Your next customer comes from this one
A reward for the friend, a reward for the referrer, a personal code for every member — and commission-style rewards for the advocates who send you real volume.
Included on every plan, including Free →Referred customers convert better, spend more and churn less than any paid channel — because the trust is borrowed from a friend, not an ad. The catch: most referral programs are invisible. Toki fixes the two failure points — customers forget they can refer, and sharing takes too many steps.
Double-sided rewards, your way
"Give $20, get $20" is the pattern everyone knows, and Toki supports it out of the box. Both sides of the offer are configurable:
- The friend's discount — a fixed amount, a percentage, or buy X get Y, limited to collections if you like
- The referrer's reward — points, store credit, a free gift or a discount code
- First-time buyers only — or reward referrals of existing customers too
- A reward delay — wait before the reward is granted, or grant it instantly
If you're still designing the offer, our library of referral program ideas and referral incentive ideas breaks down what actually converts by category and margin profile.
A personal code and link for every member
Every member gets a referral code — random, or built from a template like {first_name}10, so Anna shares Anna10 — and a link that applies the friend's discount automatically. You can let the code double as a discount code at checkout, and send the link to any page of your store.
Sharing is one step wherever the customer is: copy the link from the Customer Hub, send an email invite (in your own design, through Klaviyo), share from the Referral block on the Thank you page, or show the QR code on their wallet pass.
Commission-style rewards for your best advocates
Some customers don't just refer a friend — they send you 30 orders a quarter. Toki can pay them like affiliates, without a second app:
- Based on spend — the referrer earns per dollar the friend spends, not a flat amount
- Reward for each order — keep paying on the friend's later orders, starting after a minimum number of orders if you want
- Commission duration — for a set period, or with no end date
- Cash out — referrers can turn their balance into a payout such as PayPal, or a gift card, through Tremendous
An advocate is still a loyalty member: their rewards and their VIP tier live on the same profile, and tiers can even use "what your referred friends spent" as a condition. For measurement, see how to track referral program success.
Fraud checks you don't have to think about
Every referral program attracts people who refer themselves. Toki checks twice: a customer signed in as the referrer gets no discount from their own link (with an optional IP-address check for visitors who aren't signed in), and no reward is paid when the buyer's email matches the referrer's. Discount codes from referral links work once and expire after 24 hours. (Writing your terms? Start with the legal considerations for referral programs.)
Part of the loop, not a bolt-on
Referrals work best inside a loyalty program, not next to one: points give referrers a reason to come back and spend what they earned, and Klaviyo or Postscript flows remind members to share at the right moments. The Referrals tab in analytics shows link clicks, referred orders and your top referrers.
Referrals are included on every Toki plan, including Free — see pricing. Install Toki and launch the classic give/get in an afternoon, then check our referral program best practices before you turn on the promotion.
Frequently asked questions
How does a referral program work in Toki?
Every member gets a personal referral code and link. A friend who opens the link gets your discount applied automatically, and when their order is linked to the referrer — through the discount code, or through cart tracking even if the code is removed — the referrer earns their reward. By default that's for the friend's first order; you can add a delay before the reward is granted.
What rewards can I offer referrers and their friends?
Friends get a fixed amount off, a percentage off, or a buy-X-get-Y deal, optionally limited to collections and to first-time buyers. Referrers can get any reward type: points or store credit, a free gift, a discount code, a collectible or a custom reward.
Can referrers earn a commission, like affiliates?
Yes. With the 'based on spend' reward, referrers earn per dollar their friend spends, and with 'reward for each order' they keep earning on the friend's later orders for as long as you set. Balances can be cashed out as a payout such as PayPal, or a gift card, through the Tremendous integration.
How does Toki prevent referral fraud?
A customer signed in as the referrer gets no discount from their own link, an optional check blocks visitors coming from the referrer's IP address, and Toki compares the buyer's email with the referrer's when the order comes in. Each discount code a link creates works once and expires after 24 hours.
How do customers share their referral link?
By copying the link, by email invite from the wallet (through their own email app, or a Klaviyo flow in your design), from the Referral block on the Thank you page right after they order, or with the QR code on their wallet pass — which staff can also scan at Shopify POS.