Gift Card sales

[Seedtostar]

Hello! I am aware that gift card purchases do not show up in daily sales until they are redeemed. But does that money get deposited into our accounts? Or does it just sit in limbo until it gets redeemed?

Customers purchasing gift cards is great way to help a struggling business but not if the business doesn’t get the money until it is redeemed. Because what if it doesn’t get redeemed for a year or ever?

Any insight?

Thank you. 

[Moira]

Hey @Seedtostar,

Great question! Purchasing gift cards can be a very effective way to provide immediate financial support to a business.

When a customer purchases a gift card from your store, the money from that sale is processed just like any other regular product sale. It doesn't sit in limbo and you don't have to wait until the gift card is redeemed to receive the funds.

The reason gift card sales don't show up in your daily sales reports until they're redeemed is because Shopify doesn't count the sale of a gift card as revenue until the gift card is actually used to make a purchase. 

Furthermore, when you sell a gift card:

• It isn't included in any sales reports, nor the total sales number in the Home sidebar.
• It is included in the Gift cards sales finance report.
• The amount paid for the gift card is included in the Payments finance report under the payment method that the customer used, such as Visa or Cash.

So, you do receive the money right away, but it's not counted as revenue in your Shopify reports until the gift card is redeemed. If a gift card is never redeemed, you would still keep the money, but it wouldn't be reflected as revenue in your reports.

Gift cards can help build customer loyalty. When someone has a gift card, they're more likely to return to the business to use it. This gives the business another opportunity to impress the customer and encourage repeat business. If you are interested, we have a fantastic guide on utilising Gift cards right here.

I hope this helps clarify things for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions.