Refer and Earn
Refer and Earn, Paid Only When the Order Arrives
Word of mouth is still how many Indian shoppers find a new brand. Refer and Earn gives every customer a code to share and pays both sides in store credit, only after the friend's first order has really arrived.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
Refer and Earn is off for a new store. Switch it on and every signed-in shopper gets a code of 6 characters and a link to share.
How a friend is counted. A friend who opens the link (or signs up with the code) and places their first order within the window (30 days to start with) becomes the referrer's invitation. The first code wins. A friend must be new to your store: no earlier order and no older account.
When the reward is paid. Only when the friend's first order is delivered and the waiting days have passed (7 to start with, so a return can still cancel it): the referrer gets ₹100 in store credit and the friend ₹100, to start with. A first order below the smallest amount (₹499 to start with), or refunded to below it, earns nothing.
A discount for the friend, if you like. Instead of (or as well as) credit, the friend can get a first-order discount: 10% or a fixed amount, with its own minimum. Each friend gets their own single-use code that works only on their phone and their first order, and checkout offers it with USE MY FRIEND'S OFFER, so they never have to type it.
Abuse checks. Mercayo refuses and records: the referrer's own phone or account, the same device as the referrer, a friend who has ordered before, circular referrals, and delivery to an address the referrer has used. A referrer can earn at most 10 rewards in 30 days and 50 a year, to start with. Your team can void a referral with a reason, and unspent credit is taken back.
The Referrals screen shows the settings at a glance, the totals (invitations, first orders and their sales, rewarded, credit paid), a leaderboard of the top 10 referrers, and every invitation under Waiting, Rewarded and Closed.
For your store
Why It Matters
A friend's recommendation is worth more than any ad, especially for a brand a shopper has not heard of. Refer and Earn turns your happy customers into that recommendation, with a code they can drop into a family WhatsApp group in one tap.
Paying only after delivery is the difference between a referral programme and a leak. With cash on delivery, an order placed is not an order paid; a reward on placing invites fake orders and refused parcels. Here, nothing is paid until the friend's parcel has arrived and the return window has passed.
And because rewards are store credit, every rupee you give comes back to your store as a future order.
Step by step
How It Works
Switch Refer and Earn On
In Settings → Rewards and Credit → Refer and Earn, switch Refer and earn on and set the Credit for the Shopper Who Refers and the Credit for the Friend (₹100 each to start with; 0 gives the friend nothing), the smallest first order that counts, and the days to wait after delivery. Store credit must be on.
Set the Limits
Days a Friend Has to Place Their First Order (30), Most Rewards One Shopper Can Earn in 30 Days (10) and in a Year (50) keep a programme from being farmed.
Add a Friend's Discount
Switch on First-Order Discount for the Friend, choose a percentage (10% to start with) or an amount (₹100), and the Smallest Order for the Discount (₹499). Credit as Well as the Discount decides whether a friend who used it also gets credit; the referrer is paid either way.
Shoppers Share Their Code
In their account, shoppers see Refer and Earn with Your Code, COPY CODE and SHARE, the terms in one line, and their friends' progress: Signed up, Order placed, Reward paid.
Follow the Invitations
On Referrals, the Waiting, Rewarded and Closed tabs list every invitation with its reason when closed. Void one with a reason if something is wrong; unspent credit is taken back.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
A signed-in shopper finds Refer and Earn in their account: "Share your code. When a friend's first order is delivered, you get ₹100 in store credit and they get ₹100.", with their code, COPY CODE and SHARE, and each friend's progress (first names only). A friend arriving by the link sees "A friend invited you" on the sign-in page, with what they get; with the friend's discount on, checkout shows "Friend's welcome offer" and USE MY FRIEND'S OFFER.
Settings
Settings You Control
All are under Settings → Rewards and Credit → Refer and Earn.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Mercayo's team can switch Refer and Earn off or on for a store, or fix any of its amounts and limits (for example cap the rewards per shopper), with a reason your admin shows beside the locked setting and a record in Mercayo's audit log. The friend's discount codes are made by Mercayo inside your discounts and kept out of your Discounts list, so the list shows only your own offers.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- Rewards are store credit (and the optional friend's discount); referrers cannot be paid in cash. For paid partners, see affiliates.
- A friend must be new to your store: no earlier order and no older account.
- The friend's discount code is not shown on the Referrals screen or as an account card: checkout adds it for the friend.
- Store credit must be on; with it off, rewards cannot be paid.
Questions
About Refer and Earn
When exactly does the referrer get paid?
When the friend's first order is delivered and the waiting days have passed (7 to start with). A cancelled, returned or fully refunded first order pays nothing.
Can someone refer themselves?
No. An invitation from the referrer's own phone or account, the same device, or delivery to an address the referrer has used is refused and recorded with its reason.
Does the friend have to sign up?
No. A guest who arrives with the code in their browser is counted at checkout by their phone number, with the same checks. Their credit waits on that phone until they sign in.
Can I give the friend a discount instead of credit?
Yes. Switch on First-Order Discount for the Friend and set Credit for the Friend to 0, or keep both with Credit as Well as the Discount.
What stops one person farming rewards?
New customers only, no self-referral, payment only after delivery, an address pays once, and caps per referrer (10 in 30 days, 50 a year to start with). Your team can void a referral, and unspent credit is taken back.
Do referral links slow down my pages?
No. The code is kept in the shopper's browser, not in a cookie that would stop your pages being served from the cache.
Related
Related Features
- Store CreditGive shoppers a balance with your store: instant refunds without bank details, goodwill credit, cashback and referral rewards, spent at checkout.
- Rewards TiersShoppers move up tiers as they spend and earn cashback as store credit on delivered orders, with free delivery and offers for the tiers you choose.
- AffiliatesGive creators, blogs and partners their own link and code, pay them a commission on delivered orders, and record every payout.
- Customer AccountsShoppers sign in with a one-time code by email or phone, or with Google, and find their orders, invoices, addresses and credit in one place.
- One-Time CodesMake up to 10,000 single-use codes for one discount, for influencers, printed cards or campaigns: each works once, and you see which order used it.
More in Discounts and Offers: Discount Codes · Automatic Offers · Buy X Get Y · Quantity Prices · Bundles and Add-Ons · Free Gifts · One-Time Codes · Combining Offers · Offer Labels and Sale Page · Offer Reports · Gift Cards · Store Credit · Rewards Tiers · Affiliates
Try It on Your Own Store
Every feature is in every plan, free for 14 days.