Rise.ai: Gift Cards & Loyalty
Offers a comprehensive suite of tools for gift cards, store credit, and loyalty programs, designed to enhance customer retention and increase lifetime value for growing e-commerce brands.
About this app:
Rise.ai provides a unified platform for merchants aiming to build a robust post-purchase experience. Its core capabilities center on creating and managing sophisticated gift card programs, store credit workflows, and cash-back loyalty systems. The platform is engineered to move beyond simple points-based rewards, empowering brands to foster deeper customer relationships and drive repeat business through tangible value, which is crucial for achieving scalable growth and enhancing brand equity.
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Key Attributes:
The GetEcomTools Verdict
Our Take:
"Rise.ai excels at providing a comprehensive gift card and store credit engine to build customer loyalty, but its value is tempered by a potentially prohibitive pricing model that may create friction for rapidly scaling brands."
Best for:
Established brands with consistent order volume looking to invest in a sophisticated, cash-value-based loyalty and gift card system to maximize customer lifetime value.
Key Consideration
Startups or brands with highly variable order flow may find the usage-based pricing model challenging to predict and justify, potentially hindering their ability to build early-stage loyalty affordably.
Performance Snapshot
Overall Performance
Core design principles support robust cash-back and store credit programs. However, user experience friction in areas like VIP tier visibility and gaps in automated workflows indicate that realizing the full potential for cultivating brand loyalty requires careful configuration and may not meet all advanced use cases out of the box.
The system's framework positions it as a leader in customizable gift card solutions, enabling brands to craft unique, loyalty-driving customer experiences. While the feature set is extensive, merchants should validate security protocols to ensure the integrity of their gifting programs and maintain customer trust.
Analysis of the architecture reveals a usage-based pricing model that creates significant financial friction for some merchants. This structure can lead to unpredictable costs, a key issue detailed in our pricing model analysis, potentially impacting the ROI for businesses not yet at a high-volume scale.
Based on structural elements, the platform has experienced significant technical issues, including a reported security vulnerability. These stability concerns, outlined in our technical flaws section, represent a material risk to operational continuity and brand reputation.
Pros & Cons Report
Key findings from our analysis, organized for review.
Pros
Advanced Gifting
The platform's core capability is its comprehensive gift card and store credit system, which far exceeds native Shopify functionality. Merchants can leverage bulk creation, custom designs, and scheduled delivery to build sophisticated marketing campaigns and loyalty programs, directly empowering them to forge stronger, more profitable customer relationships.
Seamless Integration
Core design principles facilitate deep integration with key e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Recharge, and Klaviyo. This allows merchants to create a unified tech stack, automating workflows between loyalty, subscriptions, and marketing to deliver a cohesive customer experience and enhance operational efficiency.
Cons
Opaque Pricing
The app's pricing structure, which includes per-order fees on top of a monthly subscription, has been a significant point of friction for many merchants. This model can lead to unexpectedly high costs that are difficult to forecast, especially for growing brands with fluctuating order volumes. While this structure may be viable for high-margin businesses that can absorb the cost as a strategic investment in loyalty, it poses a challenge for others trying to maintain predictable operational expenses. Therefore, we advise meticulously modeling your total expected cost based on order projections before committing to a paid plan.
Technical Flaws
Analysis of user feedback reveals several critical technical issues, including a significant security vulnerability that reportedly allowed for fraudulent gift card creation and use. Other reported bugs involve core workflows failing to run and incorrect store credit amounts being issued. These flaws represent a direct risk to revenue and brand trust, undermining the platform's potential to be a reliable partner in building customer loyalty. Therefore, we advise conducting thorough testing of all core workflows and security settings before a full-scale launch.
The Deep Dive
In-depth analysis, verified data, and answers to common questions. This is the research annex where we show our work.
The model uses usage-based fees on top of subscriptions, favoring high-volume brands.
The pricing structure is designed for businesses that have achieved a consistent order volume. The entry-level plan is accessible, but the per-order fees that kick in above a certain threshold mean costs scale directly with store activity. This model is best suited for established brands that can treat the cost as a predictable percentage of revenue and leverage the advanced features to drive a return on investment through enhanced customer loyalty and repeat purchases.
Starter
$19.99
/ monthly
Usage & Quotas
100
/ monthKey Features
- Advanced Gift Card Program
- Manually Issue Store Credit
- Referrals
Small-Business
$59.99
/ monthly
Usage & Quotas
400
/ monthKey Features
- All features from 'Starter'
- Claim Page Customization
- Check Balance Page
Pro
$199.99
/ monthly
Usage & Quotas
2,000
/ monthKey Features
- All features from 'Small-Business'
- Apply Store Credit Button
- Bulk Gift Card Creation
Premium
$599.99
/ monthly
Usage & Quotas
12,000
/ monthKey Features
- All features from 'Pro'
- White Labeling
- Multi-Store Gift Cards
1.What is Rise.ai primarily used for?
