Gift cards are special types of products on Shopify. Their value can be used for paying future orders originating from your store. All Shopify store owners with all kinds of Shopify subscription plans can add gift cards to their stores and sell them.
Gift cards are perfect for boosting sales. They allow existing customers to gift other people (their friends or family members). This comes with benefits such as increased sales, and increased brand value, among other benefits. Let’s get more in-depth information about Shopify gift cards.
What Is Shopify Gift Card?
As mentioned, Shopify gift cards are special products that are bought and whose value can be used to pay for future orders. Shopify has a special gift card feature available for all Shopify online store subscription plans.
You can sell Shopify gift cards online like other products or issue the cards to your store customers free of charge, like a reward or incentive. The gift cards can also be linked to specific products.
Shopify gift cards are redeemable only through Shopify checkout i.e., via a Shopify store. They can’t be redeemed by customers buying via other third-party online stores like Amazon.
What Are the Different Types of Gift Cards Offered by Shopify?
Shopify gift cards can be categorized in many ways ranging from where they are used to the discounts they offer or the specific products they are meant for. In this regard, consider the following different types of gift cards offered by Shopify;
i. Digital Shopify Gift Cards vs Physical Shopify Gift Cards
It’s worth noting Shopify has both digital and physical cards for in-person customers. Physical cards are available via Shopify POS – a point-of-sale app used to sell goods in person. Shopify POS can be used anywhere, including markets and brick-and-mortar stores.
Digital gift cards are available in digital format i.e., delivered via a customer’s email address or other online accounts and redeemed online in your Shopify Store.
ii. Discounted Gift Cards
Shopify gift cards can also be categorized by the type of discount they offer. As the name suggests, these types of cards are specifically created to offer automatic discounts or discount codes that can apply to all or specific products i.e., a 20% off the card’s face value.
In many cases, such cards require a customer to make a specific purchase before they can be applied i.e., buy X product to get Y discount.
iii. Discount Cards for Specific Products or Conditions
Shopify also allows Shopify store owners to create special discount cards i.e., a gift card that applies to orders past a certain minimum value or when a specific product is bought. A typical example would be $25 off on product X or $50 off when you spend $500. Customers who meet these conditions get to redeem the gift cards during checkout.
Benefits of Using Shopify Gift Cards for Both Merchants and Customers
There are many reasons for merchants and customers to use Shopify gift cards. The most notable reasons include;
Shopify Gift Card Benefits for Merchants
I. Boosting sales: Shopify merchants stand to sell more by offering gift cards which simply give customers better/more convenient ways of purchasing products/services. There are studies showing that over 54% of U.S. customers purchase gift cards as their preferred holiday gifts. Offering gift cards in your Shopify store is, therefore, a proven way of increasing sales.
II. Boosts customer loyalty: Since gift cards offer incentives like discounts which provide huge cost savings, customers are likely to be fond of your store over time. They may even recommend others, creating a solid base of loyal customers.
III. Marketing benefits: As mentioned, gift cards can be used for marketing purposes. Offering gift cards alone can easily increase the amount of organic traffic you get to your store from referrals. When combined with social media, it can be a great marketing tool for driving social media traffic to your store.
IV. Cashflow benefits: Since consumers love gift cards, they are more likely to pay in full on discount cards, offering cash flow benefits. Gift cards are a great substitute for Shopify installment payment options like Afterpay when the focus is boosting cash flow. What’s more, it costs very little to no money to add gift cards to your Shopify store.
V. Customization benefits: Gift cards are easily customizable to a customer’s precise preferences. This makes them the perfect gifts to offer. The message, design, amount, and other factors can be easily personalized to offer a gift that truly has an impact beyond monetary terms.
Shopify Gift Card Benefits for Customers
I. Gift-giving opportunities: This is easily the best, most obvious benefit of Shopify gift cards to consumers. They are great, simple, and easy ways of gifting family members, colleagues, friends, etc. Buying a gift card is simple. The cards can also be used with ease at any time.
II. Flexibility and usability benefits: Gift cards can be bought with just about any product/service. This makes it easy for the recipient to find something to buy. They can also be passed on in many cases and redeemed in seconds during checkout.
Step-by-step Guide to Create Gift Cards on Shopify
Ready to create your Shopify gift cards? Follow the steps below;
Step 1: Login to Shopify admin and select Gift Cards under products as shown below;
Step 2: Begin selling gift cards on your Shopify store.
You can add card products you wish to sell or issue cards directly to customers, as shown below;
Step 3: Issue card
If you decide to issue a Shopify gift card, proceed and create a unique code and initial value. Also, consider an expiration date option. Other customizations to consider include selecting the specific customers and notes, as shown below;
If you choose to add gift card product, proceed as shown below. Shopify has numerous options to choose from.
Managing Shopify Gift Cards
Once gift cards are created, they’ll need to be managed. Here are important aspects to note about managing Shopify gift cards;
Issuing Gift Cards: Manual and Automated Methods
It’s possible to create and issue gift cards manually, as shown above. When issuing gift cards automatically, you can search or create your ideal customers. When you click activate, the selected customer or those that meet the set criteria will receive gift cards automatically.
Tracking and Monitoring Gift Card Inventory
After issuing gift cards, you’ll need to track and monitor them as part of the managing process. It’s possible to search, filter, sort, view, and deactivate gift cards. You can perform many other management actions.
You can use a gift card sales report (available for paid Shopify plans) to check gift cards dates, orders, customer name, gift card value, gift card discounts, total sales, and more. Shopify store owners with paid plans can also track gift card balances. To enjoy tracking and monitoring, choose a paid Shopify plan.
How To Create QR Code for Shopify Gift Cards
To share the gift card with your customers via email or Facebook Messenger etc, you can create QR code for your gift card. In this way, you do not need to add a customer when issuing a gift card.
Shopecodes app is a leading Shopify gift card app renowned for creating Shopify gift card QR codes. To create codes with the app, follow the steps below;
Step 1: Install Shopify gift card app – Shopecodes.
Step 2: Start creating Shopify gift card QR codes
The process is as simple as entering a title, selecting a preferred gift card product, scan destination, discount, and more, then clicking save as shown.
Step 3: Save And Share
After saving, the Gift Card QR code will be generated as shown.
How To Check Shopify Gift Card Balance
Head over to your active gift cards.
Use the search and filter function. Gift cards will be displayed depending on balance option chosen.
2 Best Shopify Gift Card Apps
To setup gift cards in your Shopify store perfectly and easily, you need good apps. Here are some leading apps for generating Shopify gift card QR codes.
1. Giftkart
This is another great app to consider. The app has a trial period after which charges apply. Giftkart is considered a gift card and cashback app with notable features like custom gift cards, bulk discount cards, cashback offers, and customer loyalty campaigns. This app is perfect for managing working capital via issuance of store credits instead of returns or refunds.
2. Rise.AI
This app also comes highly rated as a gift cards and loyalty app. Rise.AI comes with a one-week trial. Notable features include scheduled gift cards, workflows, refunds and returns, a loyalty program, and bulk gift cards.
Conclusion
As you add other features to your Shopify store i.e., upsell offers to boost sales, you should also consider Shopify gift cards. Besides boosting sales, you’ll also boost loyalty, increase working capital, enjoy marketing benefits, and more. We’ve discussed all there is to know about setting up gift cards on Shopify, including how to create Shopify gift card codes and the Shopify gift card apps to consider using.