Skip to main content

Rewards: Getting Started with Loyalty & Rewards

Overview of Bonde's loyalty and rewards features including store credit rewards and customer referrals.

Daniel Andrade avatar
Written by Daniel Andrade
Updated over 3 weeks ago

Bonde includes a complete loyalty and rewards system that helps you retain customers and drive repeat purchases. Reward your customers with store credit for purchases, subscriptions, and referrals.

What's Included

Rewards Programs

Create automated reward programs that issue store credit when customers take specific actions:

  • Order rewards: Earn credit on every purchase

  • Product-specific rewards: Bonus credit for buying specific products or collections

  • Subscription rewards: Reward customers for starting or renewing subscriptions

  • Milestone rewards: Celebrate subscription anniversaries

  • Win-back rewards: Incentivize returning customers

Rewards are issued as Shopify store credit, which customers can use on future purchases.

Referral Program

Turn your customers into advocates with a referral program:

  • Each customer gets a unique referral link

  • When a friend makes their first purchase, the referrer earns store credit

  • Optionally give the friend a discount on their first order

  • Track clicks, conversions, and earnings

Customer Widgets

Display rewards information to customers on your storefront:

  • Rewards Widget: Shows store credit balance, recent rewards earned, and available reward programs

  • Referral Widget: Displays referral link with easy sharing to social media and email

---

How Store Credit Works

Bonde uses Shopify's native store credit system. When a reward is issued:

1. Store credit is automatically added to the customer's account 2. At checkout, customers see their available balance 3. They can apply store credit to reduce their order total 4. Any remaining credit stays in their account for future purchases

Store credit is tied to the customer's account, so they need to be logged in to see and use it.

---

Quick Start

1. Create a Rewards Program

Go to Rewards > Programs and create your first program. We recommend starting with an order reward that gives customers a percentage back on every purchase.

2. Set Up Referrals

Go to Rewards > Referrals to configure your referral program. Set how much credit referrers earn and whether friends get a discount.

3. Add Widgets to Your Theme

Add the Rewards Widget and Referral Widget to your customer account page so customers can see their balance and share their referral link.

---

Requirements

To use the loyalty and rewards features, your Shopify plan must support:

  • Store Credit: Available on Shopify Plus and some other plans

  • Customer Accounts: Customers must be logged in to earn and use rewards

If you're unsure whether your plan supports store credit, check your Shopify admin under Settings > Checkout > Customer accounts.

---

Best Practices

Start simple: Begin with one or two reward programs before adding more. This makes it easier to measure impact.

Communicate clearly: Make sure customers know about your rewards program. Add the widgets to your customer account page and mention rewards in your marketing.

Set reasonable values: A 5% back reward is sustainable for most businesses. Higher percentages may impact margins.

Use referrals for acquisition: Referral programs are most effective when the reward is compelling enough to motivate sharing.

Monitor for fraud: The referral system includes fraud prevention (configurable delay before issuing rewards), but keep an eye on unusual patterns.

If you need help, reach out via our Intercom chat widget or email us at [email protected].

Did this answer your question?