How to Migrate from Smile.io to Rijoy Without Losing Customer Points

You can migrate from Smile.io to Rijoy without resetting customer point balances. Export current customer data from Smile.io, map it into Rijoy's CSV template, and reconcile every imported row before changing your storefront. Points, birthdays, and supported VIP tier names can move through the template; referral links and account activity history cannot.

This guide covers the receiving side of the switch. If you are still evaluating a Smile.io alternative, read the Rijoy vs Smile.io comparison for feature and pricing differences.

What transfers from Smile.io and what does not

Customer point balances can transfer when you export them correctly and import them into existing Rijoy customer records. Birthday and VIP tier are also supported CSV fields. Smile.io referral links, historical loyalty activity, pending rewards, and reward codes are outside Rijoy's four-field customer import template, so this process does not move them.

Use the field boundary below to set expectations before you begin:

The distinction between a balance and its history matters. Rijoy's import sets the customer's final Available Points value and records the increase or decrease against the current balance. It does not reconstruct every event that produced the Smile.io balance.

Referral links require their own cutover plan. Smile's help center says links stop working when the Smile referral program is deactivated, although previously generated coupons and referral-earned points remain active in Smile. Do not tell customers their existing links will carry over; Rijoy generates its own referral links.

Step 1: export your customers from Smile.io

To complete a Smile.io export customers workflow, open Customers in Smile Admin, select Filter and export, use the three-dot menu beside the customer table, and choose Download results. Select CSV for the Rijoy migration, and include Points Balance, Member status, and VIP tier as required by Rijoy's import manual.

Smile's current help article also offers XLSX and JSON, but Rijoy's receiving template is CSV. If you filter the customer table, confirm that your export still covers every customer who should retain a balance. Save an untouched copy of the original file before cleaning or mapping it.

Smile also allows activity exports from its Points, Referral, and VIP program pages. Keep those files as historical records, but do not add their columns to the Rijoy customer template. The receiving import accepts only its defined fields and field order.

Rijoy's manual warns that updates to data exported from Smile may take up to 24 hours to synchronize. Before mapping the file, confirm that recent points changes appear in the export. Record the export time and the number of customer rows so you can reconcile the migration later.

Step 2: map the export to Rijoy's import template

To import loyalty points CSV data, first download Rijoy's fixed template from Settings → Customer data import → Download Template. Map Smile's values into Email, Birthday, Available Points, and VIP Tier in that order. Email is required; the other fields are optional and remain unchanged when left blank.

Follow the customer data import manual for the exact field rules:

The customer must already exist in Rijoy because the import matches records by email. A row cannot update a customer when no matching email exists. Check for empty addresses, malformed addresses, duplicate rows, and mismatches between the export and Shopify customer records before upload.

Configure tier names before importing them. Rijoy's VIP tier settings state that tier names must be unique; its default structure uses Bronze, Silver, and Gold, while other levels can be customized. The import manual says unsupported or invalid tier names cause a row to fail.

Keep the template's CSV format and column order. Do not append Smile member status, referral activity, addresses, or notes as extra import columns. Blank optional fields leave the corresponding Rijoy value unchanged, while an incorrectly formatted populated field can cause that row to be skipped.

Step 3: import, verify and fix errors

Upload the cleaned CSV on Rijoy's Customer data import page, wait for automatic format verification, and start the import only after validation passes. Then use Import history to compare successful, failed, and total rows. Download the error report, correct only failed records, and re-import those corrected rows instead of repeating successful rows.

Use these checkpoints in order:

1. Confirm validation. Rijoy should display Validation Passed, together with its column count and data-row count. Compare the data-row count with your mapped CSV.
2. Record the import result. In Import history, save the start time, successful-row count, failed-row count, and total-row count.
3. Require an empty failure queue. If any rows fail, download the error report. Rijoy lists reasons such as an invalid email format or unsupported VIP tier name.
4. Correct and re-import failed rows. Build a CSV containing only corrected failed records. This avoids applying the same imported balance to successful rows a second time.
5. Spot-check at least three customer types. Check a zero-balance customer, a customer with points, and a customer with a VIP tier. Confirm the email, final point balance, birthday when supplied, and tier.

Imported Available Points become the final displayed balance. If the imported value exceeds the current Rijoy balance, Rijoy records the increase; if it is lower, Rijoy records a decrease. That replacement behavior is another reason to preserve the original export, the mapped CSV, and the import result together.

Do not treat a successful upload as the final checkpoint. Verify the customer-facing points display and one earning and redemption flow before directing all customers to Rijoy. Store-specific acceptance steps beyond the documented import require your own test account and theme setup.

Migration checklist and timeline

A loyalty program migration checklist should separate sourced timing from store planning. Smile export updates may take up to 24 hours to synchronize, according to Rijoy's manual. Rijoy does not publish a fixed import duration by row count, so confirm the import window with Rijoy support for your actual customer count before setting a customer announcement time.

• Define the final points cutoff and avoid changing loyalty rules during the export window.
• Confirm the Smile export contains current Points Balance, Member status, and VIP tier values.
• Save the untouched Smile customer export and relevant activity exports.
• Make sure customers already exist in Rijoy and can be matched by email.
• Configure every Rijoy VIP tier name needed by the import.
• Download the Rijoy CSV template and map only its four supported fields.
• Validate the row count before starting the import.
• Reconcile total, successful, and failed rows in Import history.
• Correct and re-import only failed rows.
• Spot-check balances, birthdays, and tiers in Rijoy.
• Test earning, redemption, account display, and new referral creation.
• Replace the Smile widget and links only after all checks pass.
• Notify customers about the new loyalty interface and new referral links.

Keeping Smile available while you test Rijoy may provide a rollback reference, but neither Rijoy's nor Smile.io's public documentation describes running both programs live at the same time. Ask both vendors whether both storefront widgets, earning rules, and automated messages can remain active without duplicate rewards. If you test both apps, prevent customers from triggering two live loyalty programs for the same order.

Your audit package should contain the untouched Smile export, mapped CSV, error report, corrected-row file, Rijoy Import history result, cutoff time, and customer communication. That package gives support teams a traceable answer if a customer disputes a migrated balance.

Get help with your migration

Test the process with a small representative CSV before your final import, then use Rijoy's documentation for field-level checks. The Rijoy pricing page lists a Free plan with 100 orders, while migration and launch planning is listed under Custom; confirm which support level covers your switch before scheduling the cutover.

FAQ

Will my customers lose their points when I switch from Smile.io?

No, if you export current balances and import them correctly into matching Rijoy customer records. Email is the required match key, and Available Points is the optional field that sets the final balance. Reconcile row counts and spot-check customers before switching your storefront.

Do Smile.io referral links keep working after migration?

No referral link transfers through Rijoy's customer CSV template. Smile says its links stop working when the Smile referral program is deactivated, so customers will need new Rijoy referral links. Test whether store-level redirects are possible for your existing Smile referral domain before promising a redirect.

Can I import VIP tiers?

Yes. VIP Tier is an optional Rijoy template field, but its value must use a supported tier name. Configure and verify the required names in Rijoy before importing the CSV.

What if the import reports errors?

Download Rijoy's error report and correct the affected rows. Common documented examples include malformed email addresses and invalid VIP tier names. Re-import only the corrected failed rows, then confirm that Import history shows no remaining failures.

Can I run Smile.io and Rijoy at the same time?

Neither vendor's public documentation confirms that parallel production operation is supported. Ask Smile and Rijoy whether simultaneous widgets, earning rules, emails, and referral programs can run without duplicate rewards. You can prepare and validate the Rijoy import before storefront cutover, but test live overlap carefully.