How do purchase-based giveaway entries work?

This guide explains every rule type available under the Make a Purchase entry action, how they combine, and exactly how entries are calculated for each order.

The big picture

When a customer places an order, Giveaway Ninja receives a webhook from your Shopify store, matches the customer to your giveaway, and evaluates a chain of rules to decide how many entries to award. Each rule builds on the previous one.

Important: the evaluation order matters, because some rules affect how others calculate.

Here's the actual processing sequence:

1. Order placed
2. Order matched to a participant
3. Validation checks
4. Bundle Rules
5. AOV Booster check
6. Base points
7. Product & Variant Rules
8. Purchase Period Multiplier
9. AOV Booster multiplier
10. VIP Booster Entries
11. Final entries

Each step is optional. If you don't configure Bundle Rules, that step contributes 0 points. If you don't configure a Period Multiplier, AOV Booster or VIP Booster, they default to 1x (no change).

How orders are received and matched

When a customer completes a purchase, Shopify sends an order webhook to Giveaway Ninja. The system runs it through several stages before any rules are evaluated.

Duplicate prevention

Every webhook gets a unique ID. If the same webhook arrives twice (which can happen with network retries), the duplicate is silently ignored. A single order can never award entries more than once.

Customer matching

The system connects the incoming order to a participant in your giveaway using these priorities.

Priority 1: find an enrolled participant

• First, match the order's email address to a participant in any active giveaway
• If there's no email match, try matching the order's discount code to a participant's unique coupon
• If several giveaways are active, the most recently created giveaway is checked first

Priority 2: Auto-Signup (if enabled)

• If no enrolled participant is found, the system looks for the most recent active giveaway with Auto-Signup turned on
• A new participant is created from the customer's order details (email, name, phone, country)
• The new participant immediately receives entries for this order

Priority 3: no match found

• The order is logged with status "no-user", and no entries are awarded
• You can see these in the Order Logs, which helps you understand why an order didn't earn entries

Order edits and cancellations

By default, Giveaway Ninja processes orders when they're placed. Three optional webhooks let you automatically handle what happens when an order is edited, cancelled or refunded afterwards. You can enable any of them from Setup > Integrations > Shopify Order Webhooks, or from the Make a Purchase action in the giveaway editor.

Order Created is always active and is the foundation of purchase tracking. The options below are optional add-ons.

Process order edits (post-purchase upsells)

Post-purchase upsell apps can add products to an order after checkout. When this happens, Shopify fires an orders/edited webhook.

When this option is enabled and an order edit is received, Giveaway Ninja:

1. Rolls back the entries awarded for the original order. The participant's entry count and giveaway stats go back to what they were before.
2. Reprocesses the updated order from scratch through the full rule chain, using the new line items and totals. The order stays in the giveaway that credited it, even if that giveaway has ended since.
3. Logs the original order with status rolled-back-edit and creates a new log entry for the reprocessed order.
4. Sends you a notification showing the before and after entry counts.

Example: a customer places a $60 order and earns 12 entries (5 entries per $5 spent). A post-purchase upsell adds a $40 item, bringing the total to $100. After the edit, the original 12 entries are rolled back and the order is reprocessed. The customer now earns 20 entries based on the $100 total.

Note: only orders/edited webhooks (line item changes) trigger a reprocess. Address updates, fulfilment changes and note edits don't affect entries.

Deduct entries on order cancellation

When an order is cancelled in Shopify, Giveaway Ninja can automatically revoke the entries it awarded.

When this option is enabled and a cancellation is received, Giveaway Ninja:

1. Rolls back all entries awarded for the original order. The participant's entry count and giveaway stats are reduced accordingly.
2. Marks the original order log as rolled-back-cancelled.
3. Creates a separate cancelled audit log entry recording the cancel reason, original entries and order total.
4. Sends you a notification with the details.

Example: a customer earned 20 entries on a $100 order. The order is later cancelled (reason: "customer changed mind"). With this webhook enabled, those 20 entries are deducted, the original log entry is marked rolled-back-cancelled, and a new cancelled audit record is created.

Double-rollback protection: if a rollback has already been applied to an order (for example, it was edited and rolled back earlier), a second rollback isn't applied. Each order can only be rolled back once.

