New update: Convert VIFY gift card product to Shopify gift card product - What’s different ?
We've made a big update to our app: Instead of using our app's product, it has now been transitioned into a Shopify gift card product. That means it gets all the cool benefits of Shopify's gift card product.
Right now, our users can avoid any gaps that the old version of our app's product couldn't cover.
This update will help your store minimizing revenue loss, double redemption and unused balance.
In this version, the gift card product value will not be counted in the total order amount, which still happened in the previous version.
We will go through an example to better understand this.
In this scienario, a merchant has set up a rule for free shipping: If the total order amount is over 70$, the free shipping will apply to that order.
This creates a gap when your shipping costs are based on total cart value. If a customer buy a normal product with a value of 60$ and a gift card product with a value of 20$, at this point, the total order amount is 80$, while the actual value of the order without the gift card product is only 60&, but the order still qualifies for free shipping. It means that the gift cards in the cart are taken into account for free shipping.
In the new version of VIFY gift card product, our app can completely prevent this case from happening.
If you only refund part of an order that was purchased using a gift card and other methods of payment, then you can manually change the refund amount that is applied to each payment method.
If you refund a gift card, then it's automatically disabled. You need to specify the quantity of gift cards that you want to refund, but you don't have to refund the full amount paid.
By default, gift cards are set to be fulfilled automatically when an order is paid, and the customer receives a notification email.
However, merchants can change the fulfillment setting to manually fulfill all items in the order, including gift cards from Shopify Admin
From Shopify admin, go to [Settings > General](https://admin.shopify.com/settings/general).
In the Order processing section, select Do not automatically fulfill any of the order's line items.
Click Save.
To activate the new version of the VIFY gift card product, it is necessary to create a new gift card product. To avoid conflicts between the old version and the new one, it is advisable to delete all your old gift card products and create new ones.
When a customer buys one gift card product from store front, an order will be created.
Simultaneously, there will be two gift codes generated: one from VIFY Gift Card App and another is from Shopify.
Similarly, this means that when you purchase 2 gift cards, there will be a total of 4 gift codes generated: 2 from VIFY Gift Card App and 2 from Shopify.
The gift code generated from Shopify will be automatically disabled, and the rest one generated from our app will stay active for the recipient to use.
At this point,
- The sender will receive two emails from Shopify: one is email confirmation and one is email containing the gift code from Shopify, which is automatically deactivated when sent.
- The recipient will receive an email containing gift card from our app
- In the case where both the sender and the recipient are the same person (send it to me), the sender will receive all three of these emails above.
This lead us to develop a related feature; we'll delve into how this feature functions in the next section.
![Hide gift code directly in sender's email]
We will explore how how this feature functions by examining what happens if the merchant does not configure the settings.
At this stage, there will be two possible scenarios.
We'll use the situation where a customer buys a single gift card as an example.
When a customer (sender) buy one gift card and send it to a recipient, the sender will receive two emails from Shopify: one is email confirmation and one is email containing the gift code from Shopify
If that merchant did not set up the Hide gift code directly in sender’s email option
They will receive 2 emails like this:
This is the gift code that has been deactivated as mentioned earlier.
Even though this gift code is not usable as it has been deactivated beforehand, it may still cause confusion and concern for the sender if they attempt to use it and realizing that it cannot be redeemed. The sender might mistakenly think that this gift code is the same as the one they purchased for the recipient (even though theoretically, no one would use this particular gift code themselves as it's intended for someone else).
This would be a more negatively impacted scenario because, in this case, the sender and recipient are the same person, and they will receive two emails containing two different gift codes from VIFY Gift Card App and Shopify
||| That's why it's essential for merchants to access the settings and configure the option to Hide gift codes directly in the sender’s email.
Go to Settings —> Email template —> Scroll down to “Hide gift code directly in the sender’s email”
Click “Configure to hide gift code.” —> Copy email template —> Open edit email template page
Delete the default code and paste the new code —> Click “Save”
Right now, our users can avoid any gaps that the old version of our app's product couldn't cover.
