Does Shopify Have a Loyalty Program?

Introduction

Loyalty programs are no longer optional — they’re business engines. Retailers that treat retention as a growth channel see measurable lifts in customer lifetime value, repeat purchase rates, and referral revenue. Yet many merchants face "platform fatigue": stitching together multiple tools to get a loyalty program to work across web, in-store, and email. That’s why we focus on building retention strategies that scale without adding complexity.

Short answer: Yes — Shopify supports loyalty programs through third-party solutions and native integrations, and you can run a full-featured, omnichannel rewards program on a Shopify store. You can launch points, tiers, referral, and value-based programs that work online and in-person, and merchants can choose solutions that integrate directly into the checkout and customer account experience.

In this post we’ll cover what Shopify offers for loyalty, what a great rewards program looks like, how to select the right approach for your store, and how to implement, launch, measure, and optimize a program that increases retention and LTV. We’ll also explain how a unified retention platform can replace multiple point tools and simplify operations — our "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy — and show practical tactics you can put to work this quarter.

Our main message: loyalty should be treated as a strategic retention channel, not a fragmented set of plugins. With the right design and a single retention platform that covers rewards, referrals, reviews, wishlists, and shoppable social proof, you can turn repeat customers into your most efficient growth engine.

How Shopify Supports Loyalty Programs

Shopify's ecosystem for loyalty

Shopify itself provides the commerce backbone — cart, checkout, customer accounts, and POS. That infrastructure makes it possible for loyalty systems to:

• Create and track customer identities across online and in-store purchases.
• Allow customers to redeem points or credits at checkout.
• Sync loyalty activity to the Shopify customer record for segmentation and personalization.

Because Shopify is extensible, merchants usually add a retention solution that plugs into Shopify and manages earning, burning, tiers, and member portals. When that solution integrates with checkout and POS, customers can earn and redeem rewards wherever they shop.

What "works on Shopify" means in practical terms

When we say a loyalty program works on Shopify, we mean the solution:

• Integrates into the storefront and checkout so point balances and redemptions are visible to customers.
• Syncs customer identities so loyalty data lives in the same customer record you use for email and ads.
• Works with Shopify POS so in-store purchases count toward rewards.
• Provides a hosted or embeddable member portal for customers to view balances and rewards.

A well-integrated solution turns loyalty into a seamless part of the buying experience, rather than a separate system a customer must manage.

Why Loyalty on Shopify Matters for Growth

The business outcomes a loyalty program should deliver

When designed and executed correctly, a loyalty program delivers measurable business outcomes:

• Higher repeat purchase rate and faster repurchase frequency.
• Increased average order value through earning incentives and tier thresholds.
• Better customer retention and lower churn.
• More referrals and word-of-mouth that cost less than paid acquisition.
• Richer first-party data for personalization and segmentation.

These outcomes combine to lift lifetime value (LTV) and improve return on marketing spend.

Common ROI drivers

Several program mechanics reliably contribute to ROI:

• Points for purchases (and bonus points events) encourage incremental spend.
• Tiered experiences create aspirational goals and increase spend to reach the next level.
• Referrals turn customers into acquisition channels.
• Omnichannel redemptions reduce friction and make rewards feel valuable everywhere customers shop.
• Social proof and user-generated content (reviews, photos) improve conversion for new visitors.

Types of Loyalty Programs You Can Run on Shopify

There are several proven program archetypes. Each works on Shopify, and the right choice depends on your business model, margins, and customer behavior.

Points-Based Programs

Points are the most familiar model. Customers earn points for purchases and for engagement actions you value, such as signing up, following on social, or writing reviews. Points are redeemable for discounts, free products, or store credit.

Benefits:

• Simple for customers to understand.
• Highly flexible — you can reward many behaviors.
• Encourages incremental spend through earn rules and point multipliers.

Considerations:

• You must carefully value a point so redemptions don’t erode margin.
• Communicate redemption options clearly to avoid frustration.

We make it easy to set custom earning rules and redemption values so merchants can run promotions like point multipliers or bonus events without additional systems. See plan options to learn how different feature tiers support complex earning rules (see plan options).

Tiered Programs

Tiered programs group customers into segments with escalating benefits. Tiers reward loyalty and create goals that motivate customers to climb toward better perks.

Benefits:

• Drives long-term increases in spend and frequency.
• Creates exclusivity and brand affinity for top customers.

Considerations:

• Tiers require clear thresholds and benefits that justify the jump.
• Monitor churn at tier reset points and communicate clearly about progress.

