Store Credit
There are numerous benefits to offering store credit, as they can be a tremendous financial incentive for your customers. Customers who can purchase on credit are more likely to make higher purchases, increasing your sales.
Store Credit refers to a program or concession to offer some credits to customers after making purchases or returning products. Those amounts are not actual cash but are stored in the customer's account for the next purchase.
Navigate to Users
Type in the email address you want to offer Store Credit to in the Email field and click Search.
Click on the email and click on the Store Credit tab
Click Add store credit
Click Add store credit
Provide an Amount and a Credit Type, and click Create
Memo field is optional but helpful when you need a reminder of why the Store Credit was attributed.
Architecture
Credited: The amount that was attributed to the user
Used: Amount the user has already used
Authorized: A payment is first "authorized" then captured to finalize the order. If an order is not approved, the payment not authorized, it will show here.
Type: Credit Type. The category of the Store Credit
Created By: Who created the Store Credit
Issued On: Date the Store Credit was created
Invalidated: Whether the credit has been voided or not.
You can select a row and click Edit to see the details of the Store Credit.
You can see who created it and when
Chord has robust support for Store Credits and Gift Cards. There are a few scenarios to understand how these credits are applied during Checkout and the subscription renewal process. Each scenario has an impact on customer experience.
When starting a Stripe checkout session, the system charges:
- The highest possible shipping rate.
- The maximum tax rate (10%)
When checking out, your customers may notice that the Stripe total does not match the store checkout; as such, it is recommended to include a copy letting your customers know that the discrepancy shown will not affect the correct amount. Your customers will be refunded instantly when paying a higher tax/shipping rate.
Scenarios below to further explain.
- The guest does not see the available credit in their cart.
- The guest does not see the available credit in Checkout.
- Store credit is applied after the Checkout completes to cover the entire order.
- A portion of the payment in Stripe is refunded.
Current Store Credit is $8.12 - Order Total is $23.75
Checkout with Product- Shipping and Taxes - Store Credit not displaying in Front-End
The OMS shows that the Store Credit has been applied, and the remaining portion has been charged in Stripe.
In Stripe below, you can see that the $8.12, the store credit balance, has been instantly refunded.
- The guest does not see the available credit in their cart.
- The guest does not see the available credit in Checkout.
- Store credit is applied after the Checkout completes to cover the entire order.
- The full payment in Stripe is refunded.
The current Store Credit is $20- Order Total is $11.88
Checkout - Store Credit not displaying in Front-End
The OMS shows that the Store Credit has been applied and NO charged in Stripe.
In Stripe below, you can see that the $11.88 has been instantly refunded.
Like a "regular" order, subscription orders will be treated similarly.
In this example, your customer is NOT logged in and has enough Store Credit to cover the first subscription order, and the subsequent orders will have a portion of it covered
- The guest does not see the available credit in their cart.
- The guest does not see the available credit in Checkout.
- Store credit is applied after the Checkout completes to cover the entire order.
- The full payment in Stripe is refunded.
In the OMS, Store Credit is applied.
In Stripe, a refund is instant.
Both Store Credit and a Credit Card will cover the following subscription order.
In this example, your customer is logged in before adding the subscription to their cart and has enough Store Credit to cover the subsequent orders.
- The guest sees the available credit in their cart.
- The guest sees a note in Checkout that their order is covered by credit. A processing fee is applied to the charge that will be refunded after.
- Store credit is applied after the Checkout completes to cover the entire order.
- The processing fee is refunded in Stripe.
The processing fee is refunded in Stripe.
The Store Credit covers the next subscription orders.
Store Credit will be triggered, while Stripe's attempt to upcharge will fail.
When Store Credit cannot cover the entire order portion, Stripe will upcharge the remaining, as seen below.
You can add a custom message below the shipping and billing address collection at checkout. For more information, please refer to the Environment Variables document
Creating
Is there a limit of Store Credit we can offer our customers?
No, you can offer as much as you like to your customers.
Is there an Expiration Date on Store Credit?
Currently, Store Credit only expires if you manually invalidate the credit.
You could create a promotion code with an expired date and share it with your customer instead of a Store Credit as a workaround.
Where can we create a new Store Credit Type?
Reach out to [email protected], and we will create a new Credit Type for you. Just provide us with a list of Types you'd like to see
Can our customers use Store Credit for both Goods and Merch?
Yes, Store Credit can be used for anything in your store.
Redeeming
Can your customers pay their Subscription with Store Credit?
Yes, your customers can use their Store Credit to pay for the Subscription or offset a portion of it.
If your customers aren't logged in, they will not see the credit applied at checkout but will be instantly refunded.
If they are logged in, they will see their credit applied at checkout
What would happen if Store Credit cannot cover the customer's subscription?
A portion of the Store Credit will be applied to the order(s), and the rest will be charged by another payment method, such as a credit card.
Misc
Can we void the Store Credit?
Yes, you can Invalidate the credit received by going to the Users' page and selecting the credit you want to void. Click Edit
Click Invalidate
Select a reason and click Invalidate
Can I get reporting on Looker on how many orders have used Store Credit?
Yes, you can search for Orders Adjustment Other Credits Total.
Redeeming
Can your customers pay their Subscription with Store Credit?
Yes, your customers can use their Store Credit to pay for the Subscription or offset a portion of it.
If your customers aren't logged in, they will not see the credit applied at checkout but will be instantly refunded.
If they are logged in, they will see their credit applied at checkout
What would happen if Store Credit cannot cover the customer's subscription?
A portion of the Store Credit will be applied to the order(s), and the rest will be charged by another payment method, such as a credit card.
If you have any questions or need help, please get in touch with us at [email protected].