In this article:
Overview
Shoppers check out as guests because it is quicker, especially the first time. Reward historic purchases turns that into a reason to come back: when a guest later creates an account, we look at what they already bought and give them the points for it.
It means a new member joins with a balance rather than at zero, which is a far better first impression of your program than an empty account.
Turning it on
Go to Program settings, then Orders.
Under Reward historic purchases, choose how far back to go.
Click Save.
The options are None, 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, 1 year and All time. New programs start on 1 hour.
None switches the feature off. Nobody earns points for anything they bought before joining.
All time goes back as far as we can, which is the day your LoyaltyLion account was created. Orders placed before your program launched are never included, whichever window you pick.
The most popular setting is 1 month. It gives you enough time to email a guest and get them to create an account, without promising points on an order they have half forgotten.
Which rules give points for a past order
Only purchase rules look backwards. Every other rule starts counting from the moment a customer joins.
These award points for an order placed before a customer joined:
Make a purchase
Purchase a product
Purchase from a specific collection
These do not:
Join program, Birthday and Newsletter signup
The social following rules, and Visit online shop and Visit a URL
Refer a friend, Leave a review and Receipt upload
Any Custom rule
So a guest who bought a product covered by a bonus rule earns the standard purchase points and the bonus, both at once, when they create their account.
How the points are worked out
We price a past order as though the customer had bought it on the day they joined, not on the day they placed it. Two things follow.
Your current rules apply, not the ones in force at the time. If your Make a purchase rule paid 5 points per $1 when the order was placed and pays 1 point per $1 now, the customer gets 1 point per $1. If the rule was switched off then and is on now, they still earn. If it was on then and is off now, they earn nothing.
Your tiers are read as at the joining date too. A customer who has just joined is in your entry tier, so that is the rate their past orders earn at. The points cannot push them up a tier and then be recalculated at the higher rate.
Telling your guests about it
Points waiting in an account nobody has created do nothing, so this setting works only as well as the nudge that follows it. Two things worth setting up:
Our post-purchase checkout extension, which shows a guest their points on the order confirmation page while they are still paying attention.
A post-purchase email to guests along the lines of "you have points waiting, create an account so you do not lose them". Our Klaviyo flow guide has one ready to copy.
FAQ
When are the points awarded?
When the customer creates their account, not when they placed the order. Until then the points do not exist, so nothing is sitting there expiring.
If I widen the window, do older orders start counting?
Yes, for anyone who joins after the change. We work out how far back to look at the moment a customer enrols, using whatever the setting says then, so widening it from 1 month to 3 months does pick up orders from two months ago.
What it does not do is go back and top up customers who have already joined. Their past orders were settled when they enrolled and are not looked at again.
Can a customer earn more by reaching a higher tier when they enrol?
No. Past orders are priced against the tier they are in on the day they join, which for a new member is your entry tier.
Does this only apply to guests?
It applies to any order placed before someone joined your program. Guest checkouts are the common case, but a shopper who had a store account without being a loyalty member is treated the same way.