Recalculate entries on refunds

A refund without a cancellation leaves the order in place with fewer items or a lower total. When this option is enabled and Shopify reports a refund, Giveaway Ninja:

1. Rolls back the entries the order earned so far and marks the original log rolled-back-refund.
2. Recalculates the order on what the customer kept: refunded units are removed before Bundle Rules, Product & Variant Rules and AOV Boosters run, and the spend-based entries use the order's current subtotal or total.
3. Creates a new log entry for the recalculated order and sends you a notification when the entry count changed.

Cancelled orders are handled by the cancellation option, not by this one: cancelling an order in Shopify also records a refund, and Giveaway Ninja ignores that refund so the cancellation stays the single record. Turn on both options to cover every case.

The recalculation uses your rules as they are configured at that moment and keeps the order's original date, so a purchase period multiplier that applied when the order was placed still applies. With this option off, bring a refunded order up to date by re-importing it with the Import Shopify Orders tool.

Validation checks

Before any entries are calculated, the order has to pass up to three validation checks. These decide whether the order qualifies at all.

Order source

Restricts which sales channels earn entries:

Draft order note: "Online Store Only" includes Shopify draft orders, but "Online Store + POS" does not. If you use draft orders for manual orders and want them to count, select "Online Store Only" or "All Sources".

If the order source doesn't match, the whole order earns zero entries. No base points, no bundle points, no product rule points. This is the strictest validation check.

Order date range

When enabled, only orders placed between the start and end dates earn base points (Entries Per Order).

Important detail: if the order date is outside the range, only the base points are zeroed. Bundle Rules, Product Rules and multipliers still evaluate and can still award entries. This lets you run product-specific promotions on different timing from your base point awards.

Minimum order value

When enabled, orders with a subtotal (products only, before shipping and taxes) below the threshold earn zero base points.

This works the same way as the date range: only base points are affected, and Bundle Rules and Product Rules still evaluate independently. The check uses the order subtotal, not the total with shipping and taxes.

Validation summary

Bundle Rules

Bundle Rules reward customers for buying specific product combinations. A bundle is made up of one or more product groups. Each group sets which products qualify and how many the customer must buy.

Bundle Rules are evaluated first in the calculation chain, before base points and product rules. That matters for two reasons:

1. They can consume quantities that Product Rules would otherwise count (via "Skip if Bundle Matched")
2. They can optionally exclude matched product amounts from the base points calculation

How matching works

All groups must be satisfied for the bundle to match. The system checks every group, counts how many qualifying items are in the order, and calculates the bundle multiple: how many complete bundles the customer bought.

For each group:
  available quantity = sum of matching line items in the order
  group multiple = floor(available quantity ÷ required quantity)

Bundle multiple = smallest group multiple across all groups

Points = bundle multiple × entries per bundle

Multiple Bundle Rules

When you have several Bundle Rules, they're sorted by highest reward first and evaluated against a shared quantity pool. Higher-value bundles get priority. Once a bundle consumes items from the pool, those items aren't available to other bundle rules.

Example: "Athleisure Bundle"

• Group 1: any Hoodie (3 products), required: 2
• Group 2: any T-Shirt (5 products), required: 1
• Entries per bundle: 100

Customer's order: 5 Hoodies, 3 T-Shirts

• Group 1: 5 available ÷ 2 required = 2 complete
• Group 2: 3 available ÷ 1 required = 3 complete
• Bundle multiple = min(2, 3) = 2
• Points = 2 × 100 = 200 entries
• Quantities consumed: 4 Hoodies + 2 T-Shirts (removed from the pool for other bundle rules)

Exclude from order total

When enabled, the total price of the products a bundle consumes is deducted from the order value used for base points. This prevents double-rewarding: customers get the bundle bonus entries instead of per-amount base entries for those products.

Example: a customer buys a $40 Hoodie + $25 T-Shirt bundle. With "Exclude from Order Total" on, $65 is subtracted from the order value before calculating "per $X spent" base points. The customer gets the bundle bonus entries for those products, not per-amount base entries.

Limits: up to 10 bundle rules per giveaway. A product can appear in several bundle definitions, but the actual quantities are shared across rules.

