Spin wheel alternatives for Shopify: 7 better ways to give out discounts

The spin-to-win wheel is one of the most installed pop-ups on Shopify. It pops up, the visitor types in an email address, the wheel spins and lands on 10% off. It works, up to a point. But shoppers have seen the same wheel on hundreds of stores, they know every slice is a winner, and many close it before it finishes loading. If your wheel has stopped pulling its weight, or you never liked how it looked on your store, here are seven alternatives worth trying, and how to pick the right one.

Why look for an alternative to the spin wheel?

• Everyone wins, so nobody cares. Most wheels are set up so every spin lands on a prize. Shoppers have figured that out. The wheel ends up as a newsletter pop-up with an animation, and the discount feels like something you hand out, not something people earn.
• It interrupts at the worst moment. Wheels usually appear as soon as someone lands on the page, before they have seen a single product. On mobile, a pop-up that covers the page is also something Google warns against in its guidance on intrusive interstitials.
• The code gets shared. If every winner gets the same code, it ends up on coupon sites, and you pay the discount to people who would have bought anyway.
• It gives people no reason to come back. You spin once, take the code and you're done. There's nothing new tomorrow.

What makes a good alternative

A better option should do at least some of these things: make the reward feel earned, give every winner a unique code that works once, let visitors open it when they want instead of blocking the store, and give people a reason to return. On Shopify, it should also install cleanly as a theme app embed, so you can switch it on and off in the theme editor without touching your theme's code.

1. A daily puzzle game

Instead of a wheel that decides for the shopper, give them a short puzzle to solve. Daily puzzles like Wordle showed how strong the habit can be: a new challenge every day, a few minutes to solve it, and a little satisfaction when you crack it. Put that on your store with a discount code as the prize, and you get a reward that feels earned, plus a reason for shoppers to come back tomorrow.

This is what we built MojiTiles for. Visitors guess a secret code of five colours in six tries, and emojis tell them how close they are. There's a new code every day, and every winner gets their own Shopify discount code that works once. The game sits behind a small button in the corner, so it never blocks your store.

2. Scratch cards

A digital scratch card is the closest thing to a wheel: the outcome is still chance, but the scratching is more tactile and feels less familiar. It works best when visitors start it themselves, for example from a button or a banner, rather than having it forced on them.

3. A product quiz

A short quiz ("What's your skin type?", "Which coffee suits you?") recommends the right product and can end with a discount on that product. It's more work to set up, but it helps shoppers who don't know where to start, and the answers tell you a lot about your customers.

4. A free shipping progress bar

Not every incentive needs to be a discount. A bar that says "You're €12 away from free shipping" nudges people to add one more item. It raises the average order value instead of lowering your margin, and it doesn't interrupt anything.

5. A gift with purchase

Offer a free sample or small product above a certain order value. A gift often feels more generous than a percentage off, it costs you less than it's worth to the customer, and it gets a new product into their hands.

6. An exit-intent offer

If you do want a pop-up, show it only to people who are about to leave. Visitors who are busy shopping aren't disturbed, and the offer reaches the ones you were about to lose anyway.

7. Loyalty points and referrals

For stores with returning customers, points for every order or a reward for referring a friend build long-term value instead of a one-time discount. It's slower to pay off, but it rewards your best customers rather than first-time visitors.

Which one should you choose?

They also combine well. A free shipping bar and a daily game, for example, work on different things: one raises the order value, the other gives people a reason to visit and buy.

Try a daily puzzle on your Shopify store

MojiTiles takes a few minutes to set up. Switch on the app embed in your theme editor, choose the discount (for example 10% off, valid for 48 hours) and set a daily maximum, so you're always in control of what you give away. In the app you can see how many people played, won and used their code at checkout. It also works on WooCommerce, Wix and any other website with one line of code.

Try MojiTiles and play today's code yourself.