Rewards instead of discounts: the same incentive at a third of the cost
Redeeming can mean two things: a few euros off the invoice, or a product added to the cart. To the customer the second feels bigger. To your margin it is cheaper. Both together are why this plugin has rewards and not just a discount slider.
The maths behind it
A discount costs the retail price, a reward the purchase price
Ten euros of discount cost your shop ten euros of margin - fully, immediately, with nothing in return. A product with a ten-euro retail price given as a reward costs you what it cost you to buy. At a 40 percent trade margin that is six euros. The perceived value stays the same, the real expense drops.
10.00 €
a discount costs you
6.00 €
a reward costs you
40 %
less expense
same
perceived value
The percentages are an example and depend on your own calculation. The direction holds in every shop where the retail price is above the purchase price.
A product is tangible, a discount is a number
A reward has a name, a picture and a place in the parcel. It is something you get. Ten euros off an invoice of 120 euros barely register - they disappear into the total.
That is why rewards are strongest exactly where points grow slowly: they give collecting a goal you can look at, instead of just a number that gets bigger.
When a discount is still the better answer
A discount has one advantage no reward has: it always fits. It needs no stock, no size, no colour and nobody to put it in the parcel. For large carts and for customers who know exactly what they want, cash discount is the lower friction.
So you do not have to choose. Both together in the same order is allowed out of the box - a check in the background makes sure discount plus reward stay within the balance.
What a reward looks like in the shop
Three states a customer actually sees
A reward is always visible in the customer account, even when it is out of reach. That is exactly what turns it into a goal. The state sits on the reward itself and needs no explanation.
State
What the customer sees
What they can do
Redeemable now
points suffice, all conditions met
redeem in the cart
Minimum order value
points suffice, the cart does not yet
fill up the cart
More points needed
the exact number of points missing
keep collecting
The third state is the important one. "6,797 points missing" is a concrete task. "Not available" would only be a refusal.
Redeeming happens in the cart, not in the account
The reward is added to the cart as a line item - right where the buying decision is made anyway. In the customer account it stands as a goal, and the button leads to the cart.
Position of the box
right column below the summary (default)
Position of the rewards
left area below the products (default)
Both movable
above, below or into the sidebar
If box and rewards sit in the same position, the box comes first and the rewards below it.
Limits a reward can carry
A reward can require a minimum order value. That prevents the cart that consists of nothing but a reward and keeps shipping cost in a sensible ratio.
Three details define how a reward behaves:
Point price - how many points it costs
Product - which article is added to the cart
Priority - the order in which rewards appear
How many rewards you can create depends on the plan: Free one, Starter three, Business ten, Enterprise as many as you like.
What you set for this
The settings for this use case
Rewards themselves are created in the administration under Customers → Loyalty points → Rewards. The settings below govern how redeeming works overall.
The purchase price of the product, not its retail price. At a 40 percent trade margin a reward with a ten-euro retail price costs around six euros - the same incentive at a lower expense than ten euros of cash discount.
Can customers redeem a discount and a reward together?
Yes, if you allow it - and out of the box it is allowed. A check in the background makes sure discount plus reward never exceed the balance.
Does a customer also see rewards they cannot afford yet?
Yes, and that is deliberate. Every reward shows how many points are still missing. Only that turns a reward into a goal instead of a list people ignore.
Can a reward have a minimum order value?
Yes. It prevents carts that consist of nothing but the reward. The customer then sees the state "Minimum order value" with the exact threshold.
How many rewards can I create?
One in the Free plan, three in Starter, ten in Business and as many as you like in Enterprise.
The plugin installs free of charge from the Shopware Store. Earning points, the dashboard and the customer account run straight away, no purchase needed.