How to set up Referrals

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  • Published on Jan 21, 2026
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This feature is part of Skio’s Loyalty Program. To add this feature to your store, reach out to our sales team at sales@skio.com.

How Referrals work

When a customer shares their unique referral link, both the customer and their friend benefit.

  • The referrer gets an “amount off” or “percentage off” credit via discount code after the friend completes their first order. The discount code appears in the Memberships > Reward history section of their customer profile.

  • The referred friend also receives an “amount off” or “percentage off” discount on their first purchase.

It’s a simple way to reward loyalty and grow your customer base through word of mouth.

You can’t generate and redeem a referral code in the same browser session. To test, use an incognito window or a separate browser/device.

What’s the difference between a referral code and a discount code?

Referral codes and discount codes are not the same. Here’s how they work together in Skio’s rewards system:

  • The referral code is what your customers share. It’s static and unique to each customer.

  • When someone uses a referral code for the first time, Skio automatically generates a discount code behind the scenes.

  • The discount code is what actually applies the reward at checkout. It’s dynamically created and follows this format: SR-[first part of referral code]-[random characters](For example, SR-SONU0XS-8F4W2B)

This setup gives you flexibility: you can change how the discount behaves without ever changing the referral code your customers share.

The code format isn't customizable since it is dynamically generated. For example, you can't change it from Skio's default to a custom code like WELCOME.

How do I set up Referrals?

Step 1: Navigate to your Skio Dashboard

In the Skio Dashboard sidebar, select Loyalty > Referrals.

Step 2: Configure your Program Settings

In the Program Settings section, configure the following:

Configure main program settings

  • Enable referral program: Use this toggle to turn the referral program on or off.

  • Maximum referrals per customer (optional): Set a limit on how many friends each customer can refer. Leave blank for unlimited referrals.

  • Landing page path: Choose where customers land when someone clicks their referral link by setting a custom path in the Landing page path field.

Rewards

  • Friend Reward: The reward a new referred customer will receive after placing their first order. You can choose whether this discount can combine with Order discounts, Product discounts, or Shipping discounts.

  • Referrer Reward: The reward a referrer will receive after a new customer places their first order. You can choose whether this discount can combine with Order discounts, Product discounts, or Shipping discounts.

In each section, use the dropdown to choose between a fixed discount code or a percent discount code.

Branding

  • Card colors: Customize the colors of the referral share card that appears on the subscription page.

  • Promotional image: Upload an image to display on the referral page in the customer portal.

Early access emails

You can restrict the referral program to specific customers. If left blank, the program will be available to all customers by default.

What does syncing referral codes & discounts do?

  • Creates referral codes for all customers (or just early access customers) who don’t already have one.

  • Updates all existing referral discount codes to match your latest configuration.

You'll need to sync the Klaviyo Integration in Skio separately for referral codes to appear in customer profiles:

  1. Sync: Run this only once before launching your referral program.

  2. Run a Klaviyo backfill: In the lefthand menu of the Skio dashboard, go to Account > Integrations > Klaviyo Backfill to sync referral codes into Klaviyo profiles.

Step 3: Embed the Referral app in your theme

  1. In your Shopify Admin, go to Sales Channels > Online Store > Themes.

  2. Find the theme you want to edit and click Customize to go to the Shopify theme editor.

  3. In the lefthand menu of the theme editor, click App embeds.

  4. Enable the Skio Referrals app block and customize the banner background color, banner border color, stroke color and message.

Add the Skio Referrals app block in your Shopify theme editor.

Once embedded, a banner appears when someone clicks a referral link to confirm the discount has been applied to their cart.

Step 4: Add the referral app block to the checkout to ensure discount codes are properly validated

  1. In the Shopify theme editor, navigate to the top-center dropdown, select Checkout and customers account.

  2. In the lefthand menu, scroll down to the Order summary section.

  3. Select Add block and add the Skio Referral block.

  4. Expand the Checkout behavior section and enable Allow app to block checkout and Include block in Shop Pay. Once enabled, Skio checks that each discount code matches the right customer before applying it at checkout.

Step 5: (optional) Add the referral code block to any page outside the Skio Customer Portal

  1. In the shopify theme editor, navigate to the page you want to add the block to.

  2. In the lefthand menu, under Template, click Add section > Apps > Skio Referral program.

Showcase your referral program anywhere on your site to boost visibility and drive more shares outside the customer portal.

Step 6: (optional) Add the post purchase app block to the checkout

  1. In the Shopify theme editor, navigate to the top-center dropdown, select Checkout and customers account > Post purchase > Thank you.

  2. In the lefthand menu under the Main section, click Add block and then Skio Referral Post Purchase.

  3. Customize the copy for the post purchase referral block.

  4. Once added, customers will get their unique referral link right after checkout, whether they’re logged in or checking out as a guest.

The post purchase referral block appears after a customer checks out.

Additional resources

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