Does Shopify Have a Loyalty Program?

Introduction

App fatigue is real: merchants juggling multiple vendor integrations often spend more time connecting tools than improving customer retention. Loyalty programs are one of the most effective levers to increase repeat purchase rate and lifetime value, but building a reliable, scalable program shouldn’t mean stacking yet another disconnected solution into your tech stack.

Short answer: Shopify does not ship a full, built-in loyalty program that covers points, VIP tiers, referrals, and social proof out of the box. Shopify provides the APIs, checkout hooks, and enterprise features that let merchants run loyalty programs, but most brands implement a retention solution to run and scale a true rewards program across channels. In practice, that means choosing a platform that ties loyalty to reviews, referrals, wishlists, and social proof so loyalty becomes a growth engine—not another silo.

In this article we’ll explain what Shopify offers natively, what it doesn’t, and how to build a loyalty program that actually moves the needle. We’ll walk through program design, technical setup, promotion, measurement, and common pitfalls to avoid. Along the way, we’ll show how a unified retention platform can replace multiple disconnected tools—delivering more growth with less stack—while preserving the merchant-first flexibility brands need to scale.

Our main message: loyalty programs work best when they’re simple for customers and simple to manage. The right platform ties loyalty to reviews, referrals, and user-generated content, so every retention tactic amplifies the others.

How Shopify Supports Loyalty: The Platform Reality

Shopify’s native building blocks

Shopify provides the technical foundation merchants need to run loyalty programs, but these are infrastructure pieces rather than a plug-and-play loyalty product.

These features make it possible to implement loyalty within the Shopify ecosystem, but the platform itself doesn’t include a full loyalty engine with points, tiers, referrals, and social rewards built inside the admin.

Why most merchants use a dedicated loyalty solution

Running a successful loyalty program requires more than tracking points. Merchants need:

A retention platform purpose-built for loyalty plugs into Shopify and turns those infrastructure pieces into a native-feeling rewards experience. That’s why many Shopify merchants install a retained solution from the storefront to the checkout.

If you want to see how a platform can be installed on Shopify, you can install Growave on Shopify to try a fully integrated loyalty and retention suite on your store (install Growave on Shopify).

What A Great Loyalty Program Actually Does

The business outcomes to target

A rewards program should be judged on the outcomes it produces for the business. The primary metrics to target are:

When a loyalty program is built as a growth channel, every feature is designed to move one of these outcomes.

Why loyalty combines so well with reviews and UGC

Loyalty that rewards non-transactional behaviors (writing reviews, sharing UGC, referrals) multiplies the program’s value. Reviews and user-generated content build trust and improve conversions; rewarding those behaviors feeds a feedback loop:

Integrating loyalty with social proof and reviews avoids maintaining separate systems and creates compounding benefits for retention.

Learn how to integrate loyalty with product reviews and social proof to boost conversions and retention (collect social reviews and UGC).

Does Shopify Have a Loyalty Program? The Short, Practical Answer

Shopify doesn't provide a built-in loyalty program product that includes points, VIP tiers, referrals, and social rewards in a single package. Shopify gives the building blocks—APIs, checkout capabilities, and POS access—but merchants will typically rely on a retention platform to deliver a full loyalty experience that customers expect.

That’s not a downside—it’s a design choice. Shopify’s extensible platform enables specialized retention suites to offer merchant-grade loyalty features that scale, integrate, and unify retention touchpoints across the customer journey.

If you’re evaluating solutions, focus on one that reduces your tech overhead by replacing multiple disconnected tools. A cohesive retention suite means more growth with less stack.

Explore plan options and see what a unified retention platform includes (see Growave plan details).

Loyalty Program Types and Which Work Best on Shopify

Points-based programs

Points-based programs award points per purchase or action. They’re easy to explain and track:

Points programs work well for most consumer brands because they’re intuitive and easy to scale.

Tiered programs

Tiered programs create progression and exclusivity:

Tiered models perform well when your brand benefits from prestige or repeat high-value purchases.

Perks and experience-based programs

Instead of discounts, some programs offer experiential or non-monetary rewards:

These work well for brands with strong identity and emotional connection.

Referral-first and hybrid programs

Referrals can be the primary acquisition channel for many DTC brands. A hybrid model blends points, tiers, and referrals to encourage both purchases and new-customer growth.

Choosing which type works depends on:

Designing a Loyalty Program on Shopify: Tactical Steps

Below we outline practical steps to design a loyalty program that customers understand and that your team can manage efficiently on Shopify.

