How to set up a Referral Program

Turn your customers into loyal advocates and let them bring new potential buyers to your store. The Referral program motivates your existing customers to refer their friends. This program rewards both the Referring Customer and the Referred Friend.


How the Referral Program works 

The individual who shares the referral link, known as the Referring Customer, can engage in the Rewards program by registering on your store.

A unique referral link is automatically created for the Referring Customer and can be found on the Rewards widget. The Referring Customer can copy this link and share it with a Referred Friend via social media, email, or messenger.

This is how it looks on the Rewards widget:

The Referring Customer will receive their reward once the Referred Friend makes their first purchase on your store and their order is paid. Learn more about reward settings based on order status.

NOTE: The Referring Customer is eligible for a reward when the Referred Friend completes a purchase at the store (regardless of whether the discount was utilized) and satisfies all criteria: first-time purchase on the store, no prior account on the store, and successful passage through the fraud filter.

The Referred Friend shall click the referral link to access the store. On the website, a pop-up will appear where they need to click "Join Now" and create an account to receive a reward.

Following this, an email containing the reward will be sent to the Referred Friend. See details about setting up referral notifications below.


Set up referral rewards

To configure rewards for the Referral program:

  1. In the Growave admin panel, go to RewardsReferral Program.
  2. You can offer rewards for both the Referred Friend (Receiver) and the Referring Customer (Sender).
  3. Click the "Edit" button to open the rewards setting.

Receiver reward settings

On this page, you can configure the rewards for the Referred Friend. Here's how:

  1. Add Referral Icon (available in the Growave Version V2):
    • Include a referral icon to make the program more visually appealing.
  2. Choose Reward Type:
    • Discount: Select from Fixed amount, Percentage discount, or Free shipping.
    • Gift Card: Provide a gift card as a reward.
    • Free Product: Offer a specific product as a reward.
    • No Reward: Opt not to provide any reward.

Receiver reward settings in Growave

More options

If you choose Discount as a reward, you will see a "More options" link in both the Sender and Receiver settings. In this section, you can:

  • Apply discounts to All products or Specific collections
  • Allow Discount combinations
  • Set Discount lifetime
  • Add a prefix to discount codes

Do not forget to click "Save" when ready to proceed.


Sender reward settings

The Sender reward settings are similar to those of the Receiver. However, an additional reward type, Points, is available. Here are the options you can choose from:

  • Discount: Select from Fixed amount, Percentage discount, or Free shipping.
  • Gift Card: Provide a gift card as a reward.
  • Free Product: Offer a specific product as a reward.
  • Points: Choose either a Fixed or Variable amount of points depending on the amount spent by the referred customer.
  • No Reward: Opt not to provide any reward.

Sender reward settings in Growave


Set up referral channels and custom domain

In the Referral program, you can set up sharing preferences (Referral channels) and add your custom domain to create Referral links:

referral channels and custom domain Growave

Learn more about setting up a custom domain.


Manage fraud notifications

In the Fraud Detection section, add email addresses to receive notifications about users who might attempt to manipulate the Referral Program. Potentially fraudulent behavior will be communicated to the email addresses provided. Multiple email addresses can be included for this purpose.

Fraud detection notifications Growave

In the Reports section, you can review and manage reports of suspicious activities sent to the email address(es) in the following scenarios:

  • The order is made by the Sender of the referral link.
  • The Receiver has the same initials as the Sender.
  • The Receiver has the same shipping address as the Sender.

Fraud activity reports Growave referral program

NOTE: When you receive notifications about suspicious activity in the Referral Program, you will see the details of the abuse, such as the Receiver having the same initials as the Sender.

In these cases, the Receiver still gets a discount and can use it on their purchase. Growave only reports such occurrences to you so you can take action individually. You may decide whether to fulfill this customer's order or not.

However, our app blocks the reward for the Sender of the link. In this case, you can assign a status:

  • Declined: The Sender will no longer participate in the Referral program.
  • Approved: An email with the reward will be sent to the Sender.

Enable referral notifications

Go to RewardsNotificationsReferrals and activate the following email notifications using the toggle button: Friend Received Referral and Referral Completed. Click the option title to edit premade email templates.


Enable the Referral Program

Once you have set up Referal Rewards and Notifications, you are ready to enable the Referral Program:

  1. Go to RewardsSettingsReferral Rewards Status.
  2. Click the "Enable" button.

In the Rewards Settings section, you can manage reward issuance and cancellation depending on order status. These settings are applied to the entire Loyalty and Rewards app, including the Referral program.

Learn more about reward settings based on order status.


Track users activity

You can track customer activity related to the Referral Program under the Analytics and Customers sections:

Analytics section

In the Analytics section of the Growave admin panel, navigate to Rewards → Referral program to view:

  • Generated revenue
  • Members of the Referral Program
  • Orders summary
  • Sender reward details

Customers section

In the Customers section of the admin panel, click the customer name to access their profile. Here you will find the following information:

  • Referrals Activity
  • Referred Friends
  • Unique referral code of the customer

You’ve now completed the setup of your Referral Program. If you need further assistance or have any questions, please contact us at support@growave.io or use the chat icon in the bottom-right corner. We're here to help you maximize your Growave experience!