AOV Booster

The AOV (Average Order Value) Booster multiplies the whole order's entries when a specific trigger product is in the cart. It encourages customers to add high-value or featured products to their orders. The AOV Booster is included on Premium and Ultimate. Compare Giveaway Ninja plans.

Although its multiplier is applied last, the AOV Booster is evaluated early, because it can optionally exclude trigger product amounts from the base points calculation.

How it works

• If any line item in the order matches a booster's trigger products, the booster activates
• The multiplier is applied at the very end, after all points are summed and after the Period Multiplier
• AOV Boosters are stackable: when several boosters match, their multipliers are added together
• Quantity matters: each unit of a trigger product adds its multiplier, so buying 2 units of a 3x booster = 6x

Multiple boosters and quantities

A customer can buy several AOV Booster products in one order. When that happens, the multipliers are added, not stacked by highest. Each unit of a trigger product adds its booster's multiplier to the total.

AOV Multiplier = sum of (booster multiplier × matched quantity) for each triggered booster

If no boosters match: AOV Multiplier = 1 (no change)

Example: two AOV Boosters are configured:

• "Entry Booster Card" (Product A): 3x multiplier
• "Super Booster Card" (Product B): 4x multiplier

Scenario 1: the customer buys 1 of Product A + 1 of Product B. AOV Multiplier = (3 × 1) + (4 × 1) = 7x

Scenario 2: the customer buys 2 of Product A. AOV Multiplier = 3 × 2 = 6x

Scenario 3: the customer buys 3 of Product A + 1 of Product B. AOV Multiplier = (3 × 3) + (4 × 1) = 13x

Exclude from order total

When enabled, the total price of trigger products is deducted from the order value used for base points. This is useful when the trigger product is a cheap add-on or a "multiplier card" that you don't want counting toward per-amount base entries.

Example: you sell a "$5 Entry Booster Card" that triggers a 5x multiplier. With "Exclude from Order Total" on, the $5 doesn't count toward the "per $X spent" base points. The customer gets the 5x multiplier without also earning base points on the $5 item.

See how the entry multiplier stack works in a real campaign.

Entries Per Order (base points)

This sets how many points every qualifying order earns based on the order value. Base points are calculated after Bundle Rules and AOV Boosters, because those can deduct amounts from the calculation base.

Reward modes

Calculate order entries on

Deductions from the calculation base

In "Per amount spent" mode, the order value is adjusted before entries are calculated. These amounts are deducted:

1. Gift card amounts (Order Total Paid only): if the customer paid partly with a gift card, that amount is subtracted
2. Bundle Rule excluded amounts: if any Bundle Rule has "Exclude from Order Total" on
3. AOV Booster excluded amounts: if any AOV Booster has "Exclude from Order Total" on

The calculation base can never go below $0.

Adjusted Order Value = Order Total (or Subtotal)
                     − Gift Card Amount (Order Total only)
                     − Bundle Excluded Amount
                     − AOV Booster Excluded Amount

Base Points = floor(Adjusted Order Value ÷ Amount Per Entry) × Entries Per Increment

Example: 5 entries per $10 spent, using Order Total Paid

• Order total paid: $150.00
• Gift card used: $20.00
• Bundle "Exclude from Order Total" deduction: $45.00
• Adjusted value: $150 − $20 − $45 = $85.00
• Base points = floor($85 ÷ $10) × 5 = 8 × 5 = 40 entries

Gift cards: with Order Total Paid, Giveaway Ninja detects a gift card payment and deducts it automatically, so customers earn entries only on the money they paid. With Order Subtotal, nothing is deducted: the subtotal is the value of the products bought, so a gift card redemption still earns entries. The deduction only applies to "Per amount spent" mode. "Fixed per order" isn't affected.

Buying a gift card is different from paying with one. A gift card bought as a product is part of the order's subtotal and total, so it earns entries like any product. To leave gift card purchases out, add a Bundle Rule for your gift card product with "Exclude from Order Total" on.

Product & Variant Rules

Product & Variant Rules award entries for buying specific products or variants, independently of the other products in the order. Show shoppers what each product earns with giveaway entries on Shopify product pages.

Targeting

• Product-level targeting: any variant of the selected product qualifies
• Variant-level targeting: only the specific variants you select qualify

Reward modes

Per quantity:

Points = matching quantity × entries per unit

Per amount spent:

Points = floor(total matching amount ÷ amount threshold) × entries

Date ranges

Each Product Rule can have its own date range. If the current time (UTC) is outside the range, the rule is skipped entirely.

