Store credit vs loyalty points terminology glossary
If you are setting up or migrating a loyalty program, these terms can sound similar but behave differently. This guide explains what each one means and how they work together in your store.
Quick glossary
Loyalty points
Loyalty points are your program currency for earning and redeeming rewards.
Customers collect points through eligible actions (like purchases or other earning actions you configure)
Points are usually shown as whole numbers (for example,
500 points)Customers spend points to unlock rewards
Store credit (loyalty balance)
Store credit in Rivo is a money-style loyalty balance shown in currency (for example, $5.00).
Customers earn store credit through your loyalty setup
Store credit can be used as a reward value in your program
This is different from points because the balance is displayed as currency instead of point units
Shopify store credit
Shopify store credit is Shopify’s native store credit balance for a customer.
When your loyalty setup uses Shopify store credit, Rivo shows that same store credit balance
Customers can use that balance at checkout
If multiple systems issue Shopify store credit, the customer still sees one shared store credit balance
Gift cards
Gift cards are codes with their own gift card balance.
Gift cards are separate from a customer’s loyalty points balance
Gift cards are also separate from Shopify store credit
You can choose to use gift-card style rewards in your loyalty setup, but those are still not the same thing as points
How these systems relate
Think of these as separate balance types:
Points = loyalty units that customers earn and redeem
Store credit = currency-style loyalty balance
Shopify store credit = Shopify-native credit balance
Gift card = code-based balance
Your store can offer more than one of these at the same time, but they are not interchangeable unless you intentionally configure your program that way.
Understanding store credit sources and reporting
When customers earn store credit from different actions, those earnings still contribute to one available store credit balance.
The customer’s available store credit is a shared pool, even when credit comes from different activities
A single balance can include earnings from things like birthday rewards, manual credits, gift card sync activity, and campaign rewards
This means balances are not split into separate spendable buckets by source
Where source details are visible
You can still track where credit came from at the transaction level.
In customer activity history, each points or credits event includes a source label
In the Points Logs export, you can review source-level details for each event (such as source, credit amount changes, and related rule references)
Reporting limitation to know
Rivo supports source-level activity tracking, but not source-isolated credit spending.
Customers spend from the total available store credit balance
You can report by source in activity/export data, but you cannot enforce separate credit pools that can only be spent from a specific campaign source
Which term should I use in customer messaging?
Use whichever matches your active program setup:
If customers earn and spend point amounts, use points
If customers see money values in their loyalty balance, use store credit
If checkout messaging is based on Shopify’s native credit, use Shopify store credit
If customers receive a code with a balance, use gift card
Keeping your wording consistent across your widget, checkout messaging, emails, and support responses helps avoid customer confusion.
FAQ
Can customers use points directly at checkout?
Points are typically redeemed into a reward first. Customers then apply that reward during checkout.
Is Shopify store credit the same as a gift card?
No. They are separate balance systems in Shopify.
Can I run points and store credit together?
You can support multiple reward experiences in the same program, but each balance type should be labeled clearly so customers understand what they are spending.
Can I separate store credit into different spendable pools by campaign or source?
Not today. Store credit is spent from one shared balance. You can still use activity history and exports to analyze where credits came from.
We migrated from another platform. What should we update first?
Start by updating your customer-facing terms everywhere customers see balances: onsite loyalty areas, reward labels, email content, and support macros.