Yes, on three tools. When a customer's change means they are owed money, you can have it added to their account as Shopify store credit, to spend with you next time, instead of going back to their card. It is always your choice, and it is never the default.
Which tools offer it
Tool | Setting | Choices |
Cancel order | Where the refund goes | Back to their original payment method, or Let the customer choose between that and store credit. |
Change product options | Where the refund goes (when a customer removes an item) | Back to their original payment method or Store credit. |
Apply a discount | How the customer gets the discount back | Back to their original payment method or Store credit. |
Each is on that tool's own settings page under Editing Tools → Tools.
On Cancel order, store credit is only ever offered as a choice. The customer sees Where should your refund go? with Back to my original payment method and Store credit, and neither is picked for them. They must choose one before cancelling.
What your Shopify store needs
Store credit lives on a customer account, so Shopify only allows it when:
Store credit is turned on in your Shopify settings.
Your store uses Shopify's new customer accounts, not classic accounts.
Customer accounts are not switched off.
Tacey checks these with Shopify before offering store credit. If any is missing, or Shopify cannot be reached to confirm, Cancel order simply does not show the store credit choice, and the refund goes to the original payment method.
If sign-in is optional on your store, credit is still offered. Customers will need to sign in at checkout to spend it.
Expiry on cancellations
On Cancel order you can set Days until store credit expires. Leave it empty and the credit never expires, which is the default.
Store credit bonus also appears on that page, but it is not active yet. The page says so: "Nothing adds a bonus to store credit yet. A cancellation refund uses the order's exact amount, with no addition."
Guest orders
A guest checkout has no customer account, so there is nowhere to put store credit.
On Apply a discount and Change product options set to Store credit, a guest order gets no refund at all, not even to the card, because you chose credit and not cash. The customer is told: "Your order was updated, but your store credit couldn't be added automatically. We've been notified and will follow up with you." The ledger shows The refund did not go through and the order appears under Action needed, so you can settle it by hand.
If many of your orders are guest checkouts, choosing the original payment method avoids this.
Store credit and approval
Store credit is issued as soon as the customer confirms. It does not wait for Approve refund, even when Refund customers automatically is off. Refunds you approve from the order page always go to the original payment method.
What this does NOT do
It does not pay out cash. Credit can only be spent with you.
It does not change the amount. The credit is the same figure Shopify calculates for a refund.
It is not available on every tool. Refunds from a cheaper Replace product swap go to the original payment method.
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