How can I add a custom message to gift cards purchased in my store?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

The discussion centers on adding custom messages to gift cards in Shopify stores and displaying them in notification emails. The core issue: line-item properties added during checkout don’t automatically transfer to the generated gift card object.

Key Technical Challenge:

  • Users can capture custom messages via line-item properties during purchase
  • These properties appear in cart, checkout, and order summaries
  • However, gift_card.properties returns empty when queried in notification templates or gift card liquid files
  • The gift_card object theoretically supports properties, but the transfer doesn’t happen automatically

Working Solution (from yy0z):

  • Add line-item properties using custom liquid in product template
  • Access them in gift card notification via gift_card.properties loop
  • Critical caveat: Properties only appear in actual test orders, not email previews
  • Some users reported delays (properties appearing the next day), possibly due to caching

Important Discovery:
Shopify intentionally removes gift card recipient details from orders after fulfillment for privacy protection. This explains why properties may disappear post-checkout.

Current Status:
Some users successfully implemented the solution using Dawn theme, while others remain stuck. Testing requires actual orders rather than previews. Questions about using gift_card.note field and Shopify Flow integration remain partially unresolved.

Summarized with AI on October 24. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
2

I assume you mean the gift card email that gets sent out to the customer?

I am afraid you would need to edit the code in the notification yourself to display the line-item property, it does not get automatically added on emails.

Go to Admin → Notifications, and scroll down to Orders and find Gift Card Created. You can edit the code inside that screen.

Hope this helps.