Can Shopify's automatic gift card email notifications be disabled?

Petere1
Tourist
10 0 9

When a customer comes in our store to return an item that was a gift, we usually refund it to a gift card which they can use later.  However, Shopify automatically sends an email notification to the original purchaser - causing some confusion why she received a gift card.   Can this email notification be turned off?

Replies 17 (17)

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

Hi, @Petere1!

Sophia here from Shopify. I appreciate that it might be confusing for the original purchaser to receive a notification about a newly issued gift card, especially if they didn't know a gift was being returned.

There isn't currently a way to disable the notification, so the workaround for the time being is to temporarily remove the email address (or phone number) from the original customer profile so that they don't get notified about the gift card. Their contact information can be added back to their profile after the transaction is complete.

We're always looking to improve and make processes like this easier for you, so I'm glad you shared this scenario. I would like to submit feedback to our developers on your behalf for consideration in future updates for Shopify POS. Please let me know if there are any other details about the customer experience or the process on your end that you would like me to include in the feature request.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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jtritt
Visitor
1 0 3

I Agree at my store we do the same thing we issue a gift card as a refund if it has been more than 30 days from purchase. The other scenario that my customers have found annoying is I had a very loyal customer come into the store and purchase a gift card for his wife for their anniversary. Since he wanted to have the gift card on her account in case she lost it, my employee did so and then the system emailed my customer's wife about her anniversary gift before he was able to give it to her. Which caused me getting a call from an angry customer. There needs to be a way the POS Clerk can select to send or not send the notification.

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

Thanks for sharing this, @jtritt!

I appreciate how frustrating this situation must have been for everyone involved, and I want to assure you that our developers are aware of the feature request. I've added to the feedback that it would be helpful to have control over whether notifications are sent for new purchases and not just for refunds/exchanges.

It's examples and feedback like this that helps us improve the platform for everyone, so I'm grateful for both of you taking the time to share your experiences here.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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yepeddler
Visitor
1 0 0

PLEASE rework the RETURNS option without a receipt.  It's a nightmare at our shop.  We offer wedding registry and when brides need to return multiple items from multiple customers it's a disaster every time.  We have to manually write up their return and issue a gift card.  It feels so unprofessional.  All the shops in our little town that are on shopify, ALL complain about this feature.  I'd love to discuss ways to improve this snafu.  It seems to be a problem for ALOT of clients.  With all that said, we have loved being on Shopify and have recommended it over and over again.  The refunds are truly our only major complaint, but it's a BIG one because we lose customer trust when they cannot confidently return a gift without us messing up or accidentally sending the gift giver a return email.  

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

@yepeddler wrote:

PLEASE rework the RETURNS option without a receipt.  It's a nightmare at our shop.  We offer wedding registry and when brides need to return multiple items from multiple customers it's a disaster every time.  We have to manually write up their return and issue a gift card.  It feels so unprofessional.  All the shops in our little town that are on shopify, ALL complain about this feature.  I'd love to discuss ways to improve this snafu.  It seems to be a problem for ALOT of clients.  With all that said, we have loved being on Shopify and have recommended it over and over again.  The refunds are truly our only major complaint, but it's a BIG one because we lose customer trust when they cannot confidently return a gift without us messing up or accidentally sending the gift giver a return email.  


Thank you for sharing your experience, @yepeddler. I can see how valuable a different process would be for registries. I'll make sure that our developers receive your feedback and are aware of this specific use case as well. Is there anything you'd like to add to the feedback as far as an ideal workflow in Shopify POS? No worries if not, but I want include your suggestions if there's anything else you'd like to share.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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olivial79
Tourist
4 0 3

Has this been resolved? We have the same issue and would like to be able to refund an order to a gift card and issue the gift card to the bride all without notifying the original customer. Any solutions Shopify?

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

@olivial79 wrote:

Has this been resolved? We have the same issue and would like to be able to refund an order to a gift card and issue the gift card to the bride all without notifying the original customer. Any solutions Shopify?


Hi, @olivial79!

Thanks for checking in here. The current solution is to remove the original customer from the order before processing the transaction so that they are not notified. I understand that this might not be the most intuitive option, so if there is a specific process you would like to see in place for refunds to gift cards, please let me know.

Our developers are considering the use cases and feedback that have been shared in this thread as well as through our other support channels. Any changes that are made to the admin or Shopify POS will be listed in Shopify's changelog, so I recommend keeping an eye on that for updates. 

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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olivial79
Tourist
4 0 3
Sofia,

This is not sufficient. I need to refund a credit card transaction and
issue a new gift card to a different customer.

Removing the original customer is not a solution for me.
RKTanner
Visitor
1 0 3

Hi, Sofia

 

It seems like this has been a reoccurring issue. I have submitted claims with Shopify three separate times to add a feature so gift cards are no longer automatically emailed. Please let me know when this has been resolved, as I know the more people request a feature, the more likely it is to be updated. 

 

Thank you

mattholme
Shopify Partner
4 0 8

Also putting in a request for this feature please.

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

@mattholme wrote:

Also putting in a request for this feature please.


Hi, @mattholme.

 

Thank you for expressing your interest in this feature request. Please let me know if there are any details you'd like to share with our developers that haven't already been covered in this thread. I'm happy to submit feedback on your behalf.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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mattholme
Shopify Partner
4 0 8

Thanks @Sophia. Our request is quite simple, we would just like for a merchant to be able to identify certain types of gift cards that do not generate email notifications. I agree that the majority of gift cards should be sent out via email, however for a scenario (like the one above) where the merchant does not want the email to go out, the merchant should be able to either tag or somehow tell the gift card email not to be sent.

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

@mattholme wrote:

Thanks @Sophia. Our request is quite simple, we would just like for a merchant to be able to identify certain types of gift cards that do not generate email notifications. I agree that the majority of gift cards should be sent out via email, however for a scenario (like the one above) where the merchant does not want the email to go out, the merchant should be able to either tag or somehow tell the gift card email not to be sent.


Thanks! I appreciate the follow up, and I've submitted your feedback to the developers for consideration in future updates.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

@RKTanner wrote:

Hi, Sofia

 

It seems like this has been a reoccurring issue. I have submitted claims with Shopify three separate times to add a feature so gift cards are no longer automatically emailed. Please let me know when this has been resolved, as I know the more people request a feature, the more likely it is to be updated. 

 

Thank you


Hi, @RKTanner.

 

I appreciate you submitting this feature request to our team. Please note that you don't need to submit a feature request more than once unless you have new context to share regarding your specific use case. 

 

Updates are posted to the Shopify Changelog. I can't confirm when and if updates will be made to this process, but I understand the importance of the request and want to assure you that our developers will take your feedback into serious consideration.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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Outerpreneur
Shopify Partner
19 0 6

We are also experiencing the same issue with Shopify POS. This happened twice in the last 15 days. I second to find a solution for this. Either fix it or turn off notifications. Removing the email from good repeating customers is not a good practice. Regards!

Ecommerce Developer & Brand strategist
kev911
Excursionist
16 0 7

How has this been going on over 3 years and this still has not been fixed. We are experiencing the same issue and need a real fix. This is not ok

Sophia
Shopify Staff
1666 108 217

Hi!

 

Thank you for sharing your feedback.

 

As mentioned in my previous post, I can't confirm when and if updates will be made to this process. However, I want to acknowledge that all feedback in this thread will be shared with our developers for consideration in future updates.

 

As a reminder, all updates will be posted to the Shopify Changelog.

Sophia | Social Care @ Shopify 
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 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog