How to create a pick-a-present popup with Nudgesmart
Let shoppers pick a gift box in exchange for their email, and give everyone the same gift or a surprise prize with real Shopify discount codes.
A row of gift boxes, one tap, one reward. Pick-a-present turns an email signup into a small moment of fun, and every code it gives out works at checkout.
TL;DR
Start from a pick-a-present template, click the gift boxes, and answer What should shoppers win?: The same gift for everyone, or A surprise prize. Set the gift and how much off, choose how many boxes to show, and save. Shoppers enter their email, tap a box, and get their code.
When pick-a-present works
Pick-a-present suits stores that want the fun of a game without the "spin and maybe lose" feeling of a wheel. It works well for gifting, beauty, homeware and any store where a reveal feels like unwrapping something.
Like any game, it's an email signup first. The shopper enters their email, then picks a box.
Step 1 · Choose a template
In Templates, pick a pick-a-present design and open it in the editor.
Every template already has what the game needs: an email field, a play button and a page that shows the reward.
Step 2 · Choose what shoppers win
Click the gift boxes. At the top of the Content tab, What should shoppers win? gives you two choices.
Gift boxes selected in the editor with 'What should shoppers win?' showing The same gift for everyone and A surprise prize
Screenshot coming soon
The same gift for everyone
Every box holds your gift. Choose:
- Gift type, such as percentage off, amount off or free shipping.
- How much off?
- Codes: One code, or More off for bigger orders to give a set of codes unlocked by spend. See Give several codes by spend.
- Name shown to shoppers, filled in for you, like "15% OFF".
- Boxes to pick from: 4, 6 or 8. Each box keeps its own look. 8 makes the popup tall on phones.
- Code starts with: the start of every code, like
GIFT.
To tell shoppers every box wins, the panel suggests the instruction "Pick any box — every one holds your gift." Click Use this wording to use it. Your own instruction text is never changed for you.
A surprise prize
Each box can hold a different prize. For each one, choose How often is it won?: Often, Sometimes, Rarely or Never. Nudgesmart balances the chances for you and shows a summary like "About 85 in 100 shoppers win a prize". Click Set exact chances for exact numbers.
A box switched to No prize — shopper sees your 'try again' message. gives no code. The last box with a prize can't be turned into No prize.
Step 3 · Set up the code
In the Code section, choose how long the code lasts with Code expires after, and whether it can combine with other discounts.
Nudgesmart creates a real, single-use Shopify discount code for each winner. You'll see them in Shopify admin → Discounts.
Turn on One code per shopper so a shopper who comes back with the same email sees their code again instead of getting a new one. See One code per shopper.
Step 4 · Write the messages
Under Result page messages, write what winners see. With A surprise prize, also write the "try again" message.
With The same gift for everyone, there's no losing message to write, because nobody loses.
Step 5 · Save and check
Click Save. Nudgesmart checks your popup first. If anything would stop the game from loading on your store, Before you save lists it with a Fix it button.
Then open your store in a private window and play it yourself. Use the code at checkout to make sure it works.
Common pitfalls
- The game shows an error on your store. A pick-a-present needs at least 4 boxes. Before you save catches this; click Fix it.
- A shopper got no code. They picked a box set to No prize. Choose The same gift for everyone if everyone should win.
- The code doesn't work at checkout. Check the basket meets any minimum spend, and that the shopper used the same email they entered.
- The popup came back after a shopper closed it. Popups follow your How often setting after a close. See Frequency caps and cooldowns.
Frequently asked questions
Can shoppers pick again to get a better prize?
No. Each shopper plays once. With One code per shopper on, coming back with the same email shows the same code.
How many boxes should I show?
Four or six is the sweet spot. Eight boxes work on desktop but can feel crowded on phones.
Can I give a free product?
Not as a prize today. Prizes are discount codes: percentage off, amount off or free shipping. You can describe a gift in your copy and use an amount-off code that covers it.
What to read next
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