How to Create a Loyalty Program on Shopify (2026 Guide)

Winning a first order is hard work. Turning that buyer into a regular is where most of your profit comes from. A loyalty program is one of the simplest ways to get there, because it gives shoppers a reason to come back every time they buy, refer a friend or leave a review.

Shopify doesn't include a loyalty program in its core features, so you need an app to build one. The good news is that setup takes less than an hour and no code. In this guide, we walk through how to create a loyalty program on Shopify from start to finish: planning your points, matching the rewards widget to your theme, setting up rewards, and taking it into your physical store.

What Is a Shopify Loyalty Program?

A Shopify loyalty program rewards customers for shopping with you and engaging with your brand. Most programs combine three parts:

• Points: customers earn points for orders and actions like signing up or following you on Instagram, then spend them on rewards.
• VIP tiers: your best customers unlock levels (like Bronze, Silver and Gold) with better perks the more they spend.
• Referrals: customers get a reward for inviting friends, and the friend gets a welcome gift on their first order.

You don't need all three on day one. Most stores start with points and add tiers and referrals later.

Does Shopify Have a Loyalty Program?

No. Shopify has no built-in points, VIP tiers or referral program. It does give you a few building blocks, including discount codes, gift cards and store credit, but none of them track points or reward repeat behavior on their own.

Store credit is the closest native feature. It works well as a refund or goodwill tool, but it isn't a full loyalty program. To run points, tiers and referrals, you need a loyalty app from the Shopify App Store. Many of them have free plans.

Why a Loyalty Program Matters for Your Store

• Keeping customers costs less than finding new ones. Winning a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more than keeping an existing one, according to Harvard Business Review.
• Members spend more. In research summarized by Shopify, 72% of shoppers said loyalty programs encourage them to spend more.
• You collect useful data. Birthdays, phone numbers and purchase habits feed straight into your email and SMS marketing.
• Customers market for you. Referral rewards and points for social follows grow your audience without paying for ads.

Plan Your Shopify Loyalty Program

Ten minutes of planning saves you from changing rules after customers have already earned points. Answer these four questions first.

1. What is the goal?

Pick one main goal so you know what to reward. More repeat orders means rewarding purchases. More accounts means a strong signup bonus. More reviews or followers means points for those actions.

2. How much are you willing to give back?

A simple rule: give back roughly 1% to 5% of what customers spend as rewards. Here's how a common setup works:

• Customers earn 1 point per $1 spent.
• 500 points = $5 off, so a customer who spends $500 gets $5 back. That's a 1% reward rate.
• Selling cheaper products ($5 to $15)? Give 5 points per $1 so the numbers feel more exciting.

3. What rewards will customers actually want?

Discounts are the default, but they're not the only option. Free shipping, a free product, early access to new launches and birthday gifts often feel more personal than a small coupon.

4. Online only, or in store too?

If you have a physical shop, choose an app that works with Shopify POS so customers can earn and redeem points in person. It's much harder to add this later.

How to Create a Loyalty Program on Shopify (Step by Step)

For this walkthrough, we use Loyalty Palms, a free loyalty app by Retail Force that covers points, VIP tiers, referrals and Shopify POS in one place. The steps follow the same order in most loyalty apps, so you can use this guide even if you pick a different one.

The first six steps use the app's setup wizard and get you live. Steps 7 to 14 help you fine-tune and grow the program.

Install Loyalty Palms from the Shopify App Store and open it from Apps in your Shopify admin. A five-step setup wizard opens. You can skip any step and come back later.

First, choose the language you want to see inside the app. Then choose what your customers see:

• Match each customer: the widget uses the language the shopper is browsing your store in. Best if you sell in more than one language.
• Always English: everyone sees the same language.

The rewards button is the small floating button shoppers click to open your program. Make it look like it belongs on your store:

• Icon: gift, bag, crown, coin, diamond, star or heart.
• Label: the text next to the icon. Use a quick pick like "Rewards", "Earn points", "Join VIP" or "My perks", or write your own.
• Style: icon and text, icon only, or a side tab on the edge of the screen.
• Color and position: pick where the button sits so it doesn't cover your chat widget or cart button.

The rewards panel opens when a shopper clicks the button. It shows their points, ways to earn and available rewards. This is where you make the program look like part of your brand:

• Layout: Classic (a header with content below) or Spotlight (a bold full-color header).
• Look: start from a preset (Clean, Luxury, Playful, Minimal or Bold).
• Brand color: paste the hex code of your theme's main color so buttons and headers match exactly.

Now decide how fast customers earn. The wizard shows the full journey in one line: the customer spends $1, earns 1 point, and at 100 points gets 5% off. You can start from a preset:

Or set your own rate under Earning points on purchases by changing how much a customer spends and how many points they earn. The live preview shows what a customer will see, including their balance and how close they are to the next reward.

