Start with two separate offers
Loox Referrals lets customers share a dedicated link with friends. The friend discount and the advocate reward do different jobs: one encourages the referred shopper to buy; the other thanks the person who made the introduction.
That distinction matters before you write the headline or choose a widget. A customer sharing a link is not the same event as a referred order becoming eligible for a reward. Explain the conditions clearly from the start.
This guide covers the referral setup using official information checked on October 4, 2026. For timing and wording of requests for product feedback, see our Loox review request guide.
Budget for the plan and the incentives
Loox Referrals requires Convert or above. The free Beginner review plan is not the starting point for this feature. Official referral overview
On October 4, 2026, Loox listed Convert from $49.99 USD per month and Unlimited at $299.99 USD per month. The Shopify listing includes 300 orders in Convert's base price, then $50 for each additional 300 orders. Compare the plans using your store's order volume. Official pricing · Shopify App Store
The subscription is only part of the budget. Model the friend discount and the advocate's later redemption against your own product margin, packaging costs, and shipping contribution. More attributed revenue is not automatically the same as more profit.
For a homewares store, run the numbers for a low-priced item and a typical bundle. A fixed discount can affect those baskets very differently. This exercise should guide the offer rather than a competitor's headline discount.
The standard trial is 14 days. EC AI Lab's referral link offers an extended 30-day trial; confirm that the offer appears at signup. Our Loox pricing guide covers the wider plan comparison.
Configure the friend discount and advocate reward
Set the offer before writing the invitation. In Loox, Friend discount applies to the referred shopper. Advocate reward is the benefit offered to the person sharing the link.
- Open Referrals, then Offer, and choose the friend discount type and amount.
- Set a minimum purchase amount. Loox requires a value above zero.
- If you want to reward advocates, enable the advocate reward and choose its amount.
- Review the limit on rewarded referral orders per advocate.
- Make the offer copy reflect the minimum purchase condition for both benefits.
The advocate reward is issued after the friend's order is marked fulfilled, not simply when the link is shared. Keep that timing clear in your customer-facing explanation. Official offer setup
A useful planning note has three columns: who receives the benefit, what they receive, and which event qualifies them. You can then use that note to check the signup page and emails for consistency. Decide whether to begin with the friend discount alone or include the advocate reward as well; do not leave the two options ambiguous in the invitation.
Choose one place to invite advocates
Start at a point where the invitation feels relevant. Loox offers post-purchase, post-review, and onsite referral widgets. These invite participation in the referral program; they are separate from widgets that display product reviews. Official widget overview
An onsite widget provides a persistent entry point. Activate it under Referrals widgets, then add the relevant section through Shopify's theme editor. The official guide also covers a sidebar option. Registered advocates receive their sharing link on screen and by email. Onsite referral setup
For a homewares store, a simple invitation might be “Share a favorite find with a friend.” Place the actual offer conditions close to that message. Readers should understand the friend's benefit and the advocate's qualifying event before copying the link.
Check the layout on a phone. If your store already uses a chat launcher, popup, or sticky purchase button, make sure the referral invitation does not compete with the shopping task. Establish one working entry point before adding several more.
Review discount stacking and fraud controls
A new referral offer should fit your existing promotions. Loox can allow combinations with Shopify discounts, but the combination settings must agree on both sides. Newly configured rules do not automatically rewrite every existing discount code. Official discount-combination guidance
List your welcome code, sale offers, and shipping promotions. Decide whether each should combine with the referral offer, then check a qualifying basket against that decision. This is more useful than testing the referral discount in isolation.
Loox also provides fraud controls in Referrals preferences. Review the distinction between preventing an advocate reward on self-use and preventing the referral discount itself. Those are different outcomes, and the configuration should match your store's policy. Official fraud settings
If a test reward does not appear, check the qualifying spend, fulfillment state, and identity-related conditions before assuming the program is broken. Keep the explanation you show customers aligned with the settings you actually use.
Launch checks and common questions
Walk through the program as both the advocate and the friend. Confirm that the sharing link is easy to retrieve, that its destination explains the offer, and that an eligible basket behaves as expected.
Do advocates have to leave a review first?
Not when you use an onsite signup entry point. The post-review widget is one option, not the only route into the referral program. Keep the referral invitation distinct from your review collection emails.
Can referral codes apply to subscriptions?
Loox's documentation limits these generated referral discounts to one-time purchases, excluding automatic recurring orders and subscription products. If subscriptions are central to your store, identify the eligible one-time offer before promoting the program. Official offer conditions
What should I measure?
Loox reports referral orders and revenue. Review those alongside the incentives your store funds and the effort needed to run the program. Keep the objective separate from review volume: the question here is whether referrals lead to useful customer acquisition and repeat shopping.
Your first improvement does not have to be a larger discount. Clearer conditions, a better-positioned invitation, or a more useful destination can also make the program easier to use. Start a Loox trial, set one coherent offer, and check the complete referral journey before expanding it.
