A gift card is a special type of product that customers can use as payment toward future orders in your store, alongside other payment methods like credit cards or cash.
In this article, we will guide you through setting up gift cards as rewards, how they work in different loyalty features, and how to manage them.
🚀 Feature availability
Gift cards in Growave are available starting from the Growth plan.
Gift cards in loyalty programs
Gift cards are powerful rewards in loyalty programs. However, unlike regular discounts, you cannot set specific conditions for their use, such as a minimum order value. Gift cards can be redeemed for any purchase, making them a flexible payment option for your customers.
⚠️ Important
Gift cards are processed and managed by Shopify according to their policies. When using gift cards as rewards, please consider the following:
Redemption rules: Shopify allows multiple gift cards to be applied at checkout, with no fixed limit on how many can be used in a single order. Learn more
Gift card usage: A gift card is not exclusive to the customer ID. Anyone who has the gift card code can potentially use it to make a purchase.
Gift card as a reward for actions
Gift cards can be offered as a reward for customers in various Growave features, including the Points program, VIP Tiers, and the Referral program. Customers can earn gift cards for performing certain actions, reaching specific VIP tiers, or referring new customers in exchange for a gift card.
Points program
Go to Rewards → Points tab → Ways to earn section and click Add ways to earn.
Choose one of the earning actions, e.g. Celebrate birthday, and select the Gift card as a reward type.
VIP Tiers
Go to Rewards → VIP Tiers tab and click Add tier, or edit the existing tier.
Select Gift card as the entry reward for reaching a specific tier and enter Gift card value.
⚠️ Important
When a Gift card is used as a VIP Tier reward, Growave does not send a Tier Unlocked notification. Instead, the standard Shopify Gift card notification is sent automatically to the customer with their gift card details.
Referral Program
Go to Rewards → Referrals tab.
Click Edit to assign the Gift card as the reward for the Referring customer or the Referred friend.
Gift card as reward redeemable with points
To create a gift card as a redeemable reward:
Go to Rewards → Points → Ways to redeem section and click the "Add ways to redeem" button.
Select the Gift card option from the list.
On the Gift card page, assign the reward title, points price, the gift card’s value, limit how many times each customer can redeem this reward, or make it available for customers with certain tags.
Earning points when purchasing gift cards
In Shopify, you can create gift cards that serve as products in your store.
When a customer purchases a Gift card product, Growave treats this transaction as a standard order. The customer will earn points for this purchase based on your active transactional rules like Place order or Place XX orders and the Rewards program settings.
How to exclude gift card products from earning points
If you do not want customers to earn points when they buy a gift card, you can exclude these specific products using tags.
Step 1: Tag the product in Shopify
Go to your Shopify admin and navigate to Products.
Select the Gift Card product you wish to exclude.
Add a specific tag (e.g.,
giftcard_exclusion) in the Tags section.Save the product.
Step 2: Update Growave settings
Open the Growave admin and navigate to Rewards → Settings.
Scroll to the Rewards availability section.
Select Specify products eligibility checkbox.
Select the option Forbid for products with listed tags.
Enter the exact tag you created in Step 1 (e.g.,
giftcard_exclusion).Click Save.
Earning points when paying with gift cards
When a customer uses a gift card to pay for an order (regardless of whether they bought it or earned it as a reward), you can control whether that payment amount generates points.
By default, points are calculated based on the order total. However, you may wish to prevent customers from "double-dipping" (earning points when buying a gift card, and earning points again when spending it).
How to exclude gift cards from point calculations
You can configure Growave to deduct the value of the gift card from the rewardable total of the order.
Navigate to Rewards → Settings.
Scroll to the Reward amount calculation section.
Check the box for Exclude gift cards.
Click Save.
✅ Example
If you exclude gift cards from the rewardable amount, a customer who placed a $100 order and applied a $30 gift card will earn points only on the remaining $70. If an order is paid entirely with a gift card, the customer will earn 0 points.
Managing gift cards
Once a gift card is issued as a reward for action or redeemed with points, Shopify automatically sends an email to the customer with the gift card details.
Customers can also use the Rewards widget to find available rewards, including gift cards.
You can track the status and usage of gift cards in the Customers section of the Growave admin panel. By selecting a customer's profile, you can gain insights into the gift cards they have redeemed:
Tips on setting up gift cards
Avoid low-value gift cards: To make your loyalty program profitable, avoid offering gift cards with a very low value. Instead, reserve gift cards for higher points thresholds or special promotions.
Encourage larger purchases: Use gift cards strategically by offering them as rewards for customers who spend over a certain amount, encouraging larger orders.
Promote high-margin products: Focus on using gift cards for products with higher profit margins, as this will make the rewards more sustainable.
If you have any questions or need assistance, contact us at [email protected] or use the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of the Growave admin panel. We're here to help! 🤗