Creating gift cards

When you create a gift card from your Shopify admin, you generate a gift card with a custom value without receiving any payment in return. This gift card can be used as payment towards a future purchase from your store, at no cost to the recipient.

You might want to create a gift card in the following scenarios:

• as part of a promotion, incentive, or reward
• as a custom denomination not available in your gift card products, after the customer has paid for the value through a draft order invoice
• as a refund or store credit

You can add a customer to the gift card when you create it, or create a gift card first, and then add a customer at a later time. When you add a customer to the gift card, you can email the gift card to the customer.

After you create a gift card, you can view, organize, or edit it from the Gift cards page in your Shopify admin.

Considerations for creating gift cards

Gift cards created from your Shopify admin can be used for a future purchase from your store, at no cost to the recipient. If you want to sell gift cards, then you can add a gift card product to let customers purchase gift cards.

You can create a gift card directly from your Shopify admin with a set amount greater than zero and up to a maximum of $2000 USD (or equivalent in your local currency).

Created gift cards can create a liability to provide future sales. Depending on your region's laws surrounding gift cards, you might not be allowed to add an expiry date or to limit the way in which the gift card is used. These gift cards are included in your liabilities report.

Instead of creating promotional gift cards, you can create a discount code for a currency amount. Creating a discount allows you to control the amount, use restrictions, and expiry date of the promotion.

Create a gift card

Create a gift card directly from your Shopify admin without receiving any payment in return.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Gift cards.

2. Click Create gift card.

3. In the Initial value field, enter the value of the card.

4. In the Customer field, enter a customer's name, phone number, or email address to create or search for a customer. The customer must have either an email address or phone number to be sent the gift card code by email or SMS. If a customer provides both, then the gift card is sent by email.

5. Optional: If you want the gift card to expire, then in the Expiration date section, select Set expiration date, and then select a date. Ensure that you follow the laws for your country about gift cards. Learn more about gift card expiration and settings.

6. Optional: Enter an Internal note for your reference. The note is visible when viewing the gift card in your Shopify admin, but isn't visible to the customer.

7. Optional: Click Preview email to preview how the gift card email displays to your customer.

8. Click Save.

9. Click Send gift card.

10. Do either of the following:

    • If an email address is provided for the customer, then click Send email.
    • If only a phone number is provided for the customer, then click Send SMS.

Add customer to a gift card

If no customer information was added to a previously created gift card, then you can add customer information, and then send the gift card.

Note

The customer must have either an email address or phone number in order to be sent the gift card code by email or SMS. If the customer provides both, then the gift card will be sent by email.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Gift cards.

2. Click the code for the created gift card. You'll be able to view only the last four characters of the code.

3. On the created gift card's page in the Customer field, enter a customer's name, phone number, or email address to search for or create a customer.

4. Click Save.

5. Click Send gift card.

6. Optional: Edit the email that your customer will receive with their gift card.

7. Click Send email.