Coneflower Shopify - Additional Client Questions

Date: 2026-01-08 Status: Working through clarifications

Questions from Client

  1. Cost?
  2. Shipping info for gift cards vs. no shipping for special order pickups
  3. Automatic "Day of Pickup" emails
  4. Upsells - nudge to add seasonal pints during pie/cake ordering

1. Cost

Client Question: Cost?

Our Understanding: TBD - Need clarification on what specifically they're asking about.

Possible interpretations: - [ ] What does adding these features cost? - [ ] What's the overall project cost? - [ ] What are the ongoing Shopify costs?

Action: Clarify what "cost" refers to.

2. Gift Cards + Shipping vs. Pickup

Client Question: If we have a tab with shipping gift cards, but the bulk of our orders now are special order pickups, are we able to ensure we get shipping info for one thing, without special order customers having to enter shipping?

Our Understanding:

This is actually two separate issues:

Issue A: Checkout Experience (Simple)

Shopify handles this automatically. Products are flagged individually: - Gift cards = "requires shipping" → customer enters shipping address - Ice cream pies/cakes = "local pickup only" → no shipping form shown

Mixed carts show appropriate fields for each item. No confusion.

Verdict: This works out of the box. No extra scope.

Issue B: Gift Card System Complexity (Needs Discussion)

Current State: - Gift cards sold on website via Gravity Forms - Customer enters custom amount - Coneflower creates physical gift card in Toast (POS system) - Card mailed to customer - Card redeemable in-store only (Toast system)

The Problem: - Shopify and Toast are separate systems with separate gift card systems - A Toast gift card will not work at Shopify checkout - Customer buys gift card online → gets Toast card → can't use it for online Shopify orders

Options:

Option Description Pros Cons
A: Toast-only redemption Gift cards sold online, fulfilled via Toast, redeemable in-store only Simple, no integration Can't use for online orders
B: Two systems Toast cards for in-store, Shopify cards for online Full functionality Confusing, two inventories
C: Unified provider Third-party (Gift Up!, Rise.ai) works with both Single card works everywhere Added cost, integration work
D: Toast-Shopify sync Enterprise integration Seamless Expensive, overkill

Our Recommendation: Option A for MVP - keep gift cards as in-store redemption only. Revisit if online redemption becomes important.

Issue C: Custom Amount Pricing (Needs Discussion)

Problem: Customer currently picks custom gift card amount. Shopify doesn't natively support "enter any price."

Options:

Option How it Works Pros Cons
Predefined variants $25, $50, $75, $100, $150, $200 variants Simple, no apps No true custom amounts
$1 quantity hack Customer enters quantity = dollar amount Works, no apps Hacky UX, cart shows "Qty: 75"
App solution Bold Custom Pricing or similar True flexibility Monthly cost, headless compatibility?
Hybrid Predefined + "Contact us for custom" Covers most cases Manual process for custom

Our Recommendation: Predefined variants covering common amounts. Add "Need a different amount? Contact us!" note.

Questions for Client (Gift Cards)

  1. Do customers frequently request specific custom amounts, or do they typically pick round numbers like $50, $100?

  2. Are you okay with gift cards being redeemable in-store only (via Toast), not for online Shopify orders?

  3. Approximately how many gift cards do you sell online per month? (Helps us understand if this needs a robust solution or simple approach)

3. Automatic "Day of Pickup" Emails ✅ RESOLVED

Client Question: Are we able to configure "Day of pick-up" emails to automatically send out? Something like, "It's pick-up time! Make sure to pick-up your ice cream pie/cake today or tomorrow between Noon-4pm. Remember that these products contain ice cream, you'll want to get them directly to a freezer! If you have a long drive, consider bringing a cooler."

Solution

Use Shopify's built-in "Ready for Pickup" notification combined with the Gizmo: Bulk Pickup Manager app.

How it works: 1. Orders come in over 1-2 weeks 2. Day or two before pickup, staff opens Gizmo app in Shopify admin 3. Filters orders by date range 4. Selects all orders for the pickup batch 5. Clicks "Mark Ready for Pickup" 6. All customers receive the "Ready for Pickup" email with: - Pickup location - Pickup hours - Freezer/cooler reminder - Contact info

App: Gizmo: Bulk Pickup Manager - $3.99/month

Why this approach: - Staff stays in Shopify admin (orders already live there) - No complex date-based automation needed - Bulk action handles 150+ orders in one click - Built-in Shopify email triggers automatically - Clear admin experience (Shopify = orders, WordPress = content)

Emails in the Flow

Email When Sent Trigger
Order Confirmation Immediately after purchase Automatic
Ready for Pickup 1-2 days before pickup Staff bulk action via Gizmo

See: TRANSACTIONAL-EMAILS.md for full email planning details.

Questions for Client (Emails)

  1. What are the exact Valentine's pickup dates/hours? (Needed for email content)

4. Upsells - Seasonal Pint Nudge

Client Question: Finding a way to add that nudge during ice cream pie/ice cream cake ordering, for other fun seasonal pints!

Our Understanding: Cross-sell/upsell seasonal pints when customers are ordering pies or cakes.

Where Upsells Can Happen

Location Description Complexity
Product page "Pair with seasonal pints!" section below main product Low
Cart drawer "Don't forget!" suggestions when viewing cart Medium
Checkout Upsells during Shopify checkout Requires app + Shopify Plus OR checkout extensibility
Post-purchase "Add to your order" on thank you page Medium (apps available)

Options

Option A: Product Page Upsells (Recommended for MVP)

Add a designed section on pie/cake product pages: - "Complete your order with seasonal pints!" - Show 3-4 featured pints with quick-add buttons - Simple, effective, no apps needed

Option B: Cart Drawer Upsells

When customer opens cart: - "You might also like..." section - Show pints if cart contains pie/cake - Slightly more complex, but doable in custom code

Option C: Shopify App

Apps like ReConvert, Bold Upsell, or Candy Rack: - More sophisticated logic - A/B testing - Post-purchase upsells - Monthly cost ($20-50/mo typically)

Our Recommendation

MVP: Option A - Product page upsells - Add to design scope: "Related products" or "Pair with pints" section on pie/cake pages - Development: Simple component showing tagged/selected pint products - No app dependency, works with headless setup

Phase 2: Cart upsells or app-based solution if they want more sophisticated cross-selling.

Design Scope Addition

If we proceed with product page upsells: - Design: Add "Seasonal pints" upsell section to product page design - Dev: Build component, configure which products show as upsells

Estimate: +2-3 hours design, +2-3 hours dev

Questions for Client (Upsells)

  1. Is a "Pair with seasonal pints" section on the product page sufficient, or do you want upsells in the cart as well?

  2. Do you want to control which pints appear as upsells, or show all available pints?

Summary: Scope Impact

Item MVP Scope Impact Phase 2?
Shipping vs pickup logic Already handled by Shopify -
Gift card as product (predefined amounts) +2-3 hrs dev Custom amounts later
Gift card / Toast integration None (keep separate) If needed
Bulk pickup notifications Gizmo app ($3.99/mo) -
Order confirmation email customization +1-2 hrs -
Ready for pickup email customization +1-2 hrs -
Product page upsells +2-3 hrs design, +2-3 hrs dev -
Cart upsells None Yes

Total additional scope for MVP: ~8-12 hours (gift card + emails + upsells)

Ongoing costs: - Gizmo app: $3.99/month (~$48/year)

Action Items