Product Rule date ranges check the current time (when the webhook is processed), while the Order Date Range filter checks the order's creation date. These are different checks.

Bonus order entries

Each Product Rule can have an optional bonus threshold. It awards extra entries when the customer's total spend on that rule's products passes a set amount.

If total spent on the rule's matched products ≥ threshold:
  Total rule points = (per-unit or per-amount points) + bonus entries

Example: the rule "Premium Hoodie" awards 25 entries per unit, plus 100 bonus entries when the customer spends $200 or more on Premium Hoodies. The customer buys 3 Premium Hoodies at $80 each = $240 spent.

• Per quantity: 3 × 25 = 75 entries
• Bonus: $240 ≥ $200 threshold, so 100 extra entries
• Rule total: 75 + 100 = 175 entries

If "Skip if Bundle Matched" is on, the bonus threshold uses the reduced quantities (after subtracting bundle-consumed items). Only non-bundled spending counts toward the bonus threshold.

Skip if Bundle Matched

When Bundle Rules and Product Rules target the same products, turn on this checkbox to avoid double-counting. When it's on:

• Quantities already consumed by Bundle Rules are subtracted before the Product Rule evaluates
• Only the remaining quantities earn Product Rule points
• The bonus order entries threshold also uses the reduced quantities and amounts

This checkbox only appears when you have at least one Bundle Rule configured.

Example with skip logic:

• Bundle Rule: 2 Hoodies + 1 T-Shirt = 100 entries
• Product Rule: Hoodie = 25 entries each (Skip if Bundle Matched: ON)
• Order: 5 Hoodies, 2 T-Shirts

1. The bundle evaluates first: min(5÷2, 2÷1) = 2 bundles, so 200 entries. It consumes 4 Hoodies + 2 T-Shirts.
2. The Product Rule sees 5 − 4 = 1 remaining Hoodie, so 25 entries.

Total from rules: 200 + 25 = 225 entries

Without "Skip if Bundle Matched", the Product Rule would count all 5 Hoodies = 125 entries, giving 200 + 125 = 325 entries.

Limits: up to 15 Product & Variant Rules per giveaway. Rules are evaluated independently, so a single line item can match several rules.

Purchase Period Multiplier

Purchase Period Multipliers boost entries during specific time windows. They're perfect for promotions like "Double Points Weekend" or "Black Friday 3x Entries".

How it works

• The system checks the order's creation date against each period's date range
• If the order falls inside a period, the whole subtotal (base + bundle + product rule points) is multiplied
• If several periods overlap, only the highest multiplier applies. They don't stack.
• If no period matches, the multiplier is 1x (no change)

After the Period Multiplier is applied, the AOV Booster multiplier follows, then any VIP Booster:

Final Entries = (Base + Bundle + Product Rule Points) × Period Multiplier × AOV Booster Multiplier × VIP Multiplier + VIP Fixed Entries

VIP Booster Entries

VIP Booster Entries reward orders placed by the customers you already treat as special, identified by their Shopify customer tags. Any tag works: a loyalty app's tier tag, a wholesale tag, or a tag such as VIP you add by hand. You find the rules under the Make a Purchase action, below the Purchase Period Multiplier.

How it works

• Each rule names one or more customer tags. A customer qualifies when they carry at least one of them. Matching is not case-sensitive, ignores surrounding spaces and needs the whole tag: "vip" does not match "vip-2024".
• Each rule has a reward: either multiply the order entries (2x to 100x) or add fixed extra entries per order.
• Optionally, a rule applies only between a start and end date, checked against the order's creation date like the Purchase Period Multiplier. Without dates it applies for the whole giveaway.
• The tags come from the customer on the order. When the order carries no tags, Giveaway Ninja confirms against your Shopify customers by email, so a tag added moments before the purchase still counts.
• Up to 10 VIP Booster rules per giveaway.

How it combines with the other rules

• Multiplier rules apply after the Period Multiplier and the AOV Booster. If several multiplier rules match, only the highest applies. They don't stack.
• Fixed-entry rules add up, and are added after the multipliers.
• Fixed entries follow the order date range and minimum order value checks, like base points: an order that fails them gets no fixed VIP entries. A multiplier simply has nothing to multiply when the order earned 0.
• VIP entries are part of the order's entries, so they appear in the order log and are rolled back with the order when it is edited or cancelled.

