Imagine it’s December 22, and after a month spent holiday shopping, you realize you forgot to buy a present for your sister-in-law. It’s too late to place an online order and receive it by Christmas, so you buy a gift card from one of her favorite brands. It’s a win-win: Your sister-in-law receives a gift she’ll actually use, and you get to show her you remember what she likes.
As an ecommerce business owner, last-minute presents are just one of many reasons to create gift cards. You can also distribute gift cards in loyalty programs or tricky customer service situations to improve customer loyalty and retention. Plus, gift cards can incentivize higher purchase values.
Below, learn more about how to create gift cards for your business using Shopify, how they can benefit your business growth, and how to promote and use them.
Why create gift cards for your business?
Gift cards offer a variety of benefits for merchants, including:
Reach new customers
Customers who purchase gift cards for other people function as brand ambassadors, introducing potential new customers to your company. Once someone redeems a gift card, you can engage them with marketing and sales strategies to drive repeat purchases, like product recommendations and access to VIP programs.
Increase order values
Selling gift cards can help you receive higher-value orders, especially during the holidays. That’s because customers spend an extra $81 on average when they redeem a holiday gift card, according to 2024 data from payments company Blackhawk Network.
Boost customer loyalty and retention
Offering gift cards to loyal customers can be a great way to showcase your appreciation for them. You can also use gift cards as part of a customer retention strategy by offering them to customers who’ve lodged a complaint or had a negative experience with your brand, like a shipping delay, for example. You can also offer gift cards as an incentive to get valuable customer feedback, such as through a survey.
How to create digital gift cards on Shopify
In the age of ecommerce, you don’t need to produce and ship physical gift cards. You can instead offer digital gift cards, which function the same as their predecessor: Customers will redeem them at checkout by entering their unique code.
Here’s how to create, edit, and track digital gift cards with Shopify:
How to create a new gift card
To create a new gift card, log in to your admin and navigate to Products > Gift cards. Click “Add a gift card product.”
You’ll then need to input the following information, and click “Save.”
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Title: The name of the gift card—for example, “Holiday gift card” or “Birthday gift card.”
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Description: The descriptive text that will appear on your gift card’s product page.
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Media: The image that will represent your card up on the product page.
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Denominations: The gift card values customers can choose from.
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Search engine listing preview: How your gift card product page will appear in search engine results.
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Sales channels and apps: Which sales channels your gift card will be available on and when you want to publish your gift card.
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Organization: Optional sorting information including product type and tags.
To make your gift card public and available for sale, click “View gift card products” and select the gift card you want to publish. In the Sales channels section, make the gift card product available in the sales channel(s) of your choice, then click “Save.”
How to update a gift card
You can add or edit information about your gift card by navigating to the Product section of your Shopify admin, selecting “Gift cards,” then selecting “View gift card products.” Select the gift card you want to edit to view its product detail page, make your adjustments, and click “Save.”
If you want to change the expiration date of an existing gift card, navigate to the Products > Gift cards (this is where sold gift cards appear). From here, navigate to the section with the code and expiry date. Click the pencil icon, select “Gift cards expire,” make your changes, and save them. You can also manage expiration dates in bulk.
If you want to add a new denomination for your gift card, you’ll need to add a new variant of your gift card. That’s because each denomination is counted as a product variant.
How to track gift cards
Once you set up your gift cards, there are two reasons you might want to track them: to find out how many you’ve sold, and to learn how customers are using them.
To see this information, navigate to Analytics > Finance Summary. Under Liabilities, you’ll see “Gift card sales” and “Gift cards outstanding balance.” When you click on “Gift card sales,” you’ll see data about individual cards, like the date purchased, order number, and customer name. The gift cards’ outstanding balance will show you the total amount of money on gift cards.
You can learn more about these two reports in the Shopify Help Center.
To see a full list of your active gift cards, head to Products > Gift cards. Each gift card is tracked here, so you can see the customer’s information, their current balance, and when they purchased it.
How to create physical gift cards with Shopify
Businesses with physical locations may want to create physical gift cards. Shopify’s customizable physical gift cards allow brick-and-mortar stores that use Shopify’s point-of-sale (POS) hardware to quickly create gift cards from premade designs. You’ll scan the cards to redeem them at in-person checkouts, but customers can use them in your online store, too—they’ll just enter the card’s code at the online checkout.
You can fully customize Shopify’s gift cards with your branding, and you can choose between offering gift cards in paper or plastic with matte or glossy finishes. You can also add gift card sleeves and include your store info on the back of the card.
How to create gift cards with third-party apps
If you want more features and functionality, you can also install a paid third-party app from the Shopify App Store. For the best experience, look for apps that are labeled as Built for Shopify—a designation to champion apps that meet Shopify’s high standards for usability, design, and performance.
Check out some top picks for third-party gift card apps below. Once downloaded, you can integrate and access any of them directly in the Shopify admin.
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Gift Card Factory offers unique features, including balance reminders, the ability to bulk upload gift card data via CSV file, and incentivized purchases with free gift cards.
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GV lets you customize branded designs for your gift cards and gives customers the option to schedule when their gift cards will be sent to recipients.
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GiftKart includes features that boost gift card appeal for customers, like giving them the option to record video messages in their gift card emails, as well as features that increase your average order value, like offering free gift cards when customers meet a certain order threshold.
