Introduction
For brands, having control over the various aspects of their loyalty program is crucial, including determining participant eligibility. Depending on the customer account experience you select, this setting allows you to decide whether to enable only members or both members and guests to earn points.
Program participants overview
Your loyalty program can be set up to include either:
All customers (default): Both members and guest customers can participate
Only customers who have a store account: Only customers with store accounts can participate
Shopify Customer Accounts affect participants' status
Shopify offers two types of customer account systems: the new customer accounts and the legacy customer accounts.
Legacy customer account experience
If you're on the legacy customer account experience:
All customers – All customers, including guests, can earn points, refer friends, and participate in your VIP Program. However, guests will not access their loyalty information or redeem points unless they become members.
Only customers who have a store account – Customers must sign up a legacy customer account to earn and redeem points, access their loyalty information, join the VIP Program, and receive emails.
To become a member of Loloyal with Legacy customer account, they can:
Create a store account
Place a POS order in-store
New customer account experience
If you're on the new customer account experience:
All customers – Any customer who logs into their account using their email and one-time verification code will be identified as a guest. They can earn points, refer friends, and participate in your VIP Program. However, guests will not access their loyalty information or redeem points unless they become members.
To become a member of Loloyal with new customer account, they can:
Click the Loloyal widget
Become logged in status on rewards page
Place a POS order in-store
Updating program participants
Customize your loyalty program to best fit the needs of your store and customer base.
1. From the Loloyal dashboard, go to Preferences > General
2. In Program participants, please choose between two options:
All customers
Only customers who have a store account
3. Click Save.
💡 Pro Tip:
If you're using the new customer account version, we recommend selecting All customers to provide the best experience for your customers.
Under Shopify's new customer account experience, membership status is less critical. Once a customer verifies their email, they’re considered a valid user—regardless of whether they’re labeled as a "member" in Loloyal. By enabling all customers to join the loyalty program and managing them through Loloyal, you can streamline membership and rewards for every verified customer.
Common Questions
1. Can I change who participates in the loyalty program after launch?
Yes! You can update the participation settings at any time.
2. Can both members and guests earn points for the same actions?
In legacy customer accounts, guests can earn points for actions like placing an order or making a referral. However, only members can enjoy the full benefits of the loyalty program, including point redemption and VIP tiers.
3. Can guests redeem rewards?
No, guests must become members to redeem rewards.
Legacy accounts: Guests can become members by creating a store account or placing a POS order.
New customer accounts: Guests can become members by clicking the Loloyal widget, logging in on the rewards page, or placing a POS order.
4. What’s the best participant setting for stores using the new customer account experience?
We recommend selecting “All customers” so that both guests and logged-in users can start earning points seamlessly.
5. Do guests get notified when they earn points?
Yes, as long as you've set up email notifications under:
Program > Email > Points/Referrals, and enabled:
Points earned
Referrer points reward
