How are gift card incentives and refunds handled in Store Hero?

When offering customers gift card credit instead of monetary refunds (such as providing an extra 10% bonus for choosing gift cards), StoreHero follows the same accounting principles as Shopify for gift card transactions.

Revenue Recognition

Gift cards are not counted as revenue when they are issued or purchased. Revenue is only recognized when the gift card is actually redeemed by the customer. This applies whether the gift card was purchased directly or issued as part of a refund incentive program.

Impact on Profit Margins

Gift card incentives don't immediately affect your profit margins when issued because:

• No revenue is recorded at the time of issuance

• The business has no expense when the gift card is created

• The expense is only recorded when the gift card is redeemed

This means that offering bonus gift card credit (like an extra 10% incentive) will only impact your financials when customers actually use those gift cards to make purchases.

Store Hero models this behavior to match Shopify's gift card accounting, ensuring consistency between your e-commerce platform and analytics reporting.