Physical Gift Cards

Physical gift cards are tangible products that you prepare and ship to customers after purchase, rather than delivering them via email like digital gift cards. This option is ideal for businesses looking to provide a more traditional or premium gifting experience.

With this capability, the GV Gift Card app enables merchants to create, manage, and fulfill physical gift cards that can be used both online and in-store through Shopify POS—while maintaining full control over issuance, inventory, and fulfillment processes.

How physical gift cards work

When a customer purchases a physical gift card:

• A unique gift card code is automatically assigned to the order

• The code is taken from your available pool (or generated if none are available)

• You prepare the physical card (printed or pre-made)

• You package and ship the gift card to the customer manually
  
  

This feature allows you to offer physical gift cards as products while maintaining full control over fulfillment, with automated code generation and support for both online and in-store (Shopify POS) usage.

Automatic code assignment

Each physical gift card order is linked to a code automatically:

• Codes are assigned from your existing pool
• Each code is unique and can only be used once
• The assigned code is tied to the specific order

If no codes are available, the system will automatically generate new ones to ensure orders are not interrupted.

Your fulfillment responsibilities

Since this is a physical product, fulfillment is handled manually. You are responsible for:

• Printing or preparing the gift card
• Ensuring the correct code is included
• Packaging the product
• Shipping it to the customer

Make sure your fulfillment process is accurate to avoid sending incorrect codes.

Managing gift card codes

You can manage all your gift card codes in the Manage codes section, where you can:

• View available and assigned codes
• Generate new codes manually
• Monitor code status and usage

Keeping your code pool updated helps ensure smooth order processing.

When to use physical gift cards

Physical gift cards are best suited for:

• In-store or offline use
• Special occasions (birthdays, holidays, events)
• Premium branding or packaging experiences
• Customers who prefer a tangible gift

Purchase Flow for Physical Gift Cards

1. Customer selects a Physical Gift Card product

2. Chooses variant → Adds to cart → Completes checkout

3. GV system:

   • Assigns a pre-generated code (if available)

   • Or generates a new code automatically

4. Gift card details are added to Order → Additional Details

   Example note:
   Physical gift code: XXXX

5. Merchant:

   • Prints the gift card

   • Ships it to the customer manually

Physical vs Digital gift cards

Notes

• Physical gift cards are not sent via email
• Orders must be fulfilled manually
• Codes are automatically assigned per order
• New codes will be generated if none are available

In case you have any further concerns, please feel free to drop us an email at support@govalos.com