Shopify needs you to switch the widget on in your theme. It takes three clicks:

1. Click Open Theme Editor. Shopify opens it in a new tab.
2. In the left sidebar, open App embeds and turn on LoyaltyPalms.
3. Click Save, go back to the app and click Check status.

When it works, you'll see a green "Widget enabled" label.

The last screen shows your full setup at a glance: language, rewards button, rewards panel, points and rewards, and storefront widget. Each has an Edit button if you want to change something. Check the customer preview on the right, then click Launch program.

Your dashboard now shows "App embed enabled" and "Loyalty program on". Your program is live.

Go to Programs > Points Program > Manage. Under Ways to earn, you'll find every action that gives points. More ways to earn means more reasons to engage.

Click into Place an order to fine-tune purchase points:

• Value: points per dollar spent.
• Fulfilled orders only: give points after the order ships, not when it's placed.
• Limits: set a minimum order amount, which order types count, and how many times someone can earn.
• Who and what earns: limit points to certain customer groups, or to certain products and collections (for example, no points on gift cards).

Then click Add way to earn for extra actions, such as:

• A signup bonus for creating an account
• Birthday points (once a year)
• Saving a phone number (great for SMS lists)
• Following you on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or X
• Clicking a link, like a new product launch or blog post

Scroll to Ways to redeem and click Add way to redeem. For your online store, you can offer an amount discount, a percentage off, free shipping, a free product or a gift card. For Shopify POS, you can offer an amount or percentage discount.

Each reward has a few settings worth checking:

• Points cost: a fixed cost (500 points for $5) or increments the customer picks (1,000 points for $10, 2,000 for $20).
• Applies to: the whole order, one collection or specific products.
• Minimum purchase: encourages a slightly bigger order.
• One customer only: stops reward codes from being shared.
• Code prefix: makes codes look branded, like REWARD-XXXX.
• Combinations: decide whether the reward stacks with other discounts.
• Expiration: set when an unused code stops working.

Three settings on the Points Program page make a big difference:

• Points name: call your points something on-brand. A coffee shop might use "Beans" or "Gems". Customers then see "You've earned 40 Gems."
• Points delay: hold points for a set time, like 14 days, so they only arrive after your return window closes. This stops customers from spending points on an order they later return.
• Points expiry: let points expire after a period of no activity, like 12 months. It gives quiet customers a reason to come back before they lose them.

Need to pause everything during a big sale? Use Points status to deactivate the program and turn it back on when you're ready.

The Programs page lists everything you can run besides points:

• Referral Program: reward customers when a friend they invite places an order. Set one reward for the referrer and one for the friend.
• Customer Group: create VIP levels based on points, total spend or order history, each with its own perks.
• Bonus Campaigns: run limited-time offers, like double points for a weekend, for selected customer groups.

A floating button alone is easy to miss. In Store Front Widgets, you can show rewards in more places:

• Launcher and panel: the rewards button and the panel it opens.
• Referral popup: a welcome gift popup for friends who arrive from a referral link.
• Nudges: small on-site reminders, like "You're 50 points away from a reward".
• Page placements: a dedicated loyalty page, the account page, product pages, the cart drawer, checkout and the thank you page.

If you sell in person, open Shopify POS in the app and follow the launch checklist:

1. Create a POS reward (for example, 500 points for $5 off).
2. Turn the reward on.
3. In Shopify POS, add the Loyalty Palms tile to your smart grid.
4. Test a first redemption with a real customer profile.

You can also create a branded in-store signup QR poster for your counter. Customers scan it, sign in and join your program in seconds. The staff preview shows exactly what your team will see at checkout.

Your loyalty program works harder when it talks to your other tools. In Integrations, you can connect:

• Email and SMS: Klaviyo, Mailchimp and Brevo PushOwl, to show points balances and rewards in your campaigns.
• Reviews: Judge.me, Loox, Yotpo and Okendo, to reward customers for writing reviews.
• Support: Gorgias and Intercom, so your team sees a customer's points and tier next to their ticket.
• Subscriptions: Recharge, Shopify Subscriptions, Bold and Seal, to reward subscription orders and renewals.
• Automation: Shopify Flow, for things like birthday rewards, VIP tags or win-back emails for inactive customers.

Points are added and removed automatically, so there's nothing to track by hand. Two pages help you see what's working:

• Customers: see every member's points, referrals and VIP level. Filter by members, guests or excluded customers, export the list, or adjust points for anyone. If you're switching from another loyalty app, import your customers' existing balances here so nobody loses points.
• Analytics: track loyalty-driven revenue, new members, points earned and redeemed, and your redemption rate. Customer segments compare members and reward redeemers with your average customer.

Loyalty Program Mistakes to Avoid

Shopify Loyalty Apps to Consider

Every app below covers points and rewards. They differ mostly in price, how advanced the VIP and POS features are, and how much design control you get. For full reviews, see our guide to the best Shopify loyalty apps.

Prices and ratings from Shopify App Store listings, October 2026.

Shopify Loyalty Program FAQ