Advantages of the new gift card product version bringing to merchants
Customers cannot using discount or gift code to buy another gift card product
This update will help your store minimizing revenue loss, double redemption and unused balance.
Gift cards are no more taken into account for free shipping.
In this version, the gift card product value will not be counted in the total order amount, which still happened in the previous version.
We will go through an example to better understand this.
In this scienario, a merchant has set up a rule for free shipping: If the total order amount is over 70$, the free shipping will apply to that order.
This creates a gap when your shipping costs are based on total cart value. If a customer buy a normal product with a value of 60$ and a gift card product with a value of 20$, at this point, the total order amount is 80$, while the actual value of the order without the gift card product is only 60&, but the order still qualifies for free shipping. It means that the gift cards in the cart are taken into account for free shipping.
In the new version of VIFY gift card product, our app can completely prevent this case from happening.
Apply the refund to the gift card
If you only refund part of an order that was purchased using a gift card and other methods of payment, then you can manually change the refund amount that is applied to each payment method.
Automatically disable gift code when refunded
If you refund a gift card, then it's automatically disabled. You need to specify the quantity of gift cards that you want to refund, but you don't have to refund the full amount paid.
Automatically fulfilled gift card order
By default, gift cards are set to be fulfilled automatically when an order is paid, and the customer receives a notification email.
However, merchants can change the fulfillment setting to manually fulfill all items in the order, including gift cards from Shopify Admin
From Shopify admin, go to [Settings > General](https://admin.shopify.com/settings/general).
In the Order processing section, select Do not automatically fulfill any of the order's line items.
Click Save.
How our gift card products work in new version?
To activate the new version of the VIFY gift card product, it is necessary to create a new gift card product. To avoid conflicts between the old version and the new one, it is advisable to delete all your old gift card products and create new ones.
When a customer buys one gift card product from store front, an order will be created.
Simultaneously, there will be two gift codes generated: one from VIFY Gift Card App and another is from Shopify.
Similarly, this means that when you purchase 2 gift cards, there will be a total of 4 gift codes generated: 2 from VIFY Gift Card App and 2 from Shopify.
The gift code generated from Shopify will be automatically disabled, and the rest one generated from our app will stay active for the recipient to use.
At this point,
- The sender will receive two emails from Shopify: one is email confirmation and one is email containing the gift code from Shopify, which is automatically deactivated when sent.
- The recipient will receive an email containing gift card from our app
- In the case where both the sender and the recipient are the same person (send it to me), the sender will receive all three of these emails above.
This lead us to develop a related feature; we'll delve into how this feature functions in the next section.
Related feature: Hide gift code directly in sender's email
![Hide gift code directly in sender's email]
We will explore how how this feature functions by examining what happens if the merchant does not configure the settings.
At this stage, there will be two possible scenarios.
We'll use the situation where a customer buys a single gift card as an example.
Scenario 1 - Send as gift card
When a customer (sender) buy one gift card and send it to a recipient, the sender will receive two emails from Shopify: one is email confirmation and one is email containing the gift code from Shopify
If that merchant did not set up the Hide gift code directly in sender’s email option
They will receive 2 emails like this:
This is the gift code that has been deactivated as mentioned earlier.
Even though this gift code is not usable as it has been deactivated beforehand, it may still cause confusion and concern for the sender if they attempt to use it and realizing that it cannot be redeemed. The sender might mistakenly think that this gift code is the same as the one they purchased for the recipient (even though theoretically, no one would use this particular gift code themselves as it's intended for someone else).
Scenerio 2 - Send it to me
This would be a more negatively impacted scenario because, in this case, the sender and recipient are the same person, and they will receive two emails containing two different gift codes from VIFY Gift Card App and Shopify
||| That's why it's essential for merchants to access the settings and configure the option to Hide gift codes directly in the sender’s email.
How to set up “Hide gift code directly in the sender’s email” option ?
Go to Settings —> Email template —> Scroll down to “Hide gift code directly in the sender’s email”
Click “Configure to hide gift code.” —> Copy email template —> Open edit email template page
Delete the default code and paste the new code —> Click “Save”
Updated on: 09/08/2024
Thank you!