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Vify gives your customers the flexibility to check and adjust their gift card balances as needed, and sends them reminders about when their gift card is about to expire, which creates a sense of urgency that can boost customer engagement.
Tips for using gift cards to drive sales and customer loyalty
- Create a custom image for your gift cards
- Design a branded email delivery
- Offer gift cards in your loyalty program
- Offer gift cards as a response to complaints
Now that you know how to create and customize gift cards, here are a few tips on how to make the most of them.
Create a custom image for your gift cards
Whether you’re creating physical or digital gift cards, put time and effort into the design of your gift cards and the imagery that represents them. Aim to incorporate your brand identity into your design. That includes matching your visual brand elements—like color palette, typography, and logo—to maintain brand consistency. Even if you’re not a designer, you can quickly create a design with a program like Canva, which even has a gift card template to get you started.
If you sell your gift cards on your website, you’ll also need product imagery for the gift card page. Here’s an example from the athleticwear brand Vuori. The cover image for the company’s digital gift card, pictured on the card’s product page, mimics the design of a physical gift card. It features a sleek, grayscale design that’s in line with the company’s functional, minimalist brand identity. It also includes a list of words (“Run,” “Surf,” “Hike,” “Train,” and “Chill”). These hint at what Vuori sells—apparel that’s as comfortable for running a marathon as it is for relaxing around the house.
Design a branded delivery email
When a customer sends someone a digital gift card, it could be the recipient’s first touchpoint with your brand. To capitalize on this moment, create a branded email that conveys your brand identity and gives the recipient everything they need. For example, it’s best practice to include a customer service email or phone number to reach out to if they have questions.
In this next example, the apparel brand DÔEN provides essential information like sender name, recipient name, and dollar amount while communicating its classic Americana brand identity through a vintage-looking photo of a woman sitting in an old-timey restaurant. To make it clear that your email contains a digital gift card, you might also consider showcasing your digital gift card’s cover image, like DÔEN does here.
Offer gift cards in your loyalty program
One of the easiest ways to use gift cards to build customer loyalty is by incorporating them into your customer loyalty program. For example, you might offer loyalty program members a small gift card on their birthdays, or allow them to earn points on purchases and exchange those points for gift cards. If your business has a mobile app, you can also take this a step further by making gift cards accessible there.
To help you stay within your budget, think about the number of people you have in your customer loyalty program and the gift card values you can comfortably provide to each of them.
Offer gift cards as a response to complaints
When a customer lodges a complaint, whether over email or phone, you’ll want to show them you value their voice and experience with your company. If you don’t, you’ll risk losing a customer. If you do, you can encourage brand loyalty. Offering unhappy customers a gift card can help you show these buyers you care about what they have to say (and are willing to go above and beyond to make things right).
How to promote your gift cards
Create a social media contest
Maybe you’ve been tagged in an Instagram comment from a family member or friend trying to win a product, service, bundle, or gift—or maybe you’ve commented yourself.
Sometimes brands offer products in these campaigns, but you can easily execute these social media contests and giveaways with gift cards. To do this, offer a gift card of decent value—a lot more people will be interested in a $200 gift card than a $10 one—but make sure it’s within your budget.
After you promote the contest initially (you can use posts as well as stories), be sure to stay active on your social media platforms to show customers you care about the contest and their experiences with it. If someone responds with a complaint, always reply. If someone reposts or comments on your post, consider giving it a like so they know you’re paying attention and appreciate their participation.
Take a seasonal approach
Fifty-six percent of American consumers purchased a gift card in the 2024 holiday season, according to data from the payments company Blackhawk Network. Digital gift cards can make a great last-minute gift: Customers can receive them in time even after holiday shipping deadlines have passed.
To encourage these seasonal purchases, try advertising your gift cards around the holidays on your website, in your marketing emails, and on your social media profiles. You can even create limited-time designs that center the holiday at hand.
Discount your gift cards
One way to reward customers who support your brand is by giving them a discount on high-value gift cards. For example, you could offer a 10% discount on gift cards over $300, or you could add 10% of value to high gift card denominations. This can incentivize customers to make larger gift card purchases.
It can also be a nice way to thank the people who love your brand the most, and you might consider offering these discounts to your most loyal repeat customers. You can identify and email these buyers with the audience segmentation tools available in Shopify Email.
You might also create gift card discounts when you want to encourage consumers to spend money on your site. You can create one discount to apply across all gift card denominations or discounts that apply to specific denominations or purchasing thresholds. You can do this easily with Shopify, which allows you to set percentage or dollar value discounts.
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How to create gift cards for your business FAQ
How do digital gift cards work?
Digital gift cards work almost the same way physical gift cards do. A business creates a digital gift card and sets the denomination, then a customer purchases the card to redeem at a later date. To redeem digital gift cards, customers enter the card code in online checkout.
Are digital and physical gift cards interchangeable?
Digital and physical gift cards are interchangeable with Shopify. Customers can redeem physical gift cards online by entering the code on the back of the card. Customers can redeem digital gift cards in person when your business uses Shopify’s point-of-sale (POS) system.
Can you make gift cards on Shopify?
Yes, you can make gift cards on Shopify. Shopify lets you create both digital and physical gift cards, which you can customize with your branding or use with Shopify’s templates.
