What to Reward Customers for Besides Purchases on Shopify

Quick Answer

Shopify loyalty program can reward customer actions beyond purchases, such as signups, referrals, and reviews. Keystone Loyalty Rewards supports earning rules for several non-purchase actions in addition to standard purchase points. The setup involves identifying which actions genuinely matter to your business and assigning a fair point value to each. This approach builds engagement even before a customer buys anything.

Introduction

This guide is for merchants who want their loyalty program to reward the full customer relationship, not just checkout. Purchases are an obvious action to reward, but they are not the only one that matters to a growing store.

You will learn about common non-purchase actions worth rewarding, how to assign fair point values to each, and how to introduce them without overcomplicating your existing program. The goal is a program that recognizes engagement wherever it happens, not only at checkout.

What Is a Non-Purchase Earning Action?

A non-purchase earning action is any customer behavior other than buying that a loyalty program rewards with points. Common examples include account signups, referrals, product reviews, and social follows. Each action can carry its own point value based on how much it matters to the business.

Who Needs Non-Purchase Earning Actions?

Rewarding non-purchase actions works well for stores that want to build engagement earlier in the customer journey.

• DTC brands wanting to engage visitors before their first order
• Beauty and cosmetics brands relying on reviews to support new sales
• Subscription businesses building community around the brand
• Fashion and apparel stores with active social media audiences
• Stores looking to grow their loyalty program membership base

Why Non-Purchase Earning Actions Matters for Your Business

Rewarding actions beyond purchases builds a relationship with customers earlier and keeps them engaged between orders.

• Gives new visitors a reason to create an account before buying
• Rewards reviews, which help support future purchase decisions from other shoppers
• Keeps customers engaged with the brand between purchase cycles
• Recognizes referrals as a valuable action beyond direct spending
• Builds a larger, more active loyalty program membership over time

How to Set Up Non-Purchase Rewards on Shopify

Step 1: Define Your Loyalty Goal

Decide which non-purchase actions matter most right now, whether that is signups for a growing store or reviews for one building social proof. Choose a small number of actions to start with. Trying to reward everything at once usually makes the program harder to explain than it needs to be.

Step 2: Install and Configure Keystone Loyalty Rewards

Install Keystone Loyalty Rewards app from the Shopify App Store and open the earning rules section. Keystone supports earning rules for signups, referrals, and other non-purchase actions.

Step 3: Create Earning Rules and Rewards

Assign a point value to each non-purchase action based on its value to the business. Signups are often worth a smaller, fixed amount, while referrals typically carry a higher value given their impact on growth. Reviews often sit somewhere in between, depending on how much they influence other buyers.

Step 4: Add the Loyalty Experience to Your Store

List all the ways to earn points, including non-purchase actions, clearly in customer accounts. New visitors should be able to see there is more than one way to start earning before their first order. This visibility often encourages account creation earlier in the customer journey.

Step 5: Test the Program

Test each non-purchase earning rule individually, from account creation to leaving a review, to confirm points are awarded correctly. Check that actions cannot be repeated to earn points multiple times unfairly.

Step 6: Go Live

Before launch, review the point values across all non-purchase actions to confirm they feel balanced against purchase points. Check that customer messaging explains each way to earn clearly.

Non-Purchase Reward Examples

Industry: Beauty brand
Problem: First-time visitors had no reason to engage with the brand before making a purchase decision.
Setup: The brand added points for account signups and for leaving a product review after purchase.
Result: More visitors created accounts early, and product reviews increased, supporting future purchase decisions.

Industry: Subscription business
Problem: Customers between subscription renewals had few reasons to interact with the loyalty program.
Setup: The business added points for referrals and social follows to keep customers engaged between renewals.
Result: Customers remained connected to the brand and referred friends even when not actively renewing.

Read more case studies for our apps to see how other stores reward non-purchase actions.

Best Practices

A few practices help non-purchase rewards add value without overcomplicating the program.

• Start with two or three non-purchase actions rather than rewarding everything at once
• Set point values that reflect each action's actual value to the business
• Make reviews and referrals easy to complete and track
• Display all earning options clearly in one place for customers
• Review which non-purchase actions customers actually complete and adjust over time
• Avoid rewarding actions that are easy to repeat without real engagement

Summary

Rewarding actions beyond purchases, such as signups, referrals, and reviews, builds engagement earlier in the customer relationship. The setup involves choosing relevant actions, assigning point values, and testing each earning rule. This approach gives customers more ways to connect with your brand beyond the checkout moment.

If you want a loyalty program that rewards more than just purchases, Keystone supports earning rules for signups, referrals, and other customer actions.