Handle a return for a gift purchase in Shopify
A gift return has two people: the recipient who has the item and the giver who paid. Shopify has no separate gift-return flow, so you handle it with the standard return and choose the refund method. This tutorial returns one $28.00 tee from a gift order as store credit for the recipient.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Gift order | 2 Trail Crew Tees, $56.00 |
| Returned | 1 tee, $28.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% | $2.80 |
| Store credit for the recipient | $25.20 |
| Giver's card | Untouched |
Download the record: gift-return-record.csv (140 bytes).
A record of the gift return in this tutorial. It is a record, not an import file: returns and refunds happen in the admin, not by CSV.
1Create the return
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders, find the gift order, and click Return. Enter a quantity of 1 for the tee and select a return reason.
2Decide who gets the money
Refunding to the original payment method sends the money back to the card that paid, which is the giver's card. To give the recipient something to spend, refund to store credit instead.
3Process the return
When the tee arrives, click Process return in the Return in progress section. Select the tee and set Restock at for it.
4Choose Store credit
In the Refund method drop-down menu, select Store credit. Set an expiry date if you want one, using the calendar icon, then click Refund. The recipient gets $25.20 of credit.
5Tell both people what happened
Tell the recipient the credit amount and the expiry date, and tell the giver that nothing was charged back to their card. The gift order keeps its other tee at $28.00.
The arithmetic
The credit is the returned tee less the restocking fee. The giver's card is not involved, because the refund method is store credit, not the original payment.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Trail Crew Tee returned | $28.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% of $28.00 | $2.80 |
| Store credit for the recipient | $25.20 |
| Tee kept from the gift order | $28.00 |
28.00 less 2.80 is $25.20. The gift order was $56.00 for two tees, so the kept tee is $28.00 of it.
Held at the counter
Original payment refunds the giver, not the recipient. The refund method decides who gets the money. Pick store credit or a gift card for the recipient before you click Refund, because the choice is made at refund time.
Store credit needs a customer to hold it. Store credit goes to the customer on the order. If the recipient has no account on your store, a gift card is the better route, because a card can be handed over.
A refund without a return records no reason. Create the return before you refund the items. A refund alone records no return reason, and you cannot create a return for items you have already refunded.
Sources
- Processing and managing returns — Shopify's help pages: the process-return steps, the restock choice, the refund-shipping section, the refund-method choices, and the cancel / remove / close rules.
- Refunding orders — Shopify's help pages: the refund methods, including refunds to a gift card (consulted via the help pages' search results on 11 November 2026).