E-commerce tips
How to give store credit on Shopify: Best tips and use cases
By
Emma
on
Summarize this post by:
or
How to give store credit on Shopify is a common question for merchants who want to boost customer satisfaction, recover potentially lost sales, and create a smoother refund experience. That’s why store credit has become an essential tactic for growing your e-commerce business.
But store credit is a relatively new concept that many Shopify merchants still try to understand, especially when it comes to setting it up properly. If you are having a hard time figuring it out, we’ve got you covered!
In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up and manage store credit for your online store. Additionally, we will cover various use cases and offer best practices for giving store credit on Shopify.
Shopify store credit: What is it?
In simple terms, store credit is a digital currency that store owners can offer to customers so they can redeem it on their next purchase.
Many merchants use store credit as a better method compared to refunds. For example, if a customer returns an item:
You can issue store credit instead of giving a cash refund.
The amount usually equals what your customers paid for the returned item.
Your customers can use this credit to buy other products from your store.
Store credit is non-transferable and can only be used by the original customer.
The biggest advantage of store credit comes down to two things: retained revenue and repeat purchases.
Instead of issuing cash refunds, which can be costly and time-consuming, you can offer store credit on Shopify to your customers. This not only shows that you care about their satisfaction but also protects your store’s profits.
Furthermore, store credit encourages your customers to come back to your store. When customers receive their cash refunds, they can decide to shop elsewhere. But with store credit, you give them a reason to return, helping boost customer loyalty and increase repeat purchases.
Creative ways to give Shopify store credit
Because store credit can’t be used at other stores or transferred to anyone, it opens up endless opportunities to create a one-of-a-kind customer experience:
Shopping rewards: You can use store credit as a reward for reaching milestones. Imagine a reward bar that says: “Spend $100 and get 50 store credits.”
Gifts and promotions: Store credit can also be used as a token of appreciation. Surprise your customers with store credits on their birthday, or during special holidays like Christmas.
Cashback programs: Reward your customers with a percentage of their spending or transaction value, encouraging them to come back to spend their store credit.
Action motivation: Store credit is great for encouraging specific actions. Since the credit is tied to a customer’s account, you don’t have to worry about customers exploiting your promotion.
Step-by-step tutorial to give store credit on Shopify
The traditional ways of issuing store credit
Before native options existed, merchants who wanted to issue store credit on Shopify had to rely on:
Coding through Shopify Flow
Shopify gift card as store credit
3rd-party loyalty programs
Shopify store credit setup for B2C customers
As a native feature, Shopify allows its merchants an easier way to give store credit.
First, log in to your Shopify admin dashboard. Go to Settings and choose Customer accounts. Scroll down, and you should see a Store credit option, toggle to enable it, and click Save.
How to issue store credit on Shopify to your B2B customers
If you are on the Shopify Plus plan, you can issue store credit to your B2B customers using Shopify B2B.
From your Shopify admin, go to Customers, then select Companies. Click on a company you want to adjust store credit for. In the Locations box, select their location where you want to issue store credit.
There are some considerations you need to remember when it comes to accepting store credit as a payment method for B2B:
Location-based: You can’t give B2B store credit to individual customers. It’s tied to the company location and shared by all authorized users at that location.
Currency-specific: If a company has store credit in multiple currencies, the B2B customer will only see the balance that matches the currency used at checkout.
Not for deposits: Store credit can’t be used to pay deposits, since deposits are upfront payments that require regular payment methods. However, store credit can be applied to invoices when they are due.
Credit limit: You can only add up to $10,000 USD in store credit to a company location account.
Applies to all customers: If your store serves both D2C and B2B customers, store credit is turned on for everyone. You can’t enable it for only certain customers or customer types.
Stays put: You can’t move store credit from one company location to another.
Must be used in full: B2B customers must use their full store credit balance to pay for an order. Partial use is not allowed.
Shopify POS: Easy Shopify store credit setup tutorial
To edit your customers’ Shopify POS store credit, tap Customers. Then, find your customer in the Customers list. In their account menu, look for the Wallets section and tap Store credit. Here, you should be able to review the expiration details and transaction history of the customer's store credit balance.
In the Balance section, tap Edit. After that, the total available amount will display in the customer details section.
Best tips for giving store credit on Shopify
Now you know how to give store credit on Shopify to retain customers and boost repeat purchases, but monitoring it effectively is a different story. Before you set it up, here are a few tips to help you manage Shopify store credit campaign smoothly:
Clear communication: Focus on creating clear rules that both customers and your team can easily understand, such as whether credit can be applied to shipping costs or taxes. Make sure to inform your customers about their store credit balance through notifications and emails.
Regulatory compliance: Verify the laws for store credit expiration dates and timelines in the country you are selling. For example, the U.S treats store credit the same as gift cards, which are required to remain valid for at least 5 years after issuance or last load, according to The Credit CARD Act of 2009.
Proper documentation: Maintain detailed records of all credit transactions for accurate accounting. They will also be your proof for potential chargebacks or if customers try to exploit the system.
Regular review and improvement: Review program performance metrics against business objectives to identify improvements. At the same time, gather input from users to refine your store credit offering based on their experiences.
Limitations of the native Shopify store credit
Although it is a Shopify native feature, store credit has some limitations that you should be mindful of:
Unable to auto-issue: Shopify store credit cannot be automatically issued based on specific triggers like purchases, milestones, or customer actions. You will have to automate this sequence through Send HTTP Request on Shopify Flow, which requires a higher‑tier plan for this specific action.
No bulk actions: You can’t apply store credit to multiple customers or accounts at once; each transaction must be done individually and manually.
Basic reporting: Shopify’s built-in reporting for store credit is limited, making it harder to track usage, balances, and customer behavior in detail.
Limited customization: You can not customize how the store credit promotional widget appears on your product page, which can make it difficult to communicate the store credit program to your customers.
Maximize Shopify store credit potential with Koin
FAQs
Emma C.
Get value insights to grow your stores!
-About Author
Emma C.
As the Chief Marketing Officer at KOIN app, I’m here to build a robust ecosystem by collaping with Shopify apps. Together, we can create seamless integrations that add more value to our shared customers.
KOIN helps merchants retain customers, increase repeat purchases, and drive loyalty by offering cashback and store credit rewards.
📩 Let’s connect! emma@getkoin.io
