Shopify Flow: Triggers & Actions Reference

Complete reference of all Joy Loyalty triggers and actions available in Shopify Flow, with payload properties, plan requirements, and ready-to-use flow templates.

Overview

Joy Loyalty exposes a set of triggers (events fired by Joy) and actions (tasks Joy can perform) inside Shopify Flow. Use them to build automated loyalty workflows — no code required.

This page is a complete reference. For step-by-step setup, see Integrate with Shopify Flow.

Trigger data properties

Every Joy trigger passes a common set of customer fields plus event-specific fields. When connecting to an email app (e.g. Klaviyo) through Shopify Flow, no variable dropdown is shown — you must type the property names manually. The tables below list every field for each trigger.

Klaviyo template syntax: Properties from Shopify Flow are available as event properties in Klaviyo. For multi-word property names, use the lookup filter: {{ event|lookup:'Customer email' }}. For single-word or underscored names, use dot notation: {{ event.customer_id }}.

Common fields (included in every trigger)

Earn points

Extra fields beyond the common set:

Admin manual point adjustment

Customer has enough points for reward

Redeem points

POS point redemption

30 / 7 / 3 days before point expiration

Upon point expiration

7 days before customer's birthday

Customer's birthday

VIP tier achieved

VIP Tier downgraded / VIP Tier reset

Uses common fields only. No extra properties.

Pre-Tier Demotion / Reset Reminders (4w / 2w / 1d)

Uses common fields only. No extra properties.

Customer comment on Instagram

Fires when Joy detects a customer comment on one of your monitored Instagram posts.

Customer commented on Instagram Live

Fires when Joy detects a customer comment on your Instagram Live broadcast and awards points.

Customer joined loyalty program

Fires whenever a customer joins your loyalty program for the first time — via the widget, sign-up button, POS, or any custom entry point.

Common use cases: send a welcome email with the first earning opportunity, auto-tag the customer in Shopify, sync to Klaviyo / HubSpot, or branch downstream flows based on initial points.

Referral for friend complete

Fires for the referrer when their friend completes a qualifying order.

Referee claim reward

Fires for the new customer when they claim their referral reward.

Milestone reward ready to claim

Fires when a customer reaches a milestone whose reward they have to pick themselves, so the reward is sitting unclaimed in the loyalty widget.

Triggers — when they fire

Points

Point expiration

Birthday

VIP Tiers

Referrals

Social activity

Membership

Milestones

Actions

Actions are tasks that Joy performs when called from a Shopify Flow. All actions require the integration to be enabled in Joy > Integrations > Shopify Flow.

Points

Add point — Adds points to a customer's balance.

Subtract point — Deducts points (will not go below zero).

Store credit

Adjust store credit

VIP Tiers

Assign to Tier — Assigns a customer directly to an exclusive VIP tier.

Unassign exclusive tier — Returns customer to their points-based tier.

Coupons

Reward by program — Rewards a customer from any active Joy program. Most programs only need Customer + Reward program identifier — a couple of program types need one extra field, see the table below.

Which program types this action supports

This action dispatches by how the target program's reward is configured, not by which earning event it is — the same program type behaves differently depending on its own reward setting:

Joy deduplicates by customer + program, so if the same Flow condition matches more than once for a customer (e.g. two qualifying orders in the same sale), they're still only rewarded once.

Revoke coupon — Voids a discount code and refunds any points spent.

Membership

Join loyalty program — Converts a guest to active member status.

Exclude from loyalty program — Removes a customer from the program.

Custom activity

Trigger custom activity — Fires a custom earning program inside Joy.

Flow Templates

1 — Birthday points + email (Klaviyo)

Goal: Give bonus points on a customer's birthday and send a personalised email.

Trigger: Customer's birthday
→ Action (Joy): Add point
   email: {{ customer.email }}
   point: 200
   reason: Birthday bonus
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email
   To: Customer email
   Subject: Happy birthday, {{ event|lookup:'Customer first name' }}!
   Body variables:
     {{ event|lookup:'Customer email' }}
     {{ event|lookup:'Customer first name' }}
     {{ event|lookup:'Customer points' }}
     {{ event|lookup:'Discount code' }}

2 — Point expiration reminder series

Goal: Warn customers before points expire with escalating urgency.

Trigger: 30 days before the point expiration date
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email — "Your points expire in 30 days"
   {{ event|lookup:'Customer points expire' }} points expiring

Trigger: 7 days before the point expiration date
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email — "Hurry — 7 days left"

Trigger: Upon point expiration
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email — "Your points have expired"

3 — VIP tier upgrade congratulations

Goal: Celebrate a tier upgrade with a bonus and email.

Trigger: VIP tier achieved
→ Action (Joy): Add point
   email: {{ customer.email }}
   point: 500
   reason: Welcome bonus — new tier
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email
   {{ event|lookup:'Tier name' }}
   {{ event|lookup:'Customer points' }}
   {{ event|lookup:'Discount code' }}

4 — Pre-demotion rescue

Goal: Motivate customers to spend before they lose their tier.

Trigger: 4-week Pre-Tier Demotion Reminder
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email — "You're at risk of losing your tier"
   {{ event|lookup:'Customer first name' }}
   {{ event|lookup:'Customer points' }}

Trigger: 1-day Pre-Tier Demotion Reminder
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email — "Last chance — tier demotion tomorrow"

5 — Reward any review app

Goal: Give points when a customer submits a review in any app that supports Shopify Flow (Loox, Okendo, Stamped, Yotpo, etc.).

Trigger: [Review App] — Review submitted
→ Action (Joy): Add point
   email: {{ customer.email }}
   point: 50
   reason: Thanks for your review!

See the individual integration guides (linked from the parent page) for app-specific trigger names.

6 — Auto-enrol new customers

Goal: Add customers to the loyalty program the moment they sign up.

Trigger: Customer created  (native Shopify trigger)
→ Action (Joy): Join loyalty program
   customer_id: {{ customer.id }}

7 — Referral reward notification

Goal: Send the referrer a confirmation email when their friend's order is complete.

Trigger: Referral for friend complete
→ Action (Klaviyo): Send email
   To: {{ event|lookup:'Referrer email' }}
   Body variables:
     {{ event|lookup:'Customer first name' }}
     {{ event|lookup:'Referrer reward type' }}
     {{ event|lookup:'Referrer reward' }}
     {{ event|lookup:'Customer points' }}

8 — Reward a flash-sale coupon that isn't usable until later

Goal: Reward customers who place a qualifying order during a flash sale with a free coupon that only becomes usable once the sale ends (so it can't be stacked on sale pricing).

Trigger: Order created  (native Shopify trigger)
→ Condition: Order total ≥ [threshold]
→ Action (Joy): Reward by program
   customer: {{ order.customer }}
   reward_program_identifier: [Discount program ID]

On the Discount program side, set Coupon validity → Usable from to a date after the sale ends — see Coupon validity. Customers see the coupon in their wallet as soon as they earn it, labeled "Active from [date]," and it unlocks automatically on that date.

FAQ

Which plan do I need?

Essential and above. Assign to Tier and Unassign exclusive tier require Advanced or above.

Why is my action not running?

Make sure the integration toggle is On in Joy > Integrations > Shopify Flow. This is the most common cause of silent failures.

Klaviyo doesn't show a variable picker — what do I type?

Use {{ event|lookup:'Property name' }} for any property with spaces in its name (see the property tables above). For single-word or underscored names like customer_id, you can use {{ event.customer_id }}.

Can I use multiple Joy actions in one Flow?

Yes. You can chain Joy actions — for example, add points and send a coupon in the same automation.

The "Adjust store credit" action isn't available — why?

It requires an additional Shopify permission. Enable the integration in Joy and click Grant access in the blue banner that appears.

Can I test triggers without real events?

Use Shopify Flow's built-in Run test feature, or use the Admin manual point adjustment trigger as a safe sandbox since you control exactly when it fires.

Does "Reward by program" deduct points when I target a redeeming/discount program?

No — a reward issued this way is free. It uses the same mechanism as VIP tier rewards, so no points are deducted from the customer, unlike a normal points redemption.

What if the same Flow condition matches twice for one customer?

Joy rewards once per customer per program regardless of how many times the condition matches — for example, two qualifying orders in the same sale still only produce one coupon.