Final Entries = Subtotal × Period Multiplier × AOV Booster Multiplier × VIP Multiplier + VIP Fixed Entries

Limits

• Guest checkouts have no customer profile and no tags, so no VIP rule applies to them.
• Tags are matched on the customer behind the order, not on the giveaway entrant, so the order must be placed with the account that carries the tag.
• The rule names and tags travel with the giveaway data the widget downloads. Use tags you don't mind being visible, such as "VIP".
• The matching customer's tags and the rules that applied are written to the order log, so you can always check why an order did or did not get the boost.

To also welcome VIPs with a one-time bonus when they join, add the VIP Bonus Entries action.

Full calculation formula

1. Bundle Points          = sum of all matching bundle rules
2. AOV Excluded Amount    = trigger product prices (if Exclude from Order Total is on)
3. Bundle Excluded Amount = consumed product prices (if Exclude from Order Total is on)
4. Adjusted Order Value   = Order Total (or Subtotal)
                            − Gift Card Amount (Order Total only)
                            − Bundle Excluded Amount
                            − AOV Excluded Amount
5. Base Points            = fixed value, or floor(Adjusted Value ÷ amount) × entries, or 0
6. Product Rule Points    = sum of all matching rules (with skip logic + bonus entries)
7. Subtotal               = Base Points + Bundle Points + Product Rule Points
8. Multiplied             = Subtotal × Period Multiplier × AOV Booster Multiplier × VIP Multiplier
9. Final Entries          = Multiplied + VIP Fixed Entries

Examples

Example 1: simple fixed points

Settings: 10 entries per order (fixed), no other rules. The customer places a $50 order and gets 10 entries.

Example 2: per-amount with a gift card

Settings: 1 entry per $5 spent (Order Total). The customer places a $100 order and pays $30 with a gift card.

• Adjusted value: $100 − $30 = $70
• Base points: floor($70 ÷ $5) × 1 = 14 entries

With Order Subtotal instead, the gift card isn't deducted: a $100 subtotal earns 20 entries.

Example 3: per-amount with product rules

Settings: 1 entry per $5 spent (subtotal). Product Rule: "Limited Edition Sneakers" = 200 entries each. The customer buys 2 Limited Edition Sneakers ($120 each) + 1 T-Shirt ($30).

• Order subtotal: $270
• Base points: floor($270 ÷ $5) × 1 = 54 entries
• Product Rule: 2 × 200 = 400 entries
• Total: 54 + 400 = 454 entries

Example 4: bundle with Exclude from Order Total

Settings: 2 entries per $10 spent (subtotal). Bundle Rule: 1 Hoodie + 1 T-Shirt = 150 entries (Exclude from Order Total: ON). The customer buys 2 Hoodies ($40 each), 2 T-Shirts ($20 each) and 1 Accessory ($15).

• Order subtotal: $135
• Bundle: min(2÷1, 2÷1) = 2 bundles, so 300 entries. It consumes 2 Hoodies + 2 T-Shirts.
• Bundle excluded amount: 2 × $40 + 2 × $20 = $120
• Adjusted order value: $135 − $120 = $15
• Base points: floor($15 ÷ $10) × 2 = 2 entries
• Total: 300 + 2 = 302 entries

Without "Exclude from Order Total", base points would be floor($135 ÷ $10) × 2 = 26, for a total of 326.

Example 5: product rule with bonus order entries

Settings: no base points. Product Rule: "Premium Sneakers" = 10 entries per unit, with 500 bonus entries when spending passes $300. The customer buys 4 Premium Sneakers at $90 each = $360.

• Per quantity: 4 × 10 = 40 entries
• Bonus check: $360 ≥ $300, so 500 bonus entries
• Rule total: 40 + 500 = 540 entries

Example 6: everything combined

Settings: 2 entries per $10 spent (Order Total).

