How to Create and Manage Gift Cards in Shopify

Gift cards are a powerful tool to increase sales, attract new customers, and improve loyalty in your Shopify store. They allow customers to share your brand while providing flexibility in gift giving. This guide will walk you through the process of creating and managing gift cards in Shopify, including how to set them up, promote them, and track their usage.

Step 1: Enable Gift Cards in Shopify First, ensure that your Shopify plan supports gift cards. Most Shopify plans include this feature by default. Enable gift cards by going to Products > Gift Cards in your Shopify admin and clicking on ‘Start selling gift cards on my store’.

Step 2: Create a New Gift Card Product Once enabled, create a new gift card product:

Code Example: Creating a Gift Card Product via Shopify Admin API

# Example Python code to create a gift card product using Shopify Admin API (pseudo-code)
import requests

url = 'https://your-store.myshopify.com/admin/api/2021-04/gift_cards.json'
headers = {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'X-Shopify-Access-Token': 'your-access-token'
}
data = {
    "gift_card": {
        "initial_value": 50.00,
        "note": "Standard $50 Gift Card",
        "template_suffix": "gift_card"
    }
}

response = requests.post(url, json=data, headers=headers)
print(response.json())

Step 3: Customize Gift Card Options You can customize your gift cards with different values and designs. Consider offering a range of denominations and themed designs that cater to occasions like birthdays, weddings, or holidays.

Step 4: Promote Gift Cards Promote your gift cards through email marketing, social media, and as part of your checkout process. You can also offer gift cards as part of a promotion, such as ‘Buy $100 worth of gift cards and receive a $10 card free’.

Step 5: Manage Gift Card Usage Monitor the usage of issued gift cards. Shopify provides detailed reports that allow you to track when gift cards are sold, used, or adjusted.

Code Example: Tracking Gift Card Usage

// Example JavaScript code to fetch and display gift card usage from Shopify Admin API (pseudo-code)
fetch('https://your-store.myshopify.com/admin/api/2021-04/gift_cards.json', {
    headers: {
        'X-Shopify-Access-Token': 'your-access-token'
    }
}).then(response => response.json()).then(data => {
    data.gift_cards.forEach(card => {
        console.log(`Gift Card ${card.id}: Remaining value - $${card.balance}`);
    });
}).catch(err => console.error('Error fetching gift cards:', err));