Define goals and success metrics

Begin with outcomes, not features. Choose one or two primary goals, such as:

Pick KPIs to measure progress: repeat purchase rate, LTV, redemption rate, referral conversion rate, churn among members.

Select reward types that align with customer value

Align rewards with customer motivations:

Avoid reward structures that erode margins. Model the financial impact of common redemptions before launch.

Choose earning behaviors beyond purchases

Encourage behaviors that amplify growth:

A flexible loyalty platform lets you attach points to a variety of on-site behaviors with minimal coding.

Create a simple, transparent earning and redemption model

Confusion kills participation. Keep rules straightforward:

A single, visible loyalty widget or landing page increases participation and reduces support tickets.

Design the member experience

Customers should be able to find their points, redeem rewards, and understand tier progress without friction:

Platforms that support passwordless accounts or guest earning add conversion flexibility.

Use a platform that lets you customize the front-end experience while keeping the management interface simple.

If you want a loyalty landing page and branded member dashboards, see how a solution can build these experiences within Shopify (set up points and VIP system).

Technical Implementation: Connecting Loyalty to Shopify

Checkout integration and redemption flow

Seamless redemption is critical. There are two common approaches:

Shopify Plus stores often have enhanced checkout customization options; however, a good retention platform will support both standard and Plus setups.

Handling guest checkouts and account linking

Guest checkouts complicate loyalty. Consider:

Platforms with post-purchase claim flows reduce friction while preserving data integrity.

Syncing orders, refunds, and returns

Your loyalty platform must reconcile orders, cancellations, and refunds to keep points accurate:

These behaviors should be automated via the platform's Shopify integration.

In-store and Omnichannel considerations

For brands with retail locations, ensure the platform supports in-store points accrual and redemption through Shopify POS or POS-connected flows. The ideal solution keeps one loyalty ledger across channels so customers experience a consistent program.

Data privacy and security

Choose a partner that follows best practices in storing and processing customer data and provides options for compliance with regional regulations.

A unified retention platform reduces the number of places customer data lives, cutting complexity and exposure.

Promoting and Launching Your Loyalty Program

Pre-launch: build awareness and capture early adopters

Create a pre-launch flow to seed the program:

Early momentum helps populate the program with engaged members.

On-site promotion that converts

Visibility is everything. Make sure your site includes:

Nudges like “You’re X points away from free shipping” are powerful motivators.

Use email and SMS automation to drive action

Tie your loyalty program into lifecycle flows:

Integrations with email and SMS providers ensure timely, personalized messages without extra manual work.

Social and referral activation

Referral campaigns turn members into acquisition channels:

Track referral attribution and ensure seamless redemption for referees to maximize conversion.

Measurement and Optimization

Key metrics to track

Monitor program health with these metrics:

Dashboards that combine on-platform data with Shopify orders make this analysis straightforward.

Cohort and behavior analysis

Segment members by join date, acquisition channel, or tier to understand long-term trends:

Cohort analysis informs where to double down and where to adjust reward economics.

Experimentation and A/B testing

Run controlled experiments:

Small, measured tests reduce risk and uncover high-leverage changes.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Overcomplicating the rules

If earning and redemption rules are confusing, customers disengage. Keep the core program simple and add complexity only when justified by results.

Rewarding too cheaply or too generously

Under- or over-valuing rewards damages program economics. Model reward cost and forecast likely redemptions before launching. Set redemption floors and limits to protect margins.

Ignoring non-transactional activities

Focusing solely on purchases misses opportunities. Reward reviews, UGC, and referrals—these drive conversion and acquisition with minimal cost.

Running loyalty as a silo

If loyalty isn’t integrated with marketing, customer service, and reviews, it becomes another point of friction. Use a platform that connects loyalty data to email, SMS, and review collection so every team can leverage member signals.

Poor UX at checkout

If redemption is clunky at checkout, customers will abandon rewards. Test the flow on mobile and desktop to ensure smooth redemptions.

Migrating an Existing Loyalty Program to a Unified Platform

If you already use multiple tools for rewards, referrals, and reviews, migration is common. Here’s what a migration checklist should include:

A migration done well preserves trust and reduces friction for members.

If you are ready to migrate and want support, a merchant-first retention platform will guide the transition and help align rewards with your business goals.

Tactical Campaigns That Drive Retention

Below are proven campaign ideas you can run from day one.

Each campaign should be measured and iterated for performance.

How a Unified Retention Platform Replaces Multiple Tools

Many stores use separate providers for loyalty, referrals, reviews, and UGC. That creates operational overhead, fragmented data, and inconsistent customer experiences.

