There are two ways to provide gift cards to your customers: manually sending them or offering gift card products for purchase. In both cases, gift card information is sent to customers via email or SMS. Customers can use the remaining balance on their gift cards to reduce the total amount of their orders when shopping at your store.

In this guide, you'll learn how to create, distribute, manage, and track gift cards within your SHOPLINE store, ensuring a smooth gifting experience for both you and your customers.

 

In This Article

• Creating Gift Card Products
• Viewing and Editing Gift Card Products
• Sending Gift Cards
• Managing Gift Cards
• How Customers Use Gift Cards

 

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Creating Gift Card Products

1. In your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Products > Gift cards and click Create a gift card.
   
   
   
2. On the gift card creation page, define the gift card product details: 

• • Set Product Information: Provide the product details for your gift card, including title, description, images, price, shipping details, and weight.
    
    
    
  • Set Face Value: The system offers pre-set face values of USD 10, USD 25, USD 50, and USD 100. You can add, delete, or modify these values. The face value becomes the product style and price that customers see when browsing and buying.
    

    Important: Different regions may have different legal regulations on gift card face values. Check your local regulations before setting the face value to avoid penalties.

• • Delete Face Value: If you want to remove a face value, click the minus icon next to the value you want to delete.
    
    
    
  • Categorize Your Gift Card: Similar to other products, you can categorize your gift card using a pre-created collection or smart categorization. Click Add new next to Collections to assign a collection to your gift card.
    
    
    
  • Publish Your Gift Card: Once you've finished defining your gift card, remember to select its sales channels by clicking Manage and enable the Activate switch to make it visible to customers.
    

3. After creating your gift card, view it by going to the Products section, locating the created gift card product, and clicking the eye icon. This will direct you to the product details page.
   

 

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Viewing and Editing Gift Card Products

You can view and edit your gift card products through two ways:

• Filter in the Products Page: In the Products page, click More filters and select Gift card to filter and view only your gift card products.
  
  
  
• View from the Gift Cards Section: Alternatively, go directly to the Gift cards section and click View gift card products to see all your gift cards.
  

 

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Sending Gift Cards

 Send gift cards to specific customers with a custom amount by following the steps below:

1. In your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Products >  Gift cards and click Send gift card.
   
   
   
2. Customize the gift card details for the specific customer:
   

• • Gift Card Code: It is suggested to personalize the gift card code using the customer's name or a relevant holiday theme (e.g., "happynewyear"). Currently, a gift card code can consist of 8 to 20 characters, supporting only numbers and lowercase alphabets.
  • Face Value: Set the gift card amount. Customers can use it to offset the corresponding amount of their order total. Remember to check your local regulations to avoid penalties for violations.
  • Expiry Date: Set an expiration date if needed. The gift card will expire on the day after the specified date (based on your store's time zone). 
    

    Important: Ensure you comply with your region's legal requirements for gift card expiry.

3. Choose the customer to whom you want to send the gift card. Add a note if needed.
   
   
   
4. Click Add to send out the gift card.

 

Viewing Distributed Gift Cards

1. In your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Products > Gift cards and click on a specific gift card to view its information.
   
   
   
2. In the gift card page, you can view the following details:
   

• • Balance 
  • Creation date 
  • Expiry date
  • Remarks (added by you)
  • Usage history 

 

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Managing Gift Cards

You can manage all your gift cards in the Products > Gift cards section of your SHOPLINE admin panel. Here's what you can do:

• Search: Enter the full code (without spaces) or customer name in the search bar and click the search icon to search for gift cards.
  
  
  
• Filter: Filter gift cards by various criteria like Status (enabled, expired soon, disabled, expired), Balance (unused, partially used, fully used), Value, Distribution Date, and Distribution Method (distributed, purchased, generated).
  
  
  
• Sort: Sorting is a useful method when you’re trying to find a gift card that matches specific criteria. Sort gift cards on the Gift cards section by various criteria, such as total balance and expiry date.
  
  
  
• View Details: Click a gift card code to view its details, including balance, linked order number, customer name, and expiry date.
  
  
  
• Send Email/SMS Notifications: Customers automatically receive an email or SMS about their gift card after distribution (if a recipient is selected). You can also resend it from the gift card details page or the Gift cards section.
  
  
  
  
• Disable: Disable gift cards in bulk by selecting them on the Gift cards section and clicking Disable gift card, or disable them individually from their details page.
  
  
  
  
• Export: Export gift card details (unspent balance, etc.) as a .csv file for spreadsheet viewing by clicking Export on the Gift cards section.
  

  Note: Importing a .csv file to create gift cards is not currently supported.

 

Configuring General Settings for Your Gift Cards

Set an expiry period or enable QR/barcode functionality for all your gift cards in the Settings > Gift Card section.

 

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How Customers Use Gift Cards

Customers can use the balance of their valid gift cards during checkout by entering the code in the designated field on the shopping page and clicking Apply. The gift card balance will then be deducted from their order total. Customers can combine the balance of multiple gift cards for a single purchase.