Ever wondered what happens to your customers’ gift certificates when moving from BigCommerce to Shopify? Without proper migration, they can get lost leading to frustrated customers and revenue loss.
A smooth transfer ensures customers can still redeem their balances, keeping them happy and engaged. But since Shopify doesn’t support direct gift certificate imports, handling the process correctly is crucial.
That’s where OyeCommerz comes in! We specialize in seamless eCommerce migrations, ensuring gift certificates transfer securely and accurately, so you don’t lose customers or sales.
Migrating gift certificates from BigCommerce to Shopify isn’t just a technical step; it directly impacts customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and revenue. Here’s why handling this process correctly is crucial:
1. Maintaining Customer Trust & Loyalty
Gift certificates act as a promise between your brand and your customers. If customers find out their gift cards are no longer valid after migration, they may feel misled or frustrated, damaging trust in your business. A seamless transfer ensures that they can continue to redeem their balances, keeping them satisfied and engaged with your brand.
2. Ensuring a Smooth Transition Without Losing Outstanding Balances
Gift certificates represent real monetary value whether they were purchased by customers or given out as promotions. If balances aren’t properly transferred, you risk financial loss and unhappy customers who expected to use their credits. By ensuring a proper migration, you maintain the integrity of your transactions and avoid unnecessary refunds or discounts to compensate for lost balances.
3. Avoiding Customer Service Issues
If gift certificates disappear during migration, your support team will be flooded with complaints and requests to restore balances. This creates unnecessary stress, operational delays, and a poor customer experience. Properly migrating gift certificates prevents these issues, ensuring a frictionless experience for both your team and your customers.
By prioritizing gift certificate migration, you protect your brand reputation, retain customer loyalty, and ensure a smooth shift to Shopify without disruptions or financial losses.
Challenges in Transferring Gift Certificates from BigCommerce to Shopify
Migrating gift certificates from BigCommerce to Shopify isn’t as simple as exporting and importing data. Since both platforms handle gift certificates differently, businesses often face challenges that can lead to lost balances, invalid codes, and frustrated customers. Here are the key obstacles:
1. BigCommerce and Shopify Handle Gift Certificates Differently
BigCommerce and Shopify do not use the same system for gift certificates. In BigCommerce, gift certificates function as a payment method, while in Shopify, they are managed as gift cards under a separate system. Because of these differences, a direct one-to-one transfer is not possible, requiring careful data extraction and re-creation.
2. Shopify Does Not Support Direct Import of Gift Certificates
Unlike customer, order, and product data, Shopify does not allow bulk import of gift certificates through its admin panel. This means businesses cannot simply upload a CSV file to restore gift card balances. Instead, gift certificates need to be manually recreated or added via Shopify’s API, which can be complex and time-consuming.
3. Risk of Losing Data Like Remaining Balances, Expiration Dates, and Usage History
If migration is not handled correctly, businesses risk losing critical data such as:
- Remaining Balances – Customers may have unused funds that must be transferred accurately.
- Expiration Dates – Gift certificates with set expiration dates need to retain their validity.
- Usage History – Partial redemptions should be accounted for to prevent incorrect balances.
Without a proper transfer process, customers may end up with missing or incorrect gift card information, leading to complaints, revenue loss, and unnecessary customer service issues.
To avoid these challenges, businesses need a structured migration process that ensures all gift certificate data is securely transferred and recreated in Shopify without errors.
How OyeCommerz Handles Gift Certificate Transfers
At OyeCommerz, we ensure that gift certificates are migrated from BigCommerce to Shopify seamlessly and accurately, so customers experience no disruption. Since Shopify does not support direct import of gift certificates, our structured migration process ensures that all gift card data such as balances, codes, and expiration dates are transferred without errors.
Step 1: Data Extraction from BigCommerce
The first step is to securely export all gift certificate data from BigCommerce, including:
- Gift certificate codes – Unique identifiers assigned to each certificate.
- Remaining balances – Ensuring no customer loses their unused credits.
- Expiration dates – Keeping time-sensitive gift cards valid.
- Customer details – Mapping certificates to the right recipients.
By carefully extracting this data, we create a structured database that allows for accurate migration into Shopify.
Step 2: Secure Data Processing & Conversion
Since Shopify’s gift card system is different from BigCommerce, we format and restructure the extracted data to fit Shopify’s requirements. This includes:
- Generating new gift card codes that comply with Shopify’s system.
- Mapping balances correctly so that no funds are lost.
- Preserving expiration dates and usage history, ensuring customers can still redeem their remaining balances.
This step ensures that all necessary data is converted and ready for import into Shopify.
Step 3: Implementation in Shopify
Once the data is processed, we move to recreating the gift certificates in Shopify using either:
- Shopify’s Admin Panel – Manually adding gift cards if the number is small.
- Shopify’s API – Automating bulk creation for large-scale migrations.
Each customer receives a new Shopify-compatible gift card code with the same balance as before. To ensure a smooth transition, we also implement automated notifications so customers are informed of their updated gift cards.
Step 4: Testing & Verification
Before finalizing the migration, we perform rigorous testing and verification to prevent errors. This includes:
- Validating all migrated gift cards to ensure balances, codes, and expiration dates match the original data.
