How to Give Loyalty Points for Purchases on Shopify

Quick Answer

Yes, giving loyalty points for purchases on Shopify is a matter of configuring one earning rule inside your loyalty app. Keystone Loyalty Rewards supports points per dollar spent on standard online orders, and also extends this to POS purchases for stores selling in person, so the same earning rule applies regardless of where the sale happens.

Giving points for purchases sounds simple, but the actual configuration has a few decisions worth getting right the first time. This guide walks through the specific steps rather than the broader strategy of why purchase points matter.

We will cover setting the earning rule itself, extending it to POS if you sell in person, and handling edge cases like subscription orders. The goal is a configuration that works the same way regardless of how a customer actually buys from your store.

What Does Giving Points for Purchases Involve?

This means configuring a rule that automatically awards a set number of points based on the amount a customer spends, applied consistently whether the order comes through your online store, a subscription renewal, or an in-person POS sale at a physical location.

Who Needs to Configure Purchase Points?

• Any store setting up loyalty points for the first time
• Retailers selling both online and in person through Shopify POS
• Subscription businesses wanting recurring orders to also earn points
• Stores wanting a consistent earning rule across every sales channel
• Brands that have only configured points for online orders and want to extend to POS
• Merchants double-checking that their current purchase points setup covers every order type
• Businesses planning to run a promotion that depends on a clean, consistent baseline rule

Why Configuring This Correctly Matters for Your Business

• Inconsistent point awarding across channels confuses customers who shop both ways
• POS customers deserve the same loyalty treatment as online customers
• Subscription orders that do not earn points can feel like a missed benefit to loyal subscribers
• A correctly configured rule reduces support questions about missing points
• Getting this right the first time avoids a confusing retroactive fix later
• Consistent configuration across channels makes reporting on points awarded more reliable
• This also makes future promotions like double points weekends easier to apply evenly

How to Give Loyalty Points for Purchases on Shopify

Step 1: Define Your Loyalty Goal

Decide the scope of your purchase points rule before configuring it. Specifically, decide whether every sales channel should be included from the start.

• Decide the point value per dollar spent for standard online orders
• Decide if POS purchases should earn points at the same rate
• Decide if subscription renewal orders should earn points the same way as one-time purchases

Step 2: Install and Configure Keystone Loyalty Rewards

Install Keystone Loyalty Rewards from the Shopify App Store and connect it to your store, then configure the purchase earning rule across the specific channels you decided on in step one.

• Connect the app to your Shopify store
• Set up the purchase earning rule directly in the app settings
• Enable POS compatibility if you sell in person

Step 3: Create Earning Rules and Rewards

Build out the specific earning rule, including any conditions that should apply, such as a minimum order value.

• Set the points-per-dollar value for the purchase earning rule
• Add a conditional earning rule if points should only apply above a minimum order value
• Confirm subscription orders are included if that applies to your store

Step 4: Add the Loyalty Experience to Your Store

Add the loyalty experience to the places where customers will see the points they earned from a purchase.

• Show points earned on the thank you page after checkout
• Display the running point balance in the customer account
• Confirm POS receipts or the POS interface reflect points earned, if applicable

Step 5: Test the Program

Test the earning rule across every channel you configured, not just the online store.

• Make a test online purchase and confirm the correct points are awarded
• Test a POS sale if you sell in person and confirm points are awarded there too
• Test a subscription renewal order if that applies to your store

Step 6: Go Live

Before launch, confirm the rule behaves consistently across every channel you tested.

• Confirm point values match across online, POS, and subscription orders where applicable
• Check that customer-facing messaging explains the rule clearly
• Confirm the point balance updates correctly regardless of purchase channel

Purchase Points Configuration Examples

Industry: Specialty grocery retailer
Problem: Points were configured for online orders only, leaving in-store POS customers without any loyalty benefit.
Setup: POS compatibility was enabled so in-person purchases earned points at the same rate as online orders.
Result: In-store customers began earning and asking about their point balance during checkout.

Industry: Coffee subscription brand
Problem: Subscription renewal orders were not earning points, even though one-time purchases were.
Setup: The purchase earning rule was extended to include subscription renewal orders specifically.
Result: Subscribers began accumulating points consistently with each renewal, matching the experience of one-time buyers.

Read more case studies for our apps.

Best Practices for Giving Points for Purchases

• Decide which sales channels should earn points before configuring the rule
• Enable POS compatibility if you sell in person at all
• Include subscription orders in the earning rule if that applies to your store
• Test each channel separately rather than assuming one test covers all of them
• Keep the point value consistent across channels unless you have a specific reason not to
• Review the rule periodically as you add new sales channels
• Document the earning rule configuration so future changes stay consistent with the original setup

Summary

Giving loyalty points for purchases on Shopify means configuring one earning rule and making sure it applies consistently across every single way customers actually buy from you, online, in person, or through a subscription. Keystone Loyalty Rewards supports all of these channels, but each one needs to be tested individually before launch.

If you want purchase points that work consistently across every sales channel you operate, Keystone gives you the setup tools to configure and test the rule properly before it goes live.