Growave supports tiered experiences that map directly to customer spend and engagement so you can automate upgrades and perks across the customer lifecycle. Explore how to implement tiers within our loyalty suite (build a loyalty program with our rewards suite).

Paid (Fee-Based) Programs

Paid programs charge members for immediate perks, such as free shipping, exclusive discounts, or access to limited products.

Benefits:

• Creates predictable revenue and higher-margin customers.
• Members are typically more engaged and have higher LTV.

Considerations:

• Requires a strong value proposition to justify the fee.
• Needs careful marketing to convert free customers into paid members.

Paid programs can be set up alongside points and tiers, letting you offer paid membership that bypasses earn thresholds for instant benefits.

Value-Based Programs

Value-based programs align purchases with a social cause, donating a portion of sales or points to charitable initiatives.

Benefits:

• Deepens emotional connection with customers who care about social impact.
• Enhances brand reputation and loyalty.

Considerations:

• Track and report impact transparently.
• Ensure the cause aligns with your audience and brand identity.

Value-based mechanics can be combined with points, tiers, or paid memberships to create hybrid programs that fit your brand.

Choosing the Right Loyalty Strategy for Your Shopify Store

Start with clear objectives

Before designing a program, identify which business outcomes you want to influence. Typical goals include:

• Increase repurchase rate within X days.
• Lift average order value by Y%.
• Grow referral-sourced revenue.
• Improve margins on repeat customers.

These goals will inform program design, earning rules, and KPIs.

Segment customers by value and behavior

Not every customer responds to the same incentive. Segment customers into groups such as:

• New customers: encourage second purchase with bonus points or a small-dollar incentive.
• High-frequency buyers: offer tiers and experiential perks.
• At-risk customers: use win-back incentives tied to reactivation events.
• Advocates: encourage referrals and UGC with special earning opportunities.

A unified retention platform lets you map earning rules and rewards to customer segments and automate tailored communications.

Set economics that balance reward and margin

Design earning and redemption values so rewards feel meaningful without eroding profitability. Consider:

• Point-to-dollar exchange rate and typical redemption behavior.
• Breakage (unused points) expectations and reporting.
• How discounts compare to your gross margin and customer acquisition cost.

We help merchants model point economies and run experiments to find profitable earn-and-burn ratios.

Decide on channels and touchpoints

A program's success depends on visibility and frictionless usage. Prioritize:

• Embedded member portal in customer account and mobile-friendly layout.
• Checkout integration so customers can redeem points at purchase.
• POS integration for in-store earning and redemption.
• On-site widgets to promote the program and enroll customers.

When these touchpoints are unified, the program becomes part of the shopping experience instead of an overlay.

Implementing a Loyalty Program on Shopify: Technical and Operational Checklist

Below is a practical checklist to implement a loyalty program that works end-to-end on Shopify. These are operational steps we recommend for a smooth launch.

• Map program goals to KPIs and identify target segments.
• Choose the program type (points, tiers, paid, value-based, or hybrid).
• Design earning rules, redemption options, and tier thresholds.
• Ensure identity sync with Shopify customers so balances are persistent.
• Integrate redemption at checkout and with POS.
• Build a member portal and front-end widgets to increase discoverability.
• Prepare welcome and lifecycle automations in your email platform.
• Create a launch and communications plan (email, on-site, social).
• Set analytics and cohort tracking to measure retention and LTV impact.

Growave is built to handle these steps inside a single retention platform, making implementation faster and reducing the need to stitch tools together. If you’d like to see how that works in practice, install Growave on Shopify to try it out (install Growave on Shopify).

Identity and data sync

A sticky loyalty program relies on accurate customer identity. Confirm the solution you choose:

• Syncs points and activity to Shopify customer records.
• Supports guest earn-and-redeem logic if you allow guest checkout.
• Keeps order history, point balances, and tier membership centralized.

When data lives in one place, marketing and customer support can act on true customer value.

Checkout and POS redemption

Make redemption frictionless:

• Support redemption as a line item or discount code at checkout.
• Ensure POS accept redemptions and apply rewards in-store.
• Allow partial redemptions or mixed payment methods for flexibility.

Reducing checkout friction increases reward usage and customer satisfaction.

Member portal and on-site touchpoints

Customers must be able to check balances and redeem easily. Your member experience should include:

• Branded member portal accessible from account pages.
• On-site widgets or banners that promote benefits and encourage enrollment.
• Clear messaging about how to earn and redeem rewards.

