If you're running a loyalty program on your Shopify store, it's important to understand how Store Credits and Points function—both for managing customer expectations and for creating a rewarding and seamless shopping experience.
Let’s break down each component and highlight the key differences between them.
💡 What Are Store Credits?
Store Credits are a type of monetary reward that can be used directly at checkout, similar to a gift card or a Shopify payment method.
How They Work:
Customers earn store credits based on the earn rewards fulfilled (e.g., 2% cashback per purchase).
These credits can be applied at checkout, without the need for any redemption process.
Once enabled, customers will see an option to apply store credits at checkout—usually as a toggle.
Store credits can only be used if the Customer Account feature is enabled in your Shopify store.
The full available store credit balance will be applied toward the order amount, if it can cover it. Partial use of credits (e.g., applying only $2 of $5) is not supported due to Shopify limitations.
Example:
If your store offers 0.02 store credits per $1 spent, then a customer spending $100 will receive 2 store credits, which equals $2. These credits can be used directly on a future purchase.
Understanding Store Credits and Their Usage
Please note that store credit management is entirely handled by Shopify, and as such, there are no restrictions we can impose on how customers use their store credits. This means that once a store credit is issued, customers can apply it freely during checkout—including towards shipping costs or any other eligible charge.
At this time, our app does not offer functionality to limit or customize the way store credits are applied, as this is governed by Shopify’s native behavior. We recommend keeping this in mind when issuing credits to ensure alignment with your store policies.
Store Credit Usage with Subscriptions
Store credits can be a great way to reward customers, but it's important to understand how they work with subscriptions on Shopify.
Due to current limitations from Shopify, store credits cannot be automatically applied to recurring subscription orders. They can only be used during the initial checkout of a subscription purchase. This applies across all subscription apps on Shopify.
To apply store credit to a subscription:
Customers need to manually redeem their credit during checkout when starting a subscription.
If the credit needs to be applied to an existing subscriber’s future order, it must be done manually by the merchant.
For recurring orders, credits are not auto-applied unless a manual step is taken.
If you’re offering referral rewards or other credit systems, we recommend clearly informing customers about these limitations to avoid any confusion.
As an alternative, you may consider offering discount codes or loyalty points that customers can use toward both one-time and subscription purchases, including recurring orders.
For more information, you can also refer to Shopify’s documentation on store credit.
🏅 What Are Points?
Points are non-monetary values that customers collect when they perform specific actions in your store—like signing up, placing orders, or referring friends.
How They Work:
Points accumulate over time and need to be redeemed before they can be used for discounts or rewards.
You (the merchant) define redemption rules—these rules determine how many points are needed to get a certain discount or benefit.
After redeeming their points, customers receive a discount code that they can apply at checkout.
Example:
If your store gives 0.02 points per $1 spent, then a $100 order earns the customer 2 points.
You could set a rule where 2 points = $2 discount, which means the customer effectively received a 2% cashback in the form of points. But, unlike store credits, the customer must manually redeem these points before they can be used.
Please refer to this helpful article for more details - Loyalty Point Redemption
🔄 Points vs. Store Credits – Key Differences
Feature | Points | Store Credits |
Type | Non-monetary reward | Monetary reward |
Usability | Requires redemption | Directly usable at checkout |
Redemption Required | Yes – to convert into a discount code | No – used automatically at checkout |
Setup | Needs redemption rules configured | No redemption rule needed |
Flexibility | Can be converted into store credits | Cannot be converted into points |
Checkout Experience | Discount code must be copied | Applied automatically via toggle |
🔁 Bonus: Convert Points to Store Credits
If you want to give customers more flexibility, you can allow them to convert points into store credits.
For example, you can set a rule where 400 points = 2 store credits ($2). Once converted, these store credits behave just like standard store credits—usable directly at checkout.
Final Thoughts
Both Store Credits and Points are powerful tools in your loyalty toolkit. While points encourage long-term engagement through gamification and milestones, store credits offer a frictionless and immediate reward experience.
If your goal is to create a more seamless checkout experience and encourage repeat purchases, store credits are often the preferred choice. If you want to build a layered, gamified system of rewards, combining both points and store credits (with conversion options) can give you the best of both worlds.
If you need help setting this up or have any questions about configuring your loyalty program, feel free to reach out. We’re happy to assist!