How Gratify's Points System Works: Earning Rules, Actions & Multipliers

The most common loyalty program mistake Shopify merchants make is treating points as a simple cashback system: spend £10, get 10 points. It works, but it does only one thing — reward purchases. Gratify's points engine is built to reward every meaningful action a customer takes, across the entire relationship lifecycle, not just at the checkout.

This guide walks through every earning rule available in Gratify, how to configure them, and the psychology behind which combinations drive the most repeat purchases.

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The two types of earning actions

Gratify splits earning actions into two categories:

Transaction actions — triggered by a purchase event in Shopify. Engagement actions — triggered by any other defined behaviour.

Both count toward the same points balance, the same tiers, and the same rewards. The distinction matters for setup: transaction actions connect to Shopify's order webhook, while engagement actions require either a native Gratify trigger or a light front-end embed.

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Transaction earning rules

Purchase points

The default rule. Set a base rate — for example, 1 point per $1 spent — and every completed order automatically adds points to the customer's balance. Gratify uses the order subtotal after discounts, so discount code users don't get double-rewarded.

Recommended base rates by store type:

• Fashion / apparel: 1 point per $1 (straightforward, easy to understand)
• Beauty / skincare: 2 points per $1 (higher purchase frequency, smaller baskets)
• Home goods / furniture: 5 points per $1 (large baskets, infrequent purchases)
• Supplements / consumables: 3 points per $1 (subscription conversion goal)

Product-specific multipliers

Give 2× or 3× points on specific products or collections. Use this to move slow inventory, promote new launches, or push margin-heavy SKUs. A "Triple Points on New Arrivals" window is one of the highest-converting loyalty promotions merchants run.

Order value bonuses

Award bonus points when an order exceeds a threshold — for example, +200 bonus points on orders over $100. This is a cleaner alternative to a free shipping bar if you want to lift AOV while keeping the loyalty angle front and centre.

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Engagement earning rules

Account creation

Award points when a visitor creates a customer account. Gratify's default recommendation is 100–200 welcome points — enough to feel meaningful, but not enough to fully fund a reward without a purchase.

Why this matters: Customers with accounts have a 2.4× higher repeat purchase rate than guest checkout customers. The points are the nudge that converts guest buyers into account holders.

Email opt-in

Award points for subscribing to your marketing list. Sync with Klaviyo or your ESP so the points are awarded automatically on confirmed opt-in.

Review submission

Award points when a customer submits a product review. Gratify fires this trigger when a review is approved in your connected review app (Judge.me, Okendo, Loox, Stamped). Reviews are one of the single highest-ROI actions you can incentivise — a 4.8-star product converts 47% better than a 4.2-star one.

Social share / follow

Award points for following your Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook page, or for sharing a product link. Use sparingly — social points are easy to game with fake follows. Recommend verifying completion before awarding.

Birthday capture

Award points when a customer enters their birthday date in their profile. Even a small birthday points bonus (50 points) dramatically increases birthday data collection, which fuels one of your highest-performing automated reward flows (see the Birthday Rewards article).

Referral action

Award points when a customer successfully refers a friend who completes a first purchase. Gratify tracks referral completion end-to-end via a unique referral link per customer. (See the Referral Programs article for full setup.)

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Point multiplier events

Multiplier events let you set a window — typically 48–72 hours — during which all earning rules are multiplied by a defined factor.

Common multiplier event patterns:

• Double Points Weekend — 2× on all purchases, Friday–Sunday
• Triple Points Launch Day — 3× on orders containing a new product, 24 hours only
• Members-Only Multiplier — 2× for Gold and Platinum tier customers every month
• Birthday Month Multiplier — 2× points on all purchases during a customer's birthday month

Multiplier events are displayed on the loyalty widget so customers can see the active event and feel incentivised to purchase now rather than later. This is urgency that doesn't require a fake countdown — it's genuine time-limited value.

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Points expiry

Gratify lets you set points expiry — for example, points expire after 12 months of inactivity. Expiry is polarising in loyalty program design: it creates urgency but can also frustrate customers who feel they've been penalised for being busy.

Recommendation: Set a 12–18 month rolling expiry, warn customers 30 days before expiry via email, and include a "Redeem before expiry" CTA. The warning email is typically one of the highest-performing emails in a loyalty program because it creates genuine urgency without any artificial manipulation.

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What not to do

• Don't make the earning rate too low. If a customer needs 100 orders to earn a single reward, they'll disengage within 2 weeks. Run the math: at your base rate, how many orders does the average customer need to earn the most popular reward? If the answer is more than 3, your rate is too low.
• Don't award points on refunded orders. Gratify automatically deducts points when an order is refunded in Shopify. Don't override this — it creates fraud vectors.
• Don't use points inflation. If you award 1,000 points per dollar spent, customers feel like they're earning a lot, but it erodes trust when they discover 50,000 points = a $5 discount. Keep the math simple and obvious.

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Related guides

• Loyalty Tiers: How Bronze, Silver, Gold & Platinum Drive 5× More Repeat Purchases →
• The Reward Engine: Creating Perks Customers Actually Want to Redeem →
• New Customer Onboarding: A 30-Day Loyalty Sequence →

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