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When a customer redeems their points for a reward, or when a customer is issued a reward for referring a friend or entering a VIP tier, a reward is generated. The reward status provides information about whether the reward was successfully generated and whether the reward has been used on an order by the customer. You can use reward status information to help diagnose issues like why a customer didn’t receive their reward, or to verify what rewards a customer has available to use.

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How rewards are issued

When Smile issues a reward to a customer (like a coupon code or gift card), Smile has to first generate the reward in the external platform (e.g. Shopify or BigCommerce). The reward generation can happen either immediately (synchronously) or in the background (asynchronously). If a reward is generated synchronously (e.g. when redeeming points), it will either be:
  • Successful, and then saved to the customer’s profile, or,
  • Unsuccessful, and an error message will be displayed to the customer + the reward will not be saved to the customer’s profile.
If a reward is generated asynchronously (e.g. referral or VIP tier entry rewards), the reward will always be saved to the customer’s profile, and Smile will use the reward status to convey information about whether the reward generation was successful or not. After a reward has been successfully generated, the reward status can also convey information about whether it has been used or canceled.

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Identify the status of a reward

The reward status is visible from the profile page of the customer who was issued the reward.
  1. In Smile Admin, find the relevant customer.
  2. In the Activity section, click on the Rewards tab.
  3. Use the arrow buttons to scroll and find the reward you’re interested in.
The status of a reward is shown in the Status column of the table.

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Reward statuses

Important: Applying a reward code during checkout does not mark the reward as Used. If the customer removes the code, abandons checkout, or uses a different discount instead, the reward remains Issued unless the order is completed with the reward applied.
Note: Smile does not track the usage of gift cards and these will never be marked as Used.

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FAQ

Does applying a reward code at checkout mark it as Used? No. A reward is only marked as Used after an order is successfully completed with the reward applied. If a customer applies the code at checkout but removes it or abandons checkout, the reward remains in Issued status and can still be used later.

Is an online reward marked as Used if it’s redeemed in-store with Shopify POS? Yes. If a customer uses an online reward code at Shopify POS, the reward is marked as Used once the order syncs to Smile, as long as a customer is attached to the order. Smile doesn’t process POS orders without a customer attached, so rewards used on these orders will remain in Issued status. Can a reward discount code be used more than once? Discount codes generated by Smile for Shopify and BigCommerce rewards are single-use. Once a code is used on a completed order, it can’t be used again. This includes codes from your points, VIP, referral, and POS programs. Subscription discounts are an exception and can be configured to apply to multiple recurring payments. What happens to discount codes customers already have if I delete a way to redeem? Deleting a way to redeem only prevents customers from redeeming points for that reward in the future. Discount codes that have already been issued aren’t affected, so customers can still use any unused codes.