The takeaway
Store credit gives a successful seller value to redeem with your brand. The additional cash on a returning order is the order value less the credit used; credit itself is not another cash receipt.
How does resale store credit encourage a return visit?
Store credit gives a customer value to spend with the retailer after their Pre-Loved item sells. It connects the sale of a past purchase to a future shopping visit, rather than ending the relationship with a cash payout.
Encored sellers receive the full resale price in Shopify store credit after delivery and the inspection process, subject to the sale and dispute outcome. They can use the credit through the retailer’s Shopify checkout on a future order. Issuing credit creates an opportunity for a return visit; actual redemption and additional spending need to be measured.
What counts as new cash?
There are two cash receipts to distinguish: the buyer’s payment for the Pre-Loved item and any additional payment the seller makes when using their credit on a later purchase. The credit is a payment method on that later order, not a second cash receipt.
For an illustrative example, a Pre-Loved item sells for $60 and the seller receives $60 in credit. If the seller later places a $250 order and uses all that credit, they pay another $190. Combined cash received across those two transactions is $250 before fees and other costs: $60 from the resale buyer plus $190 from the returning seller.
Adding the $60 resale sale to the full $250 returning order would give $310, but that includes the same $60 of credit again. Returning-order value, cash received and profit are different measures.
Does a higher resale price always increase the total?
A higher resale price increases the seller’s credit. If the later order stays at the same value and all credit is used, the customer pays less above credit. In the example, a $90 resale and a $250 returning order produce $90 plus $160 in cash, still $250 before costs.
If fees rise with the resale transaction value, the amount after fees can decrease under that fixed-order assumption. Larger returning orders, more repeat purchases or different redemption behaviour can change the result, but those are separate assumptions to test against real customer activity.
Which measures should retailers track?
Track the journey from credit issuance to redemption. The time between a Pre-Loved sale and the next purchase matters: credit issued this month may be used in a later month, so monthly resale receipts and returning spend may not line up.
Compare the results with normal customer purchasing patterns. A returning order is not necessarily an additional order caused by the resale program; some customers would have purchased anyway.
- Pre-Loved sales and store credit issued.
- Credit redeemed and time to redemption.
- Returning-order value and cash paid above credit.
- Repeat purchase frequency, returns and operating costs.
Use a revenue estimate as a starting point
Encored’s Recommerce ROI Calculator starts with online orders per month, average full-price item and average order value. Estimated items sold are monthly orders multiplied by AOV, divided by the average item price. Editable resale-rate and resale-price assumptions then estimate resale activity.
The calculator assumes the credit is spent in an additional order for each resale and annualises steady monthly activity. It shows a revenue scenario with platform fees accounted for, before cost of goods and other operating costs. It does not calculate profit or a percentage return on investment.
Use your own numbers to explore the opportunity, then replace illustrative assumptions with actual participation, redemption and purchase behaviour as your program develops.