Rise.ai is a platform for creating comprehensive gift card and store credit loyalty programs. It provides advanced tools to build customer retention strategies and increase repeat business, going beyond basic point systems. You can learn more about its Advanced Gifting capabilities.
2.Can I create custom-branded gift cards with Rise.ai?
Yes, you can design and offer fully branded gift cards that match your store's look and feel. The platform allows for extensive customization, including adding your own designs and messages, to create a unique gifting experience. This is a core part of its Advanced Gifting features.
3.Is Rise.ai a good replacement for Shopify's built-in gift cards?
Yes, Rise.ai is designed as a direct upgrade to Shopify's native gift card system. It solves common limitations by offering features like scheduled delivery, bulk creation, and a superior customer experience for checking balances and redeeming credit. Many merchants choose it for its Advanced Gifting features.
4.How does Rise.ai help with customer loyalty beyond just gift cards?
Rise.ai builds loyalty through a complete rewards ecosystem, including cash-back programs, referral incentives, and store credit for returns. This unified system encourages repeat purchases and increases customer lifetime value. The full list of features details these capabilities.
5.What is the main benefit of upgrading from the Starter plan?
Upgrading from the Starter plan unlocks features essential for growing brands, such as claim page customization and a dedicated balance check page for customers. It also includes a higher monthly order limit to support your store's growth. The full details are in the pricing analysis.
6.How does the Rise.ai pricing model work?
Rise.ai uses a subscription model with plans that include a set number of monthly store orders. If your store exceeds that number, a small, fixed fee is applied to each additional order, allowing the plan to scale with your business volume. You can review the tiers in the pricing analysis.
7.What's the best way to run a bulk gift card campaign with Rise.ai?
You can strategically distribute promotional gift cards in bulk to a targeted email list for marketing campaigns. The system simplifies reconciliation by only registering the cards in Shopify when a customer redeems them. This is one of the top merchant playbooks.
8.Does Rise.ai work with Recharge?
Yes, Rise.ai offers a seamless integration with Recharge. This connection allows you to offer gift cards and store credit that work perfectly with subscription-based businesses, a key feature highlighted in its Seamless Integration capabilities.
9.Does Rise.ai integrate with Klaviyo?
Yes, Rise.ai integrates directly with Klaviyo. This allows you to build custom, automated email flows based on loyalty program actions and reward triggers, creating a highly personalized marketing experience. This is a core part of its Seamless Integration with other platforms.
10.Can I use Rise.ai with Loox?
Yes, Rise.ai works with Loox to create a more powerful rewards loop. You can trigger loyalty actions and issue store credit based on customer reviews, further enhancing engagement. The full list of features covers its integration capabilities.
11.How can Rise.ai help reduce refund-related revenue loss?
Rise.ai helps retain revenue by allowing you to offer store credit as a primary option for customer returns. This keeps the money within your store's ecosystem and encourages customers to make another purchase. This workflow is one of the key merchant playbooks.
12.What are the best Rise.ai strategies for increasing repeat purchases in 2025?
To increase repeat purchases in 2025, use Rise.ai to implement a cash-back rewards program and issue store credit for referrals. These tangible rewards provide immediate value to customers, motivating them to return and spend more. This is a core part of its Loyalty Program Management capabilities.
13.How long does it take to set up Rise.ai?
The setup process for Rise.ai is designed to be intuitive and fast, allowing most merchants to get up and running quickly. The platform's design facilitates a smooth installation and configuration process. This is a key benefit of its Seamless Integration.
14.What data does Rise.ai access and how is it used?
Rise.ai accesses only the data required to run your loyalty and gift card programs, such as customer information and order history. This data is used exclusively to manage rewards, issue credit, and provide the core functions of the app securely.
15.What are the top customer retention strategies using Rise.ai for 2025?
For 2025, the top retention strategies involve using Rise.ai to create a unified digital wallet for customers, combining store credit from returns with cash-back rewards. This approach builds high LTV by making rewards tangible and easy to use. Explore more tactics in the merchant playbooks.
16.How does the Rise.ai store credit loyalty program enhance the customer experience?
The store credit loyalty program enhances the customer experience by offering real cash value instead of confusing points. Customers can easily check their balance and apply credit at checkout, making the rewards feel more valuable and straightforward to use. This is a key part of its excellent Gift Card Functionality.
17.As a Shopify gift card app, can Rise.ai handle multi-store setups?
Yes, Rise.ai is built to support multi-store operations for brands on the Premium plan. It allows you to sync gift card and store credit balances across multiple Shopify stores, providing a unified experience for your customers. You can see plan details in the pricing analysis.
18.What is the best way to use the Recharge integration for loyalty with Rise.ai?
The best way to use the Recharge integration is to allow subscribers to apply their store credit and gift card balances directly to their recurring payments. This increases the value of your loyalty program for your most valuable customers. This powerful capability is part of its Seamless Integration.
19.Can I issue store credit manually for customer service situations?
Yes, you can manually issue store credit directly to a customer's account at any time. This is a powerful tool for customer service teams to resolve issues, offer compensation, or provide surprise-and-delight rewards. The full list of features covers this capability.