- Conducting sample transactions to confirm functionality.
- Sending notifications to customers with their new gift card details, ensuring they can easily redeem them.
By thoroughly testing the migration, we eliminate any issues before customers start using their gift certificates.
Step 5: Post-Migration Support
Even after migration, we provide dedicated support to address any concerns, including:
- Troubleshooting redemption issues for customers.
- Fixing discrepancies in balances or expiration dates if any occur.
- Assisting store owners in managing their new Shopify gift card system.
With OyeCommerz, you don’t just get a migration, you get a seamless transition that ensures your customers continue to enjoy their gift certificates without hassle.
Benefits of Choosing OyeCommerz for Gift Certificate Migration
Migrating gift certificates from BigCommerce to Shopify requires expertise to ensure a smooth transition without losing critical data. OyeCommerz specializes in secure and accurate eCommerce migrations, providing tailored solutions that minimize errors and disruptions. Here’s why OyeCommerz is the best choice for handling your gift certificate transfer:
1. Expertise in eCommerce Migrations
OyeCommerz has extensive experience in BigCommerce to Shopify migrations, handling complex data transfers such as gift certificates, customer information, and order history. We understand the technical differences between both platforms and implement proven strategies to ensure a seamless transition. Our expertise eliminates risks like lost balances or invalid codes, ensuring customers continue using their gift cards without issues.
2. Custom Migration Solutions
Every business has unique requirements when migrating gift certificates. OyeCommerz offers custom migration solutions tailored to your store’s needs. We ensure:
- Accurate data mapping to retain all balances and expiration dates.
- Proper formatting and restructuring to align with Shopify’s gift card system.
- Secure transfer methods to prevent data loss.
Unlike generic migration tools, our approach guarantees that all gift certificate details are accurately transferred and fully functional in Shopify.
3. Minimized Downtime & Errors
A poorly executed migration can lead to missing gift certificates, customer complaints, and revenue loss. OyeCommerz ensures a smooth and error-free transfer by:
- Pre-migration planning to minimize downtime.
- Testing and validation before going live.
- Automating bulk transfers to avoid manual errors.
This approach helps businesses avoid disruptions to sales and customer experience, allowing customers to redeem their gift cards without delays.
4. Dedicated Support
Even after the migration is complete, OyeCommerz provides ongoing support to handle any post-migration concerns. Our team assists with:
- Troubleshooting issues related to gift card redemption.
- Fixing discrepancies in balances or expiration dates if needed.
- Guiding store owners on managing Shopify’s gift card system.
With OyeCommerz, businesses can confidently migrate to Shopify, knowing their gift certificates and customer relationships remain intact.
Ready for a Smooth Gift Certificate Migration?
Don’t let missing gift certificates disrupt your business. OyeCommerz ensures a seamless BigCommerce to Shopify migration, preserving customer trust and revenue.
- Accurate data transfer with no lost balances
- Custom migration solutions tailored to your needs
- Minimal downtime and dedicated support
Contact OyeCommerz today and let our experts handle your migration with precision and care.
Let's Migrate to Shopify today!
Conclusion
Migrating gift certificates from BigCommerce to Shopify is a crucial step in ensuring a smooth transition for both your business and your customers. Without a proper migration strategy, businesses risk losing valuable data, frustrating customers, and disrupting sales.
OyeCommerz specializes in seamless eCommerce migrations, handling complex data like gift certificates with precision and care. From secure data extraction and conversion to error-free implementation and post-migration support, we ensure that all gift cards are transferred accurately, maintaining balances, expiration dates, and usability.
By choosing OyeCommerz, you can migrate with confidence, knowing that your customers will continue to enjoy their gift certificates without any disruptions or frustrations.
FAQs on Shopify Gift Certificates and Gift Cards
1. How do I add a gift certificate to Shopify?
Shopify does not support direct import of gift certificates from other platforms. However, you can create a new gift card in Shopify by navigating to Products > Gift Cards > Issue Gift Card in the Shopify admin. Enter the recipient’s details, set the balance, and generate a unique code. If migrating gift certificates from another platform, you may need to manually recreate them or use Shopify’s API for bulk imports.
2. How do I send a gift card to a recipient on Shopify?
When a customer purchases a gift card from your Shopify store, Shopify automatically sends an email with the gift card code to the recipient. If you need to manually send a gift card, go to Products > Gift Cards, select the issued gift card, and forward the unique code to the recipient via email or another communication channel.
3. How to manage gift cards on Shopify?
You can manage gift cards in Shopify by going to Products > Gift Cards in your admin dashboard. Here, you can view issued gift cards, check balances, and track redemptions. You can also disable or cancel a gift card if needed. For bulk management or advanced features, you may need a Shopify app or custom development.
4. How do I send an e-gift certificate?
Shopify’s gift card feature functions as an e-gift certificate. When a customer buys a gift card, Shopify automatically emails the recipient a digital gift card with a unique redemption code. If you are issuing a gift card manually, navigate to Products > Gift Cards > Issue Gift Card, enter the recipient’s details, and Shopify will send the e-gift card via email.
