many times a customer can get a reward: Caps how often a customer can repeat the action for a reward (e.g., once per lifetime, day, week, month, or year). Note: For certain actions like Social Follows and Sign-ups, this limit is hidden and hardcoded to 1 per lifetime to prevent fraud.
Set minimum purchase amount: The lowest order value required for the action to successfully trigger. Depending on the specific rule (e.g., Points per item vs Punch card), this is validated against either the raw Total amount or the explicitly calculated Rewardable amount.
Available exclusively for customers with listed tags: Restricts the earning rule to specific customer segments using Shopify customer tags. If a customer lacks the required tag, related storefront widgets for that rule are hidden so ineligible users are not confused.

Common settings matrix

Earning action	Delay the reward	Limit frequency	Minimum purchase amount	Customer tags restriction
Place order	✅	✅	✅	✅
Spend X to get Y	✅	✅	❌	✅
Buy X to get Y	✅	✅	❌	✅
Points per item purchased	❌	✅	✅	✅
Punch card (Place XX orders)	✅	✅	✅	✅
Sign up	✅	❌	❌	✅
Subscribe to newsletter	✅	❌	❌	✅
Social follows & shares	✅	Share website - ✅ Other follows and shares - ❌	❌	✅
Celebrate birthday	❌	❌	❌	✅
Leave review	✅	✅	❌	✅
Custom action	✅	✅	❌	✅
Customer metafield	❌	❌	❌	❌

📘 Note: "Spend X to get Y" has a "Required amount" field that behaves exactly like a minimum purchase trigger, but it does not use the generic "Set minimum purchase amount" field, so it is marked ❌ here).

Global settings and rule interactions

Growave allows you to configure global settings that dictate what portion of an order is eligible for rewards, and which products are excluded. These settings interact uniquely with each transactional earning rule.

The three interaction variables:

Rewardable amount calculation: Found under Rewards → Settings → Rewardable amount. Controls whether discounts, gift cards, store credit, shipping, and taxes are included or excluded from the final rewardable total.
Product eligibility (Exclusions): Found under Rewards → Settings → Rewards availability. Excludes specific products from earning rewards using Shopify tags. Note: For step-by-step instructions, refer to our dedicated guide on How to exclude customers or products from the Rewards programs.
Minimum purchase amount: The rule-specific trigger setting (e.g., Set minimum purchase amount).

Transactional rule interaction matrix

Action type	1. Rewardable amount calculation	2. Product eligibility exclusions	3. Minimum purchase amount
Place order	Influences the number of points/credits issued based on inclusions/exclusions. Does not influence if the reward triggers at all.	Cost of the item is excluded. If an order has only an excluded item, the item earns nothing (BUT points may still issue for Shipping/Taxes if they are globally included in the Rewardable amount).	Validates against the Order total. If an order contains an excluded item, its cost is subtracted from the Order total before validation.
Spend X to get Y	Influences issuance. If the order value (after global exclusions) drops below the required "X" target, the reward is not issued.	Cost of the item is excluded from the rewardable amount. If the order contains only an excluded item, the reward is not issued.	(This setting is not available; uses the "Spend X" threshold instead).
Points per item	Influences only the number of points issued based on inclusions/exclusions. Does not influence if the reward triggers at all.	Cost of the item is excluded from the rewardable amount. If the order contains only an excluded item, the reward is not issued.	Validates against the Order total. If an order contains an excluded item, its cost is subtracted from the Order total before validation.
Punch card (Place XX orders)	Does not influence points issued (fixed reward is issued). Does not influence if the reward triggers at all.	If an order contains both eligible and excluded items, the reward will be issued some products in the cart are eligible. ⚠️ Known limitation: If an order contains *only* an excluded item, the punch/reward will still be issued.	Validates against the Rewardable amount. If an order contains an excluded item, its cost is subtracted from the Rewardable amount before validation.
Buy X to get Y	Does not influence issuance. (If the reward is Points, the set number is issued for the Buy X item).	The Buy X item can be any product (eligible or not). However, in the Get Y part, if the Free Product reward is tagged as excluded, the reward will not be issued.	(This setting is not available).

Reward management

Growave allows you to control exactly when rewards are issued or cancelled based on Shopify order statuses (configured under Rewards → Settings → General → Reward management).