We provide embeddable touchpoints that keep the experience on-brand and easy to discover. Learn how our loyalty features can be embedded directly into your storefront (build a loyalty program with our rewards suite).

Program Design: Earning, Burning, and Behavioral Mechanics

Designing meaningful earn rules

Think beyond purchases. Reward behaviors that drive business outcomes:

• Purchases: base earn per dollar plus category multipliers.
• First purchase: signup bonus to encourage account creation.
• Social activity: rewards for following, sharing, or user-generated content.
• Reviews and photos: incentivize reviews with points or small discounts.
• Referrals: give both referrer and referee rewards to boost conversion.

Rewarding these actions builds engagement and generates content that converts new visitors.

Redemption options that reduce friction and increase perceived value

Redemption should feel immediate and useful:

• Offer fixed-value discounts, product redemptions, or store credit.
• Allow redemptions at checkout as a discount or separate payment method.
• Provide non-monetary rewards like early access, free shipping, or exclusive product drops.

Present redemption thresholds clearly and allow customers to preview what rewards they can reach next.

Using tiers to increase aspiration

Tiers create status incentives. Use tiers to:

• Provide escalating benefits (e.g., faster shipping, exclusive discounts).
• Offer experiential perks like early access or concierge support.
• Encourage ongoing activity with time-limited challenges to maintain tier status.

Automate tier qualification and communicate progress so customers strive for the next level.

Referral mechanics that scale acquisition

A strong referral loop multiplies the program’s value:

• Reward both parties when a referral converts.
• Offer bonus points for sharing referral links on social channels.
• Make referral codes shareable via email, SMS, and social.

Referral incentives should be attractive enough to encourage sharing but sustainable relative to acquisition cost.

Behavioral nudges and gamification

Small behavioral nudges increase participation:

• Progress bars showing points to next reward.
• Timed bonus events and point multipliers.
• Birthday and anniversary bonuses to reinforce emotional connection.

These elements improve engagement without complex technical work.

Launch and Promotion: Getting Members In and Active

Pre-launch preparation

Before public launch:

• Segment a pilot group (high-value customers, email subscribers).
• Validate sign-up flow and redemption at checkout.
• Prepare help docs and customer support scripts.

A soft launch helps catch issues and refine messaging.

Multi-channel launch plan

Promote across channels to ensure visibility:

• Email campaign announcing the program and benefits.
• On-site banners, pop-ups, and a loyalty landing page that explains how it works.
• Social posts and paid ads promoting sign-up incentives.
• SMS or push notifications for mobile-first customers.

Make the join action easy and clearly explain the first reward they’ll receive.

Activation and onboarding flows

Onboarding gets members to the first repeat purchase:

• Welcome email with a clear call to action and quick ways to earn points.
• In-cart reminders that points can be earned on the current purchase.
• Post-purchase emails showing updated point balances and how close they are to next rewards.

Automating these touchpoints turns sign-ups into active members.

Ongoing engagement tactics

Keep members engaged with:

• Regular point multipliers and limited-time offers.
• Tier milestone communications and exclusive perks for top tiers.
• Referral contests and UGC campaigns to increase social proof.

Consistent engagement ensures rewards remain top-of-mind.

We include membership discovery touchpoints and lifecycle automations inside the platform to help merchants launch and maintain engagement without adding extra tools. See customer stories and program inspiration for creative launch ideas (customer stories and inspiration).

Measuring Success: What to Track and How to Optimize

Core KPIs for loyalty programs

Measure both engagement and financial impact:

• Enrollment rate as a percentage of customers or site visitors.
• Repeat purchase rate and time between purchases for members vs. non-members.
• Average order value (AOV) for members.
• Redemption rate and breakage (unused points).
• Referral-sourced revenue and conversion rate.
• Customer lifetime value (LTV) uplift attributable to the program.

Baseline these metrics and track them by cohort to see long-term effects.

Cohort analysis and attribution

Cohort analysis helps you see real impact. Compare cohorts by signup month and measure repeat purchases, AOV, and retention over time. Attribution should account for:

• Direct impact from reward-driven purchases.
• Indirect lift from improved email engagement and repeat behavior.
• Referral-driven new customers and their LTV.

A unified retention platform centralizes these metrics and feeds them into your analytics stack for easier reporting.

Experimentation and A/B testing

Run controlled experiments to optimize:

• Different point values and redemption thresholds.
• Tier thresholds and benefits.
• Referral incentives and creative messaging.
• On-site placement of loyalty widgets and calls-to-action.

Small tests can reveal large gains. Use learnings to scale the winning variants.

