Campaign strategies
Design effective Store Credit airdrops - levers, timing, and ready-to-run playbooks.
An airdrop is a one-time Store Credit send to a Shopify customer segment. Results come from five choices: who gets it, how much, when it’s available, when it expires, and how you tell them.
For the click-path to create a campaign, see Launch a campaign.
Levers
1. Segmentation
Target a group that shares one clear behaviour. Broad “everyone” airdrops dilute budget and muddle measurement.
Rule of thumb: One segment = one goal (win-back, thank VIPs, push a second order).
Example: Customers with ≥ 3 orders in the last 30 days - reward recent loyal buyers, not the whole list.
Build segments in Shopify under Customers → Segments, or see Create a Store Credit segment.
2. Credit amount
Pick an amount that feels meaningful but stays below a free purchase.
Rule of thumb: About 5-15% of AOV. Too low and nobody cares; too high and you train people to wait for free credit.
Example: AOV €80 → try €8-€12 Store Credit for a win-back or second-order push.
3. Day and time of crediting
Campaigns use Available at - the date and time credit becomes usable (not necessarily “send the email now”).
Rule of thumb: Align availability with when you want the shopping trip (e.g. Thursday evening before a weekend sale, or Monday morning for B2B).
Example: Credit available Friday 09:00, email lands Friday 09:15, expiry in 14 days - customers shop the same weekend.
4. Validity / expiry
Optional expiry in days applies to credit from this airdrop only, not the customer’s existing balance. Expiry is how you create urgency - there is no separate “decline” setting.
Rule of thumb:
- Short window (7-21 days) for win-backs and seasonal pushes
- Longer window (30-90 days) for VIP thank-yous where goodwill matters more than urgency
Example: Inactive 120 days → €10 credit, expires in 14 days.
5. Communication
Credit sitting unused helps nobody. Announce the airdrop, explain how to redeem, and remind before expiry.
Typical beats:
- Day 0 - “You’ve received €X Store Credit” + how to apply it
- Mid-window - soft reminder with balance
- 2-3 days before expiry - last chance
Use Klaviyo (or your ESP) with memberr merge fields and events. After an airdrop, recipients can be targeted via the campaign segment property in Klaviyo - see Campaigns × Klaviyo.
6. KPIs
Judge the airdrop on outcomes, not just “credits sent”.
| Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Redemption rate | % of recipients who spend the airdrop credit |
| Time to redeem | How fast urgency worked |
| Incremental orders / revenue | Orders and revenue in the expiry window vs a holdout or prior period |
| Credit cost vs revenue | Issued credit ÷ attributed revenue |
Refine the next airdrop from what moved: segment, amount, or window length.
Playbooks
Win-back (inactive 90-180 days)
| Lever | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Segment | Last order 90-180 days ago; exclude recent purchasers |
| Amount | ~10-15% of AOV |
| Available at | Mid-week morning |
| Expiry | 10-14 days |
| Day 0 announce + day −3 before expiry |
Goal: one return purchase, not a permanent discount habit.
VIP thank-you (high spenders)
| Lever | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Segment | Top spenders (e.g. spent > €X in last 12 months) or top membership tier |
| Amount | Meaningful but not a full order - often ~10% of AOV |
| Available at | After a milestone (anniversary, season start) |
| Expiry | 30-60 days (goodwill > urgency) |
| Personal thank-you; light reminder only if unused |
Seasonal / launch push
| Lever | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Segment | Engaged subscribers or buyers of the category on sale |
| Amount | 5-10% of AOV - enough to tip a cart |
| Available at | Campaign start (or day before launch) |
| Expiry | Align with the sale end date |
| Launch day + mid-sale + last day |
Second order (1-2 lifetime orders)
| Lever | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Segment | Exactly 1 order (or 1-2), last order 14-45 days ago |
| Amount | ~10% of first-order AOV |
| Available at | When post-purchase flow usually slows (e.g. day 21) |
| Expiry | 14-21 days |
| Tie to “finish what you started” or a complementary category |
Reviews or referrals boost
| Lever | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Segment | Purchased but no review / never referred (as you can define in Shopify + your tools) |
| Amount | Modest fixed amount (often less than a win-back) |
| Available at | After you open the ask (review invite or referral page) |
| Expiry | 21-30 days |
| Lead with the action (leave a review / share link); credit is the thank-you |
For ongoing review rewards (not one-off airdrops), see Reviews. For referral programme setup, see Referrals.