Imports

Find out how to import customer points, birthdays and tiers

Success team avatar
Written by Success team
Updated over a week ago

In this article:


🦁 ! Important ! 🦁

Please ensure you read the following before requesting any kind of import.

Customers need to already exist on your platform before we can process any kind of import. If not, our program will not be able to find the customers and they will be skipped.

It is your responsibility to provide the import file and make any amendments to it before it can be uploaded into LoyaltyLion.

If you're just getting started, customers that already have an account on your platform will not receive account creation points. We recommend importing those customers with account creation points.
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Please note that it can take up to 24 hours to process the import. Please make sure you plan ahead when launching your program.


Our team will be in contact with you if there are any delays!


What is an import?

Imports are how we can bulk-add customer data to your customer profiles in LoyaltyLion. Changes can be made on an individual basis, however, if you have a large number of customers it may be quicker and easier for us to run an import for you. If you're making changes to a small number of customers, it would be faster to follow the link to the guide.

The data that LoyaltyLion can import includes:

Customer points

Customer birthdays

Customer tiers

The customer points import adds points to the customers' already existing points total, the same as when you add them manually. It does not override the current total point with the value in the file.

Please note that customer tiers are subject to your plan in LoyaltyLion - see our pricing page for more information on which features are associated with each plan.

Any new customer will be automatically enrolled in the loyalty program once they create an account on your store - find out more information.


Points imports

If you would like to request an import, please email our support team at support@loyaltylion.com. Imports work differently for each of our merchant platforms:

Points imports add points to your customers' accounts. This can be both your existing, enrolled customers and guest customers. However, please be aware that guest customers won't receive their points until they have created an account with your store, as this is how they become enrolled in the program. Find out more about how customers become members of your loyalty program.

Please be aware that if you process an import, it will be visible on the customer's account.

Shopify import

If you would like to give your existing customers points, please provide us (support@loyaltylion.com) with a .CSV file containing the following information:

Column A: email addresses
​Column B: points - list the total points each customer should be imported with

(Optional) Column C: reason - state the reason each customer is receiving the points (up to 40 characters)

Please note that each customer/email must only be included once in the .CSV file.

If a customer's email is included multiple times in an import with different points values, they may not be imported with the correct number of points.

If you're getting started and you would like existing customers to get their points for the "Create an account" rule, we would recommend requesting a points import for these customers so that they don't miss out.

If you're adding a "reason" column for customers:

  • Customers will be able to see the reason in their loyalty history table under the header "Action". If no reason is stated, customers will just see "Adjustment" here.

  • You can add a different reason for each row if desired

Magento, BigCommerce & Custom stores

If you would like to give your existing customers points to introduce them to your loyalty program please provide us (support@loyaltylion.com) with a CSV file with the following:

Column A: customer's ID on your e-commerce platform
​Column B: email addresses
​Column C: points - total points each customer should be imported with
​Column D: enrolled -

state 'true' if they are a customer (have an account on your store)

state 'false' if they are not a customer (have no account and are a guest customer)

(Optional) Column E: reason - state the reason each customer is receiving the points (up to 40 characters)

Please note: each customer/email must only be included once in the CSV file. If a customer's email is included multiple times in an import with different points values, they may not be imported with the correct number of points.

If you're getting started and want to give customers points to start with, you don't need to import them. Once the customers log in they will be pulled into the loyalty program.

If you're adding a "reason" column for customers:

  • Customers will be able to see the reason in their loyalty history table under the header "Action". If no reason is stated, customers will just see "Adjustment" here.

  • You can add a different reason for each row if desired


Birthdays import

You can now bulk-add your customers' birthdays so that they get their points on their birthday each year.

If you would like to import your existing customers' birthdays, please provide us (support@loyaltylion.com) with a .CSV file. Please note, customers must already be members of your Loyalty Program.

Column A: email addresses
​Column B: birthday
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​Birthday format: iso8601 dates for example "2011-01-16" not 2011/01/16.

Please be aware that if the birthday format is not correct, there may be problems processing the import.


Tiers import

Please note that customer tiers are subject to your plan in LoyaltyLion - see our pricing page for more information on which features are associated with each plan.

If you're re-platforming your program, you may wish to import your customers' tiers so that they're all in the correct position when we get started.

All guest accounts will automatically be placed in the lowest tier. If guest accounts have been included on the import, once they create an account on your site, they will be moved into the tier stated in the import.

If you would like to import your existing customers into the correct tier, please provide us (support@loyaltylion.com) with a .CSV file in the following format. Please note, customers must already be members of your Loyalty Program to be imported into a tier.

Column A: email
​Column B: tier

Please be aware that the tier import is case-sensitive. The name of the tier in the import should be exactly the same as the actual tier.


Frequently asked questions


I have a list with a lot of emails, can you import these customers to the loyalty program?


We can import customers with or without the account on your store into LoyaltyLion. However, to receive their points they will need to have an account in the e-commerce platform you're using. For example, Shopify, Magento or BigCommerce. Customers without accounts won't be able to use their points until they create an account in your store. All imported customers with an account won't have access to the loyalty program, points, rewards or emails.

We would advise not to import guest customers, but to instead email them separately and inform them about a double account creation points period to give the incentive to make an account. To make this work, you would need to double the number of points for the account creation rule and then change it back to the normal amount after the promotional period expires. We have more information on this promotion and setting it up.

What is the difference between an enrolled customer and a guest?

Customer: someone who has created an account on your store and will be automatically enrolled in the loyalty program once they log in.

Guest: someone who doesn't hold an account with your store. Customers without accounts won't be able to use their points until they create an account in your store. We can import customers with or without the account on your store into LoyaltyLion, however, they need to have an account in the e-commerce platform you're using.

Can I change the reason/note that customers will see in their notifications, to let them know why they're receiving points?

Adding a reason for giving points is something we support only when manually rewarding points. When processing an import, eacenrolledfh of them receives a unique number that helps us recognize the import in the backend. This way we can be sure, which customers were rewarded during which import and eliminate confusion.

Once my customer has been imported into a tier, how will they move up/down a tier?

If a customer has spent enough money or earned enough points in a 12 month period to move up a tier, we'll immediately move them up and let them know via an on-site notification. The customer will remain in that tier for a minimum of 12 months.

In the case that you have enabled lifetime tiers, customers will continue to move up tiers as they spend more money/earn more points. We have more information about this here.
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Will my customer receive points for completing the birthday rule if we import their birthday?

Your customer will receive points on the birthday that you have entered. For example, Customer A's birthday is on 2000-02-22 therefore, they will not receive their points until that date. Please note, they will only receive these points once a year. We have more information on how customers get points for their birthdays here.

What do you mean by members of the loyalty program?

A customer typically becomes a member by creating an account with your store, see here for further information.

Can LoyaltyLion import customers into a hidden/conditional/subscriber tier?

It is not possible to import customers into these tiers as they are managed on an individual basis. Read below to find out how to add customers to each of these tiers:

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