Watch for early warning signs

Keep an eye on indicators that signal problems:

• Spike in redemptions without corresponding revenue suggests rewards are too generous.
• Low enrollment despite strong promotion indicates friction in the sign-up flow.
• High churn at tier reset times indicates unclear tier value or poor communication.

Address these issues quickly with targeted experiments or benefit adjustments.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Overly generous economics

Giving away too much early can erode margins. Avoid this by modeling point costs and running pilot events. Monitor redemptions closely in the first 90 days.

Poor visibility and friction

If customers can’t find their balance or can’t redeem easily, adoption stalls. Ensure the member portal is obvious and the checkout flow supports redemptions.

Fragmented tech stack

Using separate tools for rewards, referrals, reviews, and social proof creates data silos and higher ops cost. Consolidate retention features into a single platform to reduce overhead and improve customer experience.

This is where our "More Growth, Less Stack" approach matters: a single retention platform that combines loyalty, referrals, reviews, wishlists, and shoppable social proof reduces integrations and keeps data synchronized.

Not treating loyalty as a lifecycle channel

A loyalty program shouldn’t be a marketing afterthought. Treat it like a full lifecycle channel with onboarding, engagement, and reactivation tactics. Automate lifecycle messages and personalize offers based on behavior.

Why Consolidation Beats a Patchwork of Tools

Benefits of a unified retention platform

Consolidating retention capabilities in one platform delivers:

• Less integration complexity and fewer failure points.
• Consistent customer experience across touchpoints.
• Single customer view for segmentation and personalization.
• Lower operational overhead and faster feature rollouts.
• Better data for measurement and optimization.

Merchants often replace 5–7 separate tools with one retention suite and see improvements in both revenue and operational efficiency. At Growave, we build for merchants first — our goal is to be a long-term, stable partner that reduces the number of platforms you manage while increasing retention-driven revenue.

The "More Growth, Less Stack" advantage

Reducing tool sprawl frees time and budget to focus on strategy rather than maintenance. When retention features are native to one platform, your team spends less time troubleshooting and more time optimizing campaigns, testing creative, and improving program economics.

Growave: How a Unified Retention Platform Helps Shopify Merchants

We built Growave to be a merchant-first retention suite that replaces multiple tools and centralizes the five core pillars merchants use to retain customers: Loyalty & Rewards, Reviews & UGC, Wishlists, Referrals, and Shoppable Instagram & UGC.

• Loyalty & Rewards: flexible points, tiers, paid memberships, and omnichannel redemption.
• Reviews & UGC: collect photo and video reviews that improve conversion.
• Referrals: turn customers into acquisition channels with referral links and incentives.
• Wishlists: capture intent and power personalized campaigns.
• Shoppable Social: turn user content into product discovery and conversion.

Our platform is trusted by 15,000+ brands and has a 4.8-star rating on Shopify — and we design every feature to scale without multiplying tools. To evaluate whether Growave fits your needs, you can install Growave on Shopify and test the core features directly in your store (install Growave on Shopify). If you prefer to see a tailored walkthrough, we also have customer stories and creative program ideas to inspire launch plans (customer stories and inspiration).

How Growave reduces implementation time

Because Growave bundles related retention features, merchants can:

• Launch a loyalty program, referral program, and review collection without separate integrations.
• Use shared customer data to personalize lifecycle messages.
• Deploy on-site touchpoints and host a branded member portal quickly.

Explore plan tiers and feature availability to find the right fit for your store (compare plans and pricing).

Migrating from multiple tools

If you’re migrating from several vendors, a consolidated platform simplifies data migration:

• Import point balances and customer histories.
• Consolidate review libraries and UGC.
• Map existing referral codes and re-issue where needed.

Our team helps merchants plan migrations to avoid lost points or broken links.

Tactical Playbooks You Can Implement Today

Below are practical, step-by-step strategies you can implement without fiction or case stories — just clear actions you can take.

Welcome flow that drives the second purchase

• Offer a signup bonus of points or small-dollar credit upon account creation.
• Trigger a welcome email that shows current balance and includes a targeted discount valid for the next 14–30 days.
• In the welcome series, include a loyalty explainer page linked from the email to increase member engagement.

Point multipliers for seasonal lift

• Run a limited-time point multiplier event for a product category you want to clear or promote.
• Promote the event through email and on-site banners.
• Use urgency (countdown timers) and communicate how many extra points a typical purchase would earn.

Referral loop to amplify acquisition

• Offer a meaningful reward for both referrer and referee (for example, a $10 credit and 250 bonus points).
• Provide pre-written copy and social sharing links to make it easy for members to share.
• Track referred customer LTV and scale incentives if profitable.

