How to Create Custom Earning Rules for Shopify Loyalty Points

Quick Answer

Yes, Shopify loyalty points do not have to follow one flat earning rate. the Keystone loyalty app supports custom and conditional earning rules, so points can vary by product, collection, order value, or customer type. The setup involves identifying which conditions matter to your business and building rules around them inside the app. This gives merchants more control over which purchases and behaviors get rewarded most, without having to rebuild the whole loyalty program from scratch.

Introduction

This guide is for merchants who want their loyalty points to reflect specific business priorities rather than a single flat rate. A flat earning rate treats every purchase the same, even when some products or customers matter more to the business.

You will learn how to define conditions for custom earning rules, set different point values for different scenarios, and apply these rules without making the program too complicated for customers to follow. This approach works well for merchants running seasonal promotions or managing more than one customer segment.

What Is a Custom Earning Rule?

A custom earning rule is a loyalty rule that awards points based on specific conditions rather than a single flat rate. Conditions can include product category, collection, order value, customer tag, or purchase frequency. Merchants can combine several custom rules to build a points system that matches their actual sales priorities.

Who Needs Custom Earning Rules?

Custom earning rules are useful for stores that want to direct customer attention toward specific products or behaviors.

• Stores promoting a specific product line or new collection
• DTC brands with different margins across product categories
• Subscription businesses rewarding renewal behavior differently than one-time purchases
• Fashion and apparel stores running seasonal promotions
• Stores using customer tags to segment VIP or wholesale buyers

Why Custom Earning Rules Matters for Your Business

Custom earning rules let a loyalty program support specific business goals instead of treating every purchase and every customer the same way.

• Directs customer attention toward specific products or collections
• Rewards higher-margin products more generously than lower-margin ones
• Supports promotions by offering bonus points during a set period
• Recognizes different customer segments with different earning rates
• Makes the loyalty program feel connected to real business priorities

How to Set Up Custom Earning Rules on Shopify

Step 1: Define Your Loyalty Goal

Decide which conditions matter most to your business. This could be a specific collection you want to promote, a customer segment you want to reward, or a spend threshold that opens up a higher earning rate. Write down two or three conditions worth testing before building the rules themselves.

Step 2: Install and Configure Keystone Loyalty Rewards

Install Keystone Loyalty Rewards from the Shopify App Store and open the earning rules section. Keystone supports conditional earning rules, so you can set different point values for different products, collections, or customer tags.

Step 3: Create Earning Rules and Rewards

Build your custom rule by selecting the condition, such as a collection or customer tag, and assigning the point value that applies when it is met. You can layer multiple custom rules if different conditions apply to different products. Keep a simple record of every active rule so you know exactly what is running at any given time.

Step 4: Add the Loyalty Experience to Your Store

Make sure product pages clearly show when a custom earning rate applies, so customers understand why certain purchases earn more points. This is especially useful during promotions or when highlighting a specific collection. A short banner or badge near the price is often enough to communicate a bonus earning rate.

Step 5: Test the Program

Test each custom rule by placing orders that meet and do not meet the condition, confirming the correct point value is awarded in each case. Check that customer tags apply correctly if a rule depends on customer segment. Testing both sides of a condition helps catch a rule that is too broad or too narrow before customers notice.

Step 6: Go Live

Before launch, review all custom earning rules together to make sure they do not conflict or unintentionally overlap. Confirm customer-facing messaging explains any special earning rates clearly, and check the mobile view before customers see it.

Custom Earning Rule Examples

Industry: Fashion brand
Problem: A new collection was not getting the attention the brand wanted during launch week.
Setup: The brand created a custom earning rule offering double points on purchases from the new collection for two weeks.
Result: Customers had an added reason to try the new collection during the promotional period.

Industry: Wholesale and retail brand
Problem: Wholesale customers and retail customers were earning points at the same rate despite very different order sizes.
Setup: The brand used customer tags to apply a different earning rate for wholesale accounts.
Result: Each customer segment earned points that reflected their typical order behavior.

Read more case studies for our apps to see how merchants apply conditional earning rules.

Best Practices

A few practices help custom earning rules stay useful without becoming confusing for customers or hard to manage internally.

• Limit the number of active custom rules so customers can still understand the program
• Use custom rules for a clear business reason, such as a promotion or product launch
• Communicate special earning rates clearly on relevant product pages
• Review custom rules regularly and remove ones tied to expired promotions
• Avoid stacking too many conditions on a single rule
• Test customer tag based rules carefully to confirm the right customers are included

Summary

Custom earning rules let a Shopify loyalty program reward specific products, collections, or customer segments differently than a flat rate would. The setup involves defining conditions, assigning point values, and testing before launch. Starting with one or two rules makes it easier to see what works before expanding the structure further.

If you want a loyalty program that supports specific business goals, Keystone makes it possible to set conditional earning rules based on product, spend, or customer type.