Introduction
Your customers can have one of three loyalty statuses in Rivo: Guest, Member, or Excluded.
If a merchant is using Shopify customer accounts, this status is often the reason a customer can earn points but not get signup points yet, or why loyalty actions appear differently across channels.
This guide explains what each status means and how to troubleshoot common Guest/Member questions.
Guest vs Member vs Excluded
Guest: The customer is in your Shopify customer list, but their account is not in an enabled member state yet.
Member: The customer is in an enabled account state and is treated as a full loyalty member.
Excluded: The customer is blocked from loyalty participation.
What changes when a Guest becomes a Member
When a customer becomes a Member, they can qualify for member-only loyalty behavior (like signup rewards if enabled on your program).
Their status change date is also tracked, which helps with reporting and lifecycle views.
How Status Is Determined
Rivo keeps loyalty status aligned to account status:
Enabled account state maps to Member
Non-enabled account state maps to Guest
Manual exclusion maps to Excluded
This means checkout-created customers can appear as Guests first, then become Members later when their account state is enabled.
Program Participant Settings (Important)
Your Program Participants setting controls who can participate in loyalty earning flows.
Go to Settings > General > Program Participants and choose:
All customers (members and guests)
Members (customers who have a classic store account enabled)
If you choose All customers, also enable:
Customers are eligible for all loyalty programs (VIP Tiers and Emails)
This keeps Guest customers eligible for loyalty participation while they are not yet Members.
Signup Points, Earning, and Redemption Timing
Signup points
Signup points are tied to becoming a Member.
If a customer is still a Guest, they should not expect the signup reward yet.
Other earning rules
Other earning actions (for example order-based earning) follow your participant settings.
If your program is set to Members only, Guest customers may not qualify for those earnings.
Redemption behavior
Customers who are Excluded cannot redeem.
For Guests, redemption availability depends on whether they have an eligible balance and whether their current channel/program settings allow those loyalty actions to appear.
POS-Specific Behavior
If you use Shopify POS, there is an optional setting:
Auto-convert POS customers to Members
When enabled, customers who place a POS order are automatically converted to Member status.
This is useful for stores where many customers join through in-store checkout first.
Troubleshooting Examples
Customer is still Guest after migration
Check the customer’s current loyalty status first.
If they are Guest, review your participant settings and whether the customer has reached an enabled member state.
Customer placed an order but did not get signup points
Confirm the customer is Member (not Guest).
Signup rewards are member-based and are awarded at membership activation.
POS customer did not convert to Member
Verify Auto-convert POS customers to Members is enabled.
If you enabled this after historical POS orders were already placed, older customers may still need a manual review.
Customer cannot redeem yet
Check these in order:
Customer is not Excluded
Customer has enough points/credits
Program participant settings include the customer’s current status for that loyalty flow
FAQ
Q: Does switching to “All customers” turn Guests into Members automatically?
No. It expands participation eligibility, but Guest and Member are still different statuses.
Q: Can a customer be Guest and still appear in Rivo?
Yes. Guest is a valid loyalty status and is common for customers who have not reached an enabled member state yet.
Q: Why do merchants see Guest customers after purchase?
Because status depends on account state, not only on purchase history. Purchase activity alone does not always switch status unless a conversion path is enabled.