How to Sell Discounted Gift Cards with Gift Card Hero

Overview

Gift Card Hero allows you to create attractive discounted gift cards for your Shopify store by combining Shopify's automatic discount feature with special pricing configurations. This guide will walk you through the complete process of setting up discounted gift cards that display clear sale prices to your customers.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Gift Card Hero app installed and configured in your Shopify store
• Gift card products created with variants for different denominations
• Admin access to your Shopify store to create discounts

Part 1: Creating Automatic Discounts in Shopify

Step 1: Navigate to Discounts

1. Log into your Shopify Admin
2. Go to Discounts in the left sidebar
3. Click Create discount
4. Select Automatic discount

Step 2: Configure Basic Discount Settings

1. Discount type: Select Amount off products
2. Title: Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Gift Card Holiday Sale")
3. Method: Choose Automatic (discount applies automatically)

Step 3: Set Discount Value

1. Discount value: Enter the discount amount
   • For $25 off a $100 gift card, enter 25
   • For percentage discounts, select "Percentage" and enter the percentage value
2. Applies to: Select Specific products

Step 4: Select Gift Card Products

1. Click Browse next to "Specific products"
2. Search for and select your gift card products
3. Important: Choose specific variants if you want to discount only certain denominations
4. Click Add to include selected products/variants

Step 5: Set Additional Conditions (Optional)

Configure any additional conditions such as:

• Minimum purchase requirements
• Customer eligibility (specific customer groups, email domains)
• Usage limits (total times discount can be used)
• Active dates (start and end dates for the promotion)

Step 6: Save the Discount

1. Review all settings
2. Click Save discount
3. Ensure the discount status shows as Active

Part 2: Configuring Compare At Prices for Gift Card Variants

Understanding the Price Inversion

Gift Card Hero uses a special pricing structure for discounted gift cards:

• Gift Card Price (regular price field): Contains the full face value of the gift card
• Compare At Price: Contains the discounted/sale price that customers actually pay

Important Note: This is inverted from typical Shopify products where the compare at price is usually higher than the regular price.

Step 1: Access Product Variants

1. In Shopify Admin, go to Products
2. Find and click on your gift card product
3. Scroll down to the Variants section

Step 2: Configure Variant Pricing

For each gift card variant you want to discount:

1. Price field: Enter the full face value of the gift card

   • Example: For a $100 gift card, enter 100.00

     Compare at price field: Enter the discounted price customers will pay

   • Example: For 25% off, enter 75.00
2. SKU: Ensure each variant has a unique SKU
3. Click Save after configuring each variant

Example Pricing Configuration

Part 3: Verifying Your Setup

Frontend Display Verification

1. Visit your storefront where the gift card builder is displayed
2. Check for sale indicators:
   • Look for "Sale" badges on discounted variants
   • Verify crossed-out pricing displays correctly
   • Confirm the actual purchase price matches your compare at price

What Customers See

When properly configured, customers will see:

• ✅ Sale badge on discounted gift card variants
• ✅ Crossed-out original price (the full face value)
• ✅ Discounted price prominently displayed
• ✅ Clear value proposition (e.g., "Pay $75, Get $100 Gift Card")

Testing the Purchase Flow

1. Add a discounted gift card to cart
2. Verify the cart shows:
   • Correct discounted price
   • Automatic discount applied
   • Final total matches expected amount
3. Complete a test purchase to ensure the gift card is issued with the full face value

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue: Sale Badge Not Appearing

Possible Causes & Solutions:

• ❌ Compare at price not set → Set compare at price for variant
• ❌ Compare at price equals regular price → Ensure compare at price is less than regular price
• ❌ Automatic discount not active → Check discount status in Shopify Admin

Issue: Wrong Price Displayed

Possible Causes & Solutions:

• ❌ Prices configured incorrectly → Verify price inversion (face value in price, discount in compare at price)
• ❌ Automatic discount not applying → Check discount conditions and product targeting
• ❌ Cache issues → Clear browser cache and check in incognito mode

Issue: Discount Not Applying at Checkout

Possible Causes & Solutions:

• ❌ Discount expired → Check discount active dates
• ❌ Usage limits reached → Review discount usage statistics
• ❌ Customer not eligible → Verify customer eligibility conditions
• ❌ Cart doesn't meet minimum requirements → Check minimum purchase conditions

Best Practices

Pricing Strategy

• Clear value communication: Ensure the savings are clearly visible
• Consistent discount percentages: Consider using the same discount percentage across all denominations
• Seasonal promotions: Use active dates to create time-limited offers

Marketing Considerations

• Prominent placement: Feature discounted gift cards on your homepage
• Email campaigns: Promote the discounted gift cards to your email list
• Social media: Share the gift card promotion on social platforms

Customer Experience

• Clear instructions: Provide guidance on how to purchase and redeem gift cards
• Mobile optimization: Ensure the gift card builder works well on mobile devices
• Fast loading: Optimize images and scripts for quick page load times

Advanced Tips

Creating Tiered Discounts

You can create multiple automatic discounts for different discount tiers:

• Small discount: 10% off gift cards $25-$50
• Medium discount: 15% off gift cards $75-$100
• Large discount: 20% off gift cards $150+

Seasonal Promotions

Set up time-limited discounts for special occasions:

• Holiday sales: Higher discounts during peak gift-giving seasons
• Flash sales: Short-term promotions to drive urgency
• Customer appreciation: Special discounts for loyal customers

Inventory Management

Monitor your gift card sales to:

• Track popular denominations: Focus marketing on best-selling values
• Adjust discount levels: Increase discounts for slow-moving denominations
• Plan promotions: Use historical data to plan future discount campaigns

Support and Additional Resources

If you encounter issues not covered in this guide:

1. Check Gift Card Hero documentation for app-specific guidance
2. Contact Gift Card Hero support for technical assistance
3. Review Shopify's discount documentation for platform-specific questions
4. Test thoroughly before launching any promotion

Remember to always test your discounted gift card setup with a small test purchase before promoting to customers.