• Bundle Rule: 2 Hoodies + 1 Accessory = 100 entries (Exclude from Order Total: ON)
• Product Rule: Hoodie = 25 entries each (Skip if Bundle Matched: ON)
• Period Multiplier: 2x (Holiday Sale)
• AOV Booster: "Gift Set" in cart = 3x (Exclude from Order Total: ON)

The customer buys 4 Hoodies ($40 each), 2 Accessories ($15 each) and 1 Gift Set ($50). Order total: $240.

1. Bundle: min(4÷2, 2÷1) = 2 bundles, so 200 entries. Excluded amount: $190.
2. AOV Booster: Gift Set detected, so a 3x multiplier. Excluded amount: $50.
3. Base points: $240 − $190 − $50 = $0, so 0 entries.
4. Product Rule (skip on): 4 − 4 = 0 remaining, so 0 entries.
5. Subtotal: 0 + 200 + 0 = 200 entries.
6. Period Multiplier: 200 × 2 = 400 entries.
7. AOV Booster: 400 × 3 = 1,200 entries.

Example 6b: VIP Booster

Settings: 1 entry per $10 spent (Order Total), Period Multiplier 2x (Launch Weekend), VIP Booster "Gold members" = 3x for customers tagged gold, VIP Booster "Any VIP" = +20 entries for customers tagged vip. A customer tagged both gold and vip places a $200 order during the launch weekend.

1. Base points: floor($200 ÷ $10) × 1 = 20 entries
2. Period Multiplier: 20 × 2 = 40 entries
3. VIP multiplier: 40 × 3 = 120 entries
4. VIP fixed entries: 120 + 20 = 140 entries

A customer without those tags gets 40 entries for the same order, and the cart counter shows 40 for both of them.

Example 7: order source blocks everything

Settings: 10 entries per order (fixed), Order Source: Online Store Only. The customer places a $200 order through POS (in-store). Order source validation fails, so 0 entries. The whole order is blocked.

Example 8: date range only blocks base points

Settings: 5 entries per $10 spent, Order Date Range: Jan 1 to Jan 31. Product Rule: "Promo Item" = 50 entries each. The customer places an order on Feb 5 with 2 Promo Items.

• Order date range fails, so base points: 0
• Product Rule: 2 × 50 = 100 entries (still applies)
• Total: 100 entries

Order logs and troubleshooting

Every order Giveaway Ninja processes is logged, whether it awarded entries or not.

Order status values

What's in the log

Each order log entry includes a detailed breakdown:

• Order ID and source (web, pos and so on)
• Validation results for order source, date range and minimum value
• Base points and which calculation method was used
• Bundle rule results: which bundles matched, how many times, points awarded
• Product rule results: which rules matched, quantities, points, bonus entries
• Period multiplier and AOV booster applied
• VIP booster results: the customer tags that were read and where they came from, the rules that matched, and whether a VIP Bonus was granted with this order
• Gift card details: amount deducted
• Final total entries after all multipliers

Common troubleshooting

"The order shows up as no-user"

• The customer's email doesn't match any giveaway participant
• No discount code match was found
• Auto-Signup isn't enabled on any active giveaway
• To award entries after the fact, credit past Shopify orders

"The order shows entries = 0"

• Check the order source. If it doesn't match your filter, everything is blocked
• Check the date range and minimum value. These block base points, but not product rules
• If you only use base points (no product or bundle rules), any validation failure means 0 entries

"Entries seem lower than expected"

• Check whether gift cards were used. With Order Total Paid, the gift card amount is deducted from the calculation base
• Check whether "Exclude from Order Total" is on for bundle rules or AOV boosters
• Check the "Calculate Order Entries On" setting. Order Subtotal excludes shipping and taxes

"The Product Rule didn't match"

• Check the rule targets the right product or variant IDs
• Check the rule's date range. If it's set, the rule only works inside those dates
• If "Skip if Bundle Matched" is on, bundles may have used up all the qualifying quantities

"The VIP Booster didn't apply"

• Open the order log: the "Customer Tags" line shows the tags Giveaway Ninja read. "customer not found" means a guest checkout or no Shopify customer with that email
• Check the tag spelling. Case and surrounding spaces don't matter, but the whole tag must match
• Check the rule's date range against the order date
• If the order earned 0 entries, a multiplier has nothing to multiply, and fixed VIP entries follow the date range and minimum order checks

Tell customers about their entries as they earn them: email customers when they earn giveaway entries.