Hi,
I think having the ability to check gift card balances easily would be wonderful. Also the ability to view the cash opening, closing, and adds to the till each day on reports would be incredible.
Thank you for this consideration!
Topic summary
Retail merchants using Shopify POS lack a straightforward way for customers to check gift card balances in-store. Currently, staff must either:
Workarounds mentioned:
- Add a dummy $10,000 product to the cart, scan the gift card to see what it would cover, then delete the cart (confusing for customers)
- Look up the original purchase order number in POS (impractical, as customers rarely have this information)
- Check balances through the Shopify admin panel (not customer-facing)
- Scan gift card QR codes via POS home screen (recent addition)
Key frustrations:
- Customers must wait in line just to ask staff for their balance
- Unlike standard retail practice, there’s no self-service balance check option
- Gift cards cannot be reloaded, adding to customer dissatisfaction
- No web portal exists for balance inquiries independent of purchase confirmation emails
Status:
Shopify representatives acknowledged the feedback and forwarded requests to developers multiple times over several years. The issue remains unresolved, with merchants expressing ongoing frustration that such basic functionality is missing. One customer even struggled to check their own gift card balance, highlighting the gap between merchant and end-user experience.
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