Migrating WooCommerce gift cards to Shopify (2026)

Gift cards are one of the trickier data types to migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify. The gift card product itself is easy — it's just a product. The challenge is outstanding gift card balances: codes that customers have purchased but not fully spent. Those codes stop working the moment you switch to Shopify, and customers who received them for Christmas or a birthday will be unhappy if they can't redeem them.

WooCommerce gift card plugins

WooCommerce doesn't have native gift cards. Common plugins:

• YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards: Most popular. Generates unique codes, sends via email, tracks balances.
• WooCommerce Gift Cards (WooCommerce.com): Official extension by Automattic. Similar functionality.
• Gift Cards for WooCommerce (PluginHive): Alternative with scheduling and custom designs.
• Smart Coupons (StoreApps): Uses coupon-based gift cards — each gift card is a WooCommerce coupon with a fixed value.

Shopify's native gift cards

Shopify has gift cards built-in (no app required on Basic+):

• Gift card products: Create gift card products in predefined denominations ($25, $50, $100) or custom amounts
• Auto-generated codes: Shopify generates unique codes on purchase
• Email delivery: Shopify sends gift card notification emails with codes automatically
• Balance tracking: Shopify tracks remaining balance per gift card
• No expiry by default: Gift cards don't expire unless you set an expiry
• Accepted at checkout: Customers enter code at checkout, balance applied automatically

Migrating the gift card product (easy)

The gift card product page itself — the "Buy a Gift Card" page — can be migrated like any other product, or simply recreated in Shopify natively:

1. Shopify Admin → Products → Gift cards → Create gift card product
2. Set denominations (or allow custom amounts)
3. Add product description, images
4. Customers can purchase and Shopify handles the rest

This takes 10 minutes. The product migration aspect is trivial.

Migrating outstanding gift card balances (the hard part)

The critical challenge is outstanding codes — gift cards that were purchased and issued but still have balance remaining. When you switch to Shopify, all WooCommerce-issued gift card codes become invalid.

Step 1: Export outstanding gift card balances from WooCommerce

From YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards

1. WooCommerce → Gift Cards → All Gift Cards
2. Filter by status: Active (cards with remaining balance)
3. Export CSV: includes code, remaining balance, expiry, customer email

From Smart Coupons (coupon-based)

1. WooCommerce → Coupons → filter by "Gift Card" type
2. Export coupons — each coupon = one gift card code, usage limit = balance

Step 2: Import gift cards to Shopify

Shopify allows importing specific gift card codes via Admin API. This can be done manually for small counts or via a bulk script for larger catalogs:

Manual import (small gift card count, <50 cards)

1. Shopify Admin → Products → Gift cards → Issue gift card
2. Enter: specific code (match the WooCommerce code), value (the remaining balance), customer email, optional expiry
3. Do NOT send a notification email — customers already have their codes, sending a new email will confuse them

Bulk import via Matrixify

Matrixify supports importing gift cards in bulk via CSV:

1. Prepare CSV with columns: Code, Initial Value, Balance, Customer Email, Expires On, Note
2. Import via Matrixify → Gift Cards template
3. Verify imported gift cards in Shopify Admin → Products → Gift Cards

Shopify Admin API (developer approach)

For very large gift card catalogs, use Shopify's Admin API to create gift cards programmatically:

POST /admin/api/2024-01/gift_cards.json
{
  "gift_card": {
    "initial_value": "50.00",
    "code": "ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678",
    "note": "Migrated from WooCommerce"
  }
}

Step 3: Preserve the original gift card codes

If possible, keep the same gift card codes from WooCommerce (e.g., "XMAS2024-ABCD"). Customers have these codes in emails or physical cards and shouldn't need to hunt for new ones.

Shopify allows custom gift card codes (the code field in the API/Matrixify import). Set the code to match the exact WooCommerce code — customers use the same code without knowing anything changed.

What to do if you can't migrate gift cards

If migrating gift card codes is too complex (large count, no budget for developer work), alternatives:

• Convert to discount codes: Export outstanding gift card codes and values, then recreate each as a Shopify discount code with a fixed dollar amount and single-use. Less elegant but functional.
• Notify customers: Email all holders of outstanding gift cards. Explain the platform change. Ask them to use their balance before a specific cutover date. After that date, issue them a new Shopify gift card code manually.
• Honor WooCommerce cards manually: Keep WooCommerce accessible for a 6-month wind-down period. Customers can submit their code via a form on Shopify; you manually issue a Shopify gift card in exchange.

Communication to gift card holders

Regardless of approach, communicate with customers who have outstanding gift card balances:

1. Email: "We've upgraded to Shopify. Your gift card [code XXXX] for $XX is valid on our new store. Just enter the code at checkout — nothing else changes."
2. If you imported the same codes: simple reassurance email
3. If you couldn't match codes: send new Shopify gift card codes in the email

Gift card accounting and liability

Issued but unspent gift cards are a liability on your balance sheet. During migration:

• Document the total outstanding gift card liability (sum of remaining balances)
• Verify this liability is accounted for after migration (Shopify tracks outstanding gift card totals)
• Inform your accountant of the migration — gift card liabilities should carry over correctly in your books

Gift card migration checklist

• Audit outstanding gift card balances in WooCommerce plugin
• Export active gift cards with codes, balances, and customer emails
• Create gift card product in Shopify (denominations, description, images)
• Import outstanding gift card codes to Shopify (manual, Matrixify, or API)
• Verify codes: test one imported gift card code at Shopify checkout
• Email gift card holders: confirm their codes work on the new store
• Verify total outstanding gift card liability in Shopify matches WooCommerce export
• Inform accountant of gift card liability transfer

Gift cards aren't the largest migration concern for most stores, but they're high-visibility to the customers who have them. A customer trying to redeem a gift card and finding it doesn't work is a high-frustration moment that generates support tickets and negative reviews. The 2–4 hours spent migrating gift card codes properly is well worth the effort.