How to win back lapsed customers with store credit on Shopify

The lapsed customer problem

Every Shopify store has a backlog of customers who bought once and never came back. The standard playbook is a discount code email blast. It works, but the codes leak, the unsubscribe rate climbs, and the discount ends up training new customers to wait for the next code.

Store credit is a better lever for win-back. Each credit is locked to a specific customer record. There is no code to share. Customers who get the email feel rewarded rather than discounted, and the conversion rate on a “you have $20 waiting on your account” message tends to outperform a “20% off this week” code in our tests.

This guide walks through the full 5-step playbook.

Step 1. Define the lapsed segment

Open Shopify admin and go to Customers. Build a customer segment using the segmentation editor. The two filters that matter are last order date and total orders.

A solid starter segment is: customers who placed at least one order, whose last order was between 90 and 365 days ago. Adjust the window based on your category. For consumables and beauty, 60 to 180 days is closer to right. For furniture, 6 to 18 months. For apparel, 90 to 270 days.

Save the segment with a clear name like “Lapsed 90 to 365 day cohort.”

Step 2. Pick a credit amount

The credit amount needs to clear the cost of a small order. If your average order value is $80, $20 of credit is enough to nudge a return. If your AOV is $200, you probably need $40 to $50.

Resist the temptation to give too much. Customers do not need a free order to come back, and you do not want the credit to feel like a gimmick. The credit is a thank-you, not a giveaway.

Most stores land between 10 and 25 percent of AOV.

Step 3. Bulk issue credit via CSV

Export the segment from Shopify admin as a CSV. The export gives you customer emails, order count, and last order date.

Open Win-Win Store Credit and navigate to the bulk upload tool. Drop in the CSV. Set a flat credit amount for everyone in the segment, or use a per-row amount if you want to vary based on lifetime value. Add a clear internal note like “Q2 win-back, 90 to 365 day cohort.”

Set an expiry date if you want the credit to clear after a window. 30 to 60 days is a typical expiry that creates urgency without feeling pushy.

Confirm the upload. The app issues credit to every customer in the file and queues the notification emails.

Step 4. Send the email

Win-Win Store Credit ships a default notification email when a balance is updated. For a win-back campaign, you want a custom email instead. Go to the app settings and customize the email template, or copy the credit balance and send the email through Klaviyo, Shopify Email, or your normal email tool.

A working subject line: “we added $20 to your account, no code needed.”

A working body: short, two paragraphs maximum. First paragraph says what they have on the account and why. Second paragraph has a single button back to your store. Sign it from a real human if you can, not a no-reply address.

Avoid mentioning a discount code. The whole point is that there is no code. The credit is theirs and applies automatically.

Step 5. Measure what worked

Wait 14 to 30 days, then pull the redemption data from Win-Win Store Credit’s dashboard. The dashboard shows total credit issued, total credit redeemed, and per-customer redemption status.

Three numbers to watch:

Open rate of the email. If this is below 25 percent, your subject line or the timing was off. Test variants on the next send.

Redemption rate. What percentage of customers in the segment placed an order using the credit. A 5 to 15 percent redemption rate is healthy for a 90 to 365 day cohort. Anything below 3 percent means the credit amount was too small or the email was unclear.

Repeat purchase rate. What percentage of redeemers came back for a second order within 60 days of the first one. This is the real win, since the goal of win-back is reactivating the customer relationship, not a one-time order.

When to repeat the campaign

Once a quarter is the right cadence for most stores. The lapsed segment refreshes on its own as new customers slip past the 90-day mark.

If you run win-back too often, you train customers to wait for the credit. If you run it too rarely, you leave money on the table. Quarterly is the right balance.

What to avoid

Do not pair the credit with a discount code. If you stack a 20% code on top of $20 of credit, customers learn that your real prices are 30% higher than the sticker. Pick one lever.

Do not exclude the credit from clearance items. It is your credit, you decide where it applies, but customers feel cheated when the credit suddenly does not work on the product they want. Apply it everywhere.

Do not credit your VIPs the same amount as your one-time buyers. Use per-row CSV amounts to give VIPs a larger credit. The lifetime value justifies it.

Pricing

The free plan of Win-Win Store Credit includes the display widget plus CSV uploads up to 10 rows. For a real win-back campaign you will want the Pro plan at $49 per month, which lifts the cap to unlimited rows. Cancel after the campaign if you only run win-back quarterly.

Install Win-Win Store Credit or read the comparison with Rise.ai if you are evaluating store credit platforms.