A unified retention platform offers clear advantages:

This is the “More Growth, Less Stack” approach: one platform that replaces 5–7 separate tools and creates compounding retention effects.

We’ve designed our retention suite to align with that philosophy. Explore growth-focused plans to see how a unified approach compares to multiple fragmented tools (see Growave plan details).

Growave’s Loyalty Capabilities (How the Pieces Fit Together)

Loyalty & Rewards

A flexible points and VIP system lets merchants define earning methods, redemption rules, and tier progression. The front-end is fully brandable so members experience a cohesive program across desktop and mobile. We provide automatic point adjustments for refunds and returns to keep balances accurate.

Learn more about points and VIP setup and how they influence retention (set up points and VIP system).

Reviews & Social Proof

Collecting reviews and visual UGC is integrated with loyalty incentives. Reward customers for leaving product reviews or posting photos and videos, then surface that content across product pages to increase conversion. This tight coupling turns social proof into an active retention lever.

See how reviews and UGC fit into a retention strategy (collect social reviews and UGC).

Referrals and Wishlists

Referral programs are built into the loyalty flows so members can share referral links and earn points when friends convert. Wishlists and shoppable UGC encourage bookmarking and returning behavior, which feeds loyalty progression.

Unified Analytics and Automation

Centralized reporting shows member behavior, redemption rates, referral conversions, and ROI. Connect your email/SMS provider to automate lifecycle messages that use loyalty signals—like low-point reminders or tier upgrade prompts.

How this reduces your stack

Instead of managing separate billing, multiple integrations, and patchy data flows, a cohesive platform handles loyalty, reviews, referrals, and social commerce under one roof. That means fewer integration headaches and more time focused on growth.

If you want to see the merchant experience and install the platform, you can install Growave on Shopify today (install Growave on Shopify).

Pricing Considerations and Choosing the Right Plan

Selecting a plan depends on order volume, feature needs, and expected program scale. Look for a platform that offers a trial so you can test the member experience and backend workflows before committing.

We provide flexible plan tiers to match different business sizes and needs. If you want to review plan options and evaluate the fit for your store, you can check the available plan tiers and trials (view Growave plan options).

When comparing pricing:

A platform that replaces multiple tools often pays for itself quickly through improved retention and lower operational complexity.

Implementation Timeline: From Idea to Live

A practical launch timeline for a mid-sized store often looks like:

A well-supported platform will provide tools and documentation to accelerate this process and help you avoid common technical pitfalls.

If you’d like guided assistance, a merchant-first partner can walk you through setup and best practices.

Troubleshooting Common Technical Questions

Most of these issues are integration nuances; a robust retention platform handles them transparently.

Conclusion

Does Shopify have a loyalty program? Technically, Shopify provides the APIs and platform capabilities to run a loyalty program, but it does not include a full-featured, plug-and-play rewards engine. For most merchants, the fastest path to measurable retention is to use a unified retention platform that ties loyalty to reviews, referrals, and UGC—so loyalty becomes part of a broader growth engine rather than another silo.

A single, merchant-first retention suite reduces complexity, centralizes analytics, and turns non-transactional behaviors into conversion and acquisition levers. That’s the essence of More Growth, Less Stack: fewer integrations, more compounding results.

If you’re ready to launch a rewards program that’s simple for customers and powerful for your business, explore Growave’s plan options and start a 14-day free trial to see how a unified retention platform fits your store (see Growave plan options).

FAQ

Does Shopify offer a built-in loyalty program for merchants?

Shopify doesn’t ship a complete loyalty product with points, tiers, referrals, and social rewards. Shopify provides the infrastructure (APIs, checkout capabilities, POS hooks) that allows merchants to run loyalty programs via an integrated retention platform.

Can loyalty points be redeemed at Shopify checkout?

Yes—redeeming loyalty points at checkout is standard, but the exact experience depends on the retention platform and whether you use Shopify or Shopify Plus. A unified platform can integrate points as a discount or store credit for a seamless checkout flow.

How do I reward reviews and UGC through loyalty?

A retention platform should let you award points for submitted reviews and visual UGC, then display that content on product pages. Rewarding reviews increases content volume and conversion while keeping engagement high.

Will switching to a unified retention platform disrupt my current program?

A well-executed migration preserves member balances and referral links. Merchant-first platforms provide migration support and tools to map balances, reward rules, and tier statuses so members experience a smooth transition.

We build for merchants, not investors—trusted by thousands of brands and designed to make retention your strongest growth channel. If you want to see the full feature set and pick the plan that fits your business, see Growave plan options.