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Why isn't my loyalty program working as expected?

If Glow is not behaving the way you expect, start with the main program status, then narrow the issue by feature area: storefront widget, order points, rewards, referrals, integrations, or emails.

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Written by Sergey Rebbe

If Glow is not behaving the way you expect, start with the main program status, then narrow the issue by feature area: storefront widget, order points, rewards, referrals, integrations, or emails.

Most loyalty issues come from one of these checks:

  • The main Glow app is disabled.

  • The storefront widget app embed is disabled or hidden on the page being tested.

  • The customer, order, or reward is not eligible.

  • The store has reached its active member limit.

  • The action happened, but it is easiest to confirm from the activity logs.

Before you start

Gather the exact example you are checking:

  • Shopify store URL

  • Customer email or customer name

  • Order number, if the issue is about order points or discounts

  • Reward name, if the issue is about redemption

  • The approximate date and time the issue happened

Use a real example whenever possible. It is much easier to confirm what happened when you can compare the Glow settings with a specific customer, order, reward, or activity log entry.

1. Check the main Glow status

In Glow, go to Home.

Check the status messages near the top of the dashboard:

  • The overall App functionality is enabled means the main Glow app is on.

  • The Widget App Embed Block is enabled means the storefront widget can load from your published theme.

  • Active Members shows how many customers currently count toward your plan limit.

Glow dashboard showing main app status, widget app embed status, and active member count

If the main app is disabled, customers cannot earn or redeem points.

If the widget app embed is disabled, customers may not see the storefront loyalty widget even if background earning is still set up.

If active members are over the plan limit, reward redemption can be blocked until the account is upgraded or the member count is brought back within the plan limit.

2. Identify the part that is not working

Use the symptom to choose the next check.

The widget is missing from the storefront

Check:

  • Home: Main app and Widget App Embed Block status.

  • Settings > Account Settings > Widget: launcher position and page visibility.

  • Shopify theme editor: Glow app embed is enabled on the published theme.

If you use a custom button or link to open the widget, test the default launcher and the custom link separately.

A customer did not earn points for an order

Check:

  • Settings > Account Settings > Rewards: order points are enabled and the point value is correct.

  • Settings > Account Settings > Behavior: unpaid order, refund, return, and customer eligibility settings match the order you are checking.

  • Rewards > Order Rules and Rewards > Collection Bonuses: rules or collection settings did not reduce points to zero or replace the expected amount.

  • The Shopify order has a customer email or phone number Glow can match to a customer.

  • The customer is not excluded from the loyalty program.

Some order settings only apply to orders created after the setting is saved.

A customer cannot redeem a reward

Check:

  • The main Glow app is enabled.

  • The customer has enough points.

  • The reward is enabled.

  • The reward has not already reached its usage limit.

  • The reward is available to the customer's VIP tier.

  • The customer is not excluded from the loyalty program.

  • Active members are within the current plan limit.

If the reward creates a Shopify discount code, also check whether the Shopify discount works with the customer's cart, subscriptions, products, collections, and other discount codes.

Referrals or integrations are not awarding points

Check:

  • The referral or integration is enabled.

  • The point value is greater than zero.

  • Any required connection, API key, or integration setting is saved.

  • The customer is not excluded from the loyalty program.

  • The action happened after the integration was enabled.

For referrals, also check whether your program rewards signup or first purchase. The expected timing depends on that setting.

3. Check the relevant settings area

In Glow, go to Settings > Account Settings.

Use the tabs to check the feature area that matches your issue:

  • Rewards: earning methods and point values.

  • Widget: launcher behavior, page visibility, and storefront display.

  • Notifications: loyalty emails.

  • Behavior: order behavior, refunds, returns, and customer eligibility.

  • Multipliers: VIP multiplier behavior.

  • Links: customer login, registration, and storefront URLs.

Glow Account Settings tabs used for troubleshooting rewards, widget, behavior, multipliers, and links

4. Check activity logs

Use activity logs to confirm whether Glow recorded the action.

Go to Analytics > Points Activity to check point earning, redemption, manual adjustments, birthdays, anniversaries, referrals, refunds, and similar point events.

Glow Points Activity page showing the activity chart and export controls

Go to Analytics > Discount Activity to check reward discount codes.

Go to Analytics > Referral Stats to check referral activity.

If you need to review the data outside Glow, use the date range and Export button on the activity page.

5. Retest with one controlled example

After changing a setting, test one specific case again.

For example:

  • Open a storefront page in a new browser window to confirm the widget appears.

  • Place a small test order to confirm order points.

  • Redeem a low-cost test reward to confirm discounts are created.

  • Use a known referral link to confirm referral tracking.

Then check the relevant activity page to confirm that Glow recorded the event.

When to contact support

Contact Glow support if the checks above look correct but the issue still happens.

Include:

  • Your Shopify store URL.

  • The customer email or customer name.

  • The order number, reward name, referral link, or integration name involved.

  • What you expected to happen.

  • What actually happened.

  • A screenshot of the relevant Glow settings or activity log.

  • The approximate date and time of the test.

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