By configuring these global settings, you can automatically handle complex operational scenarios:

Manage reward-eligible sales channels: Restricting reward eligibility to specific sales channels (e.g., Online Store vs. POS).
Issue or cancel rewards based on order statuses: Delaying rewards until an order is Fulfilled or Paid, or automatically canceling rewards if an order is Refunded or Voided.
Return points redeemed for discounts: Automatically returning points to a customer's balance if they used a discount on an order that was later cancelled or fully refunded.

⚠️ Important: Dynamic recalculation

If the status of an order updates after an earning action has been activated and the order meets the requirements, the customer will receive the reward. Additionally, if specific order properties change over time (such as current_total_price, financial_status, fulfillment_status, totalRewardableAmount, total_price, refunds, shippingLines, or line_items), rewards will be automatically recalculated, refunded, or partially refunded based on the updated values.

📘 Note: For a deep dive into Shopify order statuses, delay resets, and reward calculation formulas, check out our guide on How rewards are calculated, issued, and canceled in Growave.

Multiplier hierarchy and priority

Multipliers automatically boost the final reward amount issued in points or store credit. Because these multipliers come from different features (Celebrate birthday action settings, Boost campaigns, and VIP Tiers), they follow a strict global priority when they overlap for a single customer:

Birthday multiplier (Highest priority).
Boost campaign multiplier (Medium priority). (Note: Overlapping Boost campaigns resolve using their own internal priority logic based on targeting).
VIP tier multiplier (Lowest priority).

Multiplier scopes

Birthday and Boost campaign multipliers: Apply only to the Place order action.
VIP Tier multipliers: Apply globally to all active earning actions where the reward is set to points or store credit.

📘 Note: For deep dives into specific multiplier exceptions (like VIP tier entry rewards) and how to manually override priority using customer tags, refer to the dedicated guides for Birthday rewards, Boost campaigns, and VIP Tiers.

Rules management matrix (lifecycle table)

Quick-reference mapping of actions, Growave plan requirements, and admin controls:

Earning action	Growave plan required	Lifecycle action in admin
Place order	Starting from Free	Can only be Disabled
Spend X to get Y	Starting from Free	Can be permanently Deleted
Buy X to get Y	Starting from Free	Can be permanently Deleted
Points per item purchased	Starting from Growth	Can be permanently Deleted
Punch card (Place XX orders)	Starting from Growth	Can only be Disabled
Sign up	Starting from Free	Can only be Disabled
Celebrate birthday	Starting from Entry	Can only be Disabled
Subscribe to newsletter	Starting from Free	Can only be Disabled
Leave review	Starting from Free	Can only be Disabled
Social follows & shares	Starting from Free	Can only be Disabled (except Follow custom channel)
Custom action	Plus or Unlimited	Can be permanently Deleted
Customer metafield	Starting from Growth	Can be permanently Deleted

Storefront widget visibility and customer experience

Across all earning actions, the storefront behavior (Rewards pop-up, Earn points widget, and Rewards page) changes dynamically based on the customer's login status and tag eligibility.

1. Logged-in and eligible customers

Interaction: Interacting with an earning rule's card displays the specific call-to-action (e.g., a Shop now button redirecting to a collection, or a Share button).
Earn points widget: Dynamically adjusts to show potential point earnings, progress bars toward the next reward, or an alert if a reward is ready to claim.

2. Logged-in and ineligible customers

If you restrict your program using Customer eligibility (tags) and a logged-in customer does not have the required tag (or has a forbidden tag):

Widgets: The Rewards pop-up, Earn points, and Loyalty info widgets are completely hidden on the storefront to prevent confusion.
Rewards page: Displays a "Rewards not available" message. They cannot earn points or redeem rewards.

3. Guest visitors (Not logged in)

If you have customer tag restrictions enabled, guest visitors will have all widgets hidden by default. If you enable the Show Rewards widgets to guests setting (or if you don't use tag restrictions at all), guests experience the following:

Prompts: Guests cannot participate directly. Instead, widgets universally prompt them with Sign up (link) and Log in (button) options.
- Rewards pop-up widget: These options appear when the guest clicks to expand an earning rule card.
- Rewards page: These options appear when the guest hovers over an earning rule card.
Earn points widget: Displays the potential points they could earn for an item, with a "Learn more" button prompting them to join the program.
Loyalty info widget: Always hidden for guests.

📖 For more details, check out our guide on Growave Rewards widgets

If you need help, contact us at [email protected] or click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of your Growave admin panel. We're here to help! 🤗

How to set up rewardable actions for Growave Points program