Zest gives you complete control over how you grow your marketing list through the gifting experience so you can truly turn gifting into an acquisition and growth flywheel.
Marketing opt-in appears at two distinct points in the Zest flow. Read on to learn how to set up these valuable opt-ins.
Overview: How Marketing Opt-In Works in Zest
Zest creates two separate opt-in touchpoints for every gifting transaction:
Gifter opt-in: When someone places a gift order at your storefront checkout, they see a checkbox asking if they'd like to hear from your brand. If they check it, their marketing consent is recorded and pushed to your connected tools.
Recipient opt-in: When a gift recipient receives a digital card or e-gift notification, they see a separate marketing opt-in checkbox alongside other options (like package tracking). Opting in here is entirely their choice — it is independent of the gifter's decision.
Both flows push consent data to Shopify and, if connected, to Klaviyo. You control the default state of the checkbox and the label copy from one central location in your dashboard.
Configuring the Default Checkbox State (Checked vs. Unchecked)
You can choose whether the marketing opt-in checkbox appears pre-checked (opt-out model) or unchecked (opt-in model) for customers by default.
To configure this:
In your Zest Partners dashboard, navigate to Settings > Company Info.
Find the Marketing opt-in default field.
Select Checked to pre-select the box for customers, or Unchecked to leave it empty and require customers to actively choose to subscribe.
Click Save.
This single setting applies to both gifter checkout and recipient gift acceptance flows across all your storefronts.
Note for regulated industries: If your brand operates in a regulated space (such as wine or alcohol), your legal team may require that the checkbox be unchecked by default to comply with applicable laws. Always verify with your legal counsel before selecting a default state.
Customizing the Opt-In Copy
You can customize the label text that appears next to the marketing opt-in checkbox across your checkout and gift acceptance flows.
To customize opt-in copy:
Navigate to Settings > Company Info.
Find the Marketing opt-in label field.
Enter your custom text (for example: "Sign up for exclusive offers, new arrivals, and brand updates").
Leave the field blank to use the default text: "Stay in touch for news, offers, and beyond."
Click Save.
This label applies across gifter checkout and recipient acceptance flows.
How Gifter Opt-In Works at Checkout
At checkout, gifters see a checkbox with your marketing opt-in label. Whether the box is pre-checked depends on your Marketing opt-in default setting.
When a gifter checks the box and completes their order, their marketing consent is recorded and sent to Shopify and Klaviyo (if connected). Concierge and externally invoiced orders include this same opt-in checkbox.
Heads up! Depending on your Klaviyo list configuration, a gifter who checks the opt-in box may still need to click a confirmation link in a follow-up email before being fully added to your list. This is a Klaviyo list-level setting, not a Zest behavior. Check your Klaviyo list's double opt-in setting to understand how your brand handles this.
How Recipient Opt-In Works (Digital Cards / E-gift Acceptance)
When a recipient receives a digital card or e-gift notification email, they land on an acceptance page where they can:
Provide a shipping address (if applicable).
Opt into package tracking updates.
Separately check the marketing opt-in box to subscribe to your brand's marketing.
The marketing opt-in is completely independent of the tracking opt-in. A recipient can choose to receive tracking updates without subscribing to marketing — or opt into marketing without requesting tracking. Neither action is required.
The recipient's default checkbox state follows your Marketing opt-in default setting from Settings > Company Info.
Disabling recipient opt-in for specific storefronts
You can disable the recipient marketing opt-in entirely for individual storefronts — useful for corporate gifting programs where a client prefers their employees not be added to your marketing list.
To disable:
Navigate to your Storefront settings.
Open the Advanced Settings section.
Toggle Display your marketing opt-in to e-gift recipients to off.
Save your changes.
Note: If e-gifting is disabled entirely on a storefront, the recipient marketing opt-in will not appear as there is no digital touchpoint to display it.
Data Flow: Shopify, Klaviyo, and Other Marketing Tools
Shopify
When a recipient accepts their e-gift and opts into marketing, Zest updates the associated Shopify order with the recipient's marketing consent status (buyerAcceptsMarketing). This syncs the recipient's marketing preference to Shopify's customer record, which then flows to any tool connected to your Shopify store.
Klaviyo
To connect Klaviyo:
Go to Settings > Integrations in your Zest dashboard.
Enter your Klaviyo private API key and, optionally, a Klaviyo list ID.
Save your credentials.
Once connected, Zest sends the following events to Klaviyo:
Order placed (gifter event, includes marketing consent status).
Gift accepted (recipient event, includes marketing consent status).
Active Lead (abandoned cart equivalent — sent daily via cron for customers who started but did not complete checkout).
When a gifter or recipient opts into marketing, Zest subscribes their email to your specified Klaviyo list. From there, you can create segments (for example, "gift recipients from Q4") and build nurture flows to convert them into repeat customers.
Active Leads
Active Leads are customers who began the checkout process but didn't complete their order. Zest sends these to Klaviyo as a Zest Platform - Active Lead event daily — similar to an abandoned cart flow. Active Leads are not list-subscribed; they are event-only.
Other Marketing Tools (Attentive, Listrak, Braze, HubSpot, etc.)
Zest pushes consent to Shopify for all opted-in customers. If your marketing tool integrates directly with Shopify, consent data will flow through that integration automatically.
For tools without a direct Shopify integration (such as Braze or HubSpot), the recommended approach is to use Klaviyo as an intermediary: collect opt-ins in Klaviyo from Zest, then connect Klaviyo to your primary tool using a Klaviyo-to-tool connector.
Compliance Considerations (GDPR, CAN-SPAM, CASL)
Zest's opt-in flows are designed to support compliance with major email marketing regulations:
CAN-SPAM (US): Recipients and gifters actively choose to subscribe — they are never auto-enrolled.
GDPR (EU/UK): Consent is explicit, separate, and not bundled with transactional flows. Recipients who accept a gift do not automatically become marketing subscribers.
CASL (Canada): Opt-in is voluntary and separate from the transactional gift acceptance step.
The key principle: The digital card or e-gift acceptance email is a transactional communication and does not require marketing consent to send. The marketing opt-in is a separate, optional checkbox within that experience. Recipients who decline are not added to your list.
Regulated industries: If your brand requires specific default checkbox states for legal compliance, use the Marketing opt-in default setting in Settings > Company Info to set the checkbox to Unchecked by default. Consult your legal team for guidance specific to your industry and markets.
Best Practices for Growing Your Email List Through Gifting
Gifting creates high-quality marketing opt-in opportunities because recipients have already experienced your product firsthand. Here's how to make the most of it:
Maximize gifter email capture:
Encourage gifters to enter recipient email addresses by customizing the "share tracking details" copy in your storefront settings. Emphasize the value for the recipient — a beautiful digital card, package tracking, and a seamless unboxing experience.
The recipient email field at checkout is optional, but the more gifters who fill it in, the more opt-in touchpoints you create.
Convert recipients into customers:
Create dedicated Klaviyo segments for gift recipients (for example, filtered by the
Gift Acceptedevent).Build a nurture flow that sends opted-in recipients a welcome message, a first-purchase discount, and product recommