# Store Credit
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This feature is available for: **All** plans (earning programs), **Advanced** and **Ultimate** plans (milestones, referrals)
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### What is Store Credit?
**Store Credit** is a reward type in Joy Loyalty that grants customers a real cash-value balance on their Shopify account. Unlike loyalty points that require redemption, store credit is applied **directly at checkout** as a payment method — no coupon codes needed.
Store credit is powered by Shopify's native store credit system, which means the balance appears in the customer's account and can be used across future purchases seamlessly.
### Why use Store Credit instead of Points?
| Feature | Points | Store Credit |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Customer experience** | Customers redeem points for coupons | Automatically available at checkout as balance |
| **Perceived value** | Abstract (e.g., "500 points") | Concrete (e.g., "$5.00 credit") |
| **Redemption friction** | Requires manual redemption step | No extra steps — applied at checkout |
| **Coupon codes needed?** | Yes | No |
| **Best for** | Gamified loyalty programs with tiers and levels | Simple, high-value reward experiences |
Store credit is ideal for merchants who want a **frictionless** reward experience — customers see their balance and can spend it immediately.
### How to enable Store Credit
Store Credit requires additional Shopify permissions. You'll be prompted to grant access the first time you select Store Credit as a reward type in any program — no separate settings page needed.
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**Open the program you want to configure**
Go to **Reward programs** and open or create a program that supports Store Credit: Place Order, Milestones, Referrals, or Shopify Flow.
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**Select Store Credit as the reward type**
In the reward configuration section, choose **Store Credit** as the reward type. A warning banner will appear at the top of the form indicating that additional permissions are required.
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**Click "Grant Access"**
Click the **Grant Access** button inside the banner. A confirmation popup will appear — click **Confirm** to authorize Joy Loyalty to manage store credit balances on your customers' Shopify accounts.
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**Done — the page will reload automatically**
Once permissions are granted, the page reloads and Store Credit is fully enabled. The banner will no longer appear in future sessions.
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You only need to grant access once — it applies to all programs. If you set up Store Credit in Place Order first, the permission is already in place when you configure Referrals or Milestones.
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### Where can you use Store Credit?
Store credit is available as a reward type across multiple Joy Loyalty programs:
#### 1. Earning Programs — Place Order
Reward customers with store credit every time they place an order. You can configure the earning rate (e.g., $1 credit per $20 spent).
👉 [Learn more about Place Order rewards](/reward-programs/earning-programs/place-order.md)
#### 2. Milestones
Award store credit when customers reach specific milestones — such as a certain number of orders, total amount spent, or earned points threshold.
| Milestone type | Example |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Number of orders | $10 credit after 5th order |
| Amount spent | $15 credit after spending $500 |
| Earned points | $5 credit after earning 1,000 points |
| Number of reviews | $3 credit after posting 3 reviews |
| Inactivity | $5 credit for customers inactive for 3 months |
👉 [Learn more about Milestones](/reward-programs/milestone.md)
#### 3. Referrals
Reward referrers with store credit when their referred friends complete a purchase. Two store credit options are available:
| Reward option | How it works |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Store Credit (Fixed)** | Referrer earns a fixed store credit amount per successful referral (e.g., $5 per referral) |
| **Store Credit (Order-based)** | Referrer earns store credit as a **percentage of the referee's first order value** (e.g., 10% of $100 = $10 credit) |
The **Order-based** option is especially powerful because it scales the reward with the value the referred customer brings — creating a fairer and more motivating incentive for referrers.
**How the Order-based calculation works:**
> Store credit = Referee's first order value × Reward rate (%)
**Example:** If the reward rate is 10% and the referee's first order is $100, the referrer earns **$10 in store credit**.
👉 [Learn more about Referrals](/reward-programs/referrals.md)
#### 4. Shopify Flow
You can also grant store credit through Shopify Flow automations for custom scenarios — such as rewarding customers who leave a review via a third-party app, or granting credit based on custom triggers.
👉 [Learn more about Shopify Flow + Store Credit](/integrations/integrate-with-shopify-flow/shopify-flow-store-credit.md)
### How customers use Store Credit
Once store credit is added to a customer's account:
1. The balance appears in the customer's **Shopify account**
2. At checkout, the store credit balance is shown as an **available payment method**
3. Customers can apply their store credit to reduce the order total — no coupon code required
4. Any remaining balance carries over to future purchases
### Manage Store Credit balances in Joy
You don't need to switch to the Shopify admin to check or adjust balances — Joy now surfaces store credit directly inside the Customers area.
#### View a customer's balance
1. Go to **Customers** and open any customer to see the **Customer detail** page.
2. In the **Point balance** card, click **See store credit balance** to switch the card to credits view.
3. Scroll down to the **Activity log** to see every credit change over time, including:
* Earned or refunded through Place Order rewards
* Manually adjusted
* Imported
* Used in an order (when the customer spends credit at checkout)
Activity entries use the same format as points — just with currency instead of point units — so your team can scan the history without relearning anything.
#### Import or adjust credits in bulk
Use this when you want to seed balances from another system, run a one-off campaign adjustment, or correct credits in bulk.
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**Open the Import dialog**
Go to **Customers** → click **Import** → choose **Adjust store credits to existing customer balances**.
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**Prepare your CSV file**
Download the template from the dialog. Each row must include at least one identifier:
* **Email**
* **Phone**
* **Customer ID**
When a row contains more than one identifier, Joy uses this priority order: **Customer ID → Email → Phone**. Email matching is case-sensitive, so double-check for exact matches.
The credit column supports both positive and negative values — use a negative number to reduce a customer's balance (for example, `-100` to deduct $100).
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**Upload and confirm**
Upload the CSV and confirm the import. Joy validates the file first, then applies the adjustments. Every change is recorded in the customer's Activity log.
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{% hint style="info" %}
Import only updates credits for customers who already exist in your store. It does not create new customers and does not modify any other customer data (name, address, tags, etc.).
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### Frequently Asked Questions
**Can I use both Points and Store Credit in the same program?**\
No. Each program is configured with one reward type — either Points or Store Credit. However, you can have different programs using different reward types (e.g., Place Order earns points, Referrals earn store credit).
**Does Store Credit work with VIP Tiers?**\
Yes. If you have VIP tiers with tier-based reward rates, the store credit earning rates will adjust based on the customer's tier level.
**Is Store Credit the same as a discount code?**\
No. Store credit is added to the customer's Shopify account balance and applied at checkout as a payment method. It does not generate a discount code.
**Can I manually adjust a customer's store credit?**\
Yes. You can adjust balances directly from Joy — either one customer at a time in the **Customer detail** page, or in bulk using the **Import** action in the Customers list. Every change is recorded in the Activity log. Adjustments stay in sync with Shopify's native store credit system.
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