PorchPost is in development. Public signup isn't open yet. This guide explains how the product works so you can decide whether it suits your store.
A customer wants to send a friend something from your store. They know the product they'd like to give, but they don't know their friend's address or size.
PorchPost lets them buy the gift anyway. Their friend gets a private invitation, adds a delivery address, and chooses from any sizes or colors you've made available.
What happens when someone buys a gift?
- The sender chooses a product. They browse your gift storefront, pick a gift, and add a note.
- The sender pays through your Shopify checkout. Your store makes the sale.
- The recipient opens their gift invitation. They see the gift and the sender's note. The price stays hidden.
- The recipient adds their details. They enter a delivery address and make any choices you've allowed, such as a size or color. They don't go through checkout.
- Your team fulfills the gift in Shopify. The final product choice and delivery address are available there once the recipient finishes.
You can check each gift's progress in PorchPost while you wait for the recipient.
Who picks the size or color?
You decide how each product can be given. You can let the recipient choose from the sizes, colors, flavors, or other options you offer. You can also have the sender choose the exact item.
For example, a customer might give a sweatshirt and let their friend pick the size. Or they might choose a particular candle scent for someone who already loves it. In both cases, the recipient adds their own address.
How do customers find the gift storefront?
Link to it from your store, emails, or campaigns. It gives customers one place to browse the products you've chosen to offer as gifts.
You can share it for a holiday campaign or suggest gifts for birthdays, housewarmings, and thank-yous throughout the year.
How is this different from a gift card?
A gift card lets someone decide what to buy later. A PorchPost gift starts with a product the sender has picked for them.
Both can be useful. A customer who knows which sweatshirt their friend would like can give that product and let the friend pick a size. A customer who wants to leave the whole choice to their friend may prefer a gift card.
What should your store track?
Once you start offering gifts, these questions can help you understand how customers use them:
- Are people buying gifts? Track gift purchases separately from other orders. Compare similar periods or campaigns before assuming that every gift is an extra sale.
- Do recipients finish? Look at how many paid gifts are claimed and ready to fulfill, as well as where people stop.
- Which products and choices are popular? Use what you learn to decide what to offer next.
- Do customers give again? Look for repeat gift purchases beyond a single holiday campaign.
- Are recipients new to your store? Only use information you have permission to use. Receiving a gift doesn't sign someone up for marketing emails.
These are questions to help plan your own reporting, not a list of promised PorchPost reports. Sales results will depend on your store, products, and customers.