VIP treatment that reduces churn

• Identify high-LTV customers and invite them to a VIP tier with perks like exclusive discounts, early product access, and faster support.
• Send personal emails or SMS with a thank-you and a simple explainer on benefits.
• Run VIP-only events or limited offers to increase engagement.

Review-first strategy to improve conversion

• Offer small points for verified reviews with photos or videos.
• Feature top reviews on product pages and in social channels.
• Use review velocity (frequency + quality) as a trigger for bonus point events.

These tactics can be configured in a single retention platform so the data and rewards are consistent across the customer journey. See how these tactics map to our feature set in the loyalty product overview (build a loyalty program with our rewards suite).

Pricing, Plans, and Trial Options

Choosing the right pricing tier depends on order volume and the features you need. We offer multiple plans to fit different growth stages, and all paid plans include a 14-day free trial so you can test real-world impact before committing.

• See detailed plan options and feature breakdowns on our pricing page (compare plans and pricing).
• If you prefer to try the platform in your store right away, you can add the Growave integration directly and start exploring features (install Growave on Shopify).

We focus on delivering better value for money by consolidating features into one platform so you can scale retention without multiplying vendors.

Migration and Long-Term Support

Migrating balances and members

When moving from multiple vendors, plan to:

• Export customer lists, points, and referral histories.
• Map points to a standard currency or exchange rate in the new system.
• Communicate clearly with members about any changes or account updates.

We provide migration support to minimize friction and protect member trust.

Ongoing support and partnership

Retention is iterative. Choose a partner that offers:

• Regular product updates based on merchant feedback.
• Analytics and reporting support to interpret program results.
• Strategic help with program design and experiments.

We’re merchant-first: our product roadmap prioritizes features that solve real merchant problems, and our support team helps merchants get the most value from the platform.

Common Questions Merchants Ask (Before the FAQ)

We often hear the same practical questions from merchants evaluating loyalty on Shopify:

• Can customers earn and redeem rewards in-store as well as online?
• How do we calculate point economics so the program is profitable?
• What happens to points if a customer returns an order?
• How do we prevent gaming of the system?

The answers depend on your configuration, but a unified retention platform with POS integrations and configurable rules allows you to handle these edge cases cleanly. For inspiration on how other merchants design program rules and activation flows without fiction, check our customer stories collection (customer stories and inspiration).

Conclusion

Does Shopify have a loyalty program? Yes — Shopify is an ideal platform for loyalty when paired with a robust retention solution. The real win is designing a program that aligns with your business goals, reduces friction for customers, and scales without creating tech debt. Consolidating loyalty, referrals, reviews, wishlists, and shoppable social proof into a single retention platform cuts complexity and increases the impact of every dollar you spend to acquire and engage customers.

If you’re ready to replace multiple tools with one solution that helps you retain more customers and increase LTV, start your free trial now and explore our plans to see which features match your growth stage (see plan options).

Start your 14-day free trial and see how a unified retention platform transforms customer loyalty into a predictable growth engine (compare plans and pricing).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Shopify offer a built-in loyalty program?

Shopify provides the commerce infrastructure — checkout, customer accounts, and POS — that loyalty platforms integrate with. To run a full-featured rewards program (points, tiers, referrals, omnichannel redemption), merchants typically add a retention solution that integrates with Shopify. You can install Growave directly on Shopify to run an all-in-one program (install Growave on Shopify).

Can customers earn rewards in-store as well as online?

Yes. When you use a retention platform that integrates with Shopify POS, customers can earn and redeem points both online and in-store. Make sure your chosen platform syncs balances and supports POS redemptions to avoid fragmentation. We provide POS-compatible redemption flows and omnichannel touchpoints for a seamless experience.

How much does it cost to run a loyalty program on Shopify?

Costs vary depending on feature needs and order volume. We publish plan options to show which features are included at each tier and offer a 14-day free trial for paid plans so you can test impact before committing (compare plans and pricing). Consolidating multiple retention needs into one platform often delivers better value for money than running several separate solutions.

How do I choose between points, tiers, or a paid membership?

Base the decision on your objectives and customer behavior. Points are flexible and encourage frequent engagement; tiers create aspiration among high-value customers; paid memberships build predictable revenue and higher commitment. Many merchants use a hybrid approach — points plus tiers, with an optional paid membership for premium perks. If you need ideas for program architecture, our customer stories offer practical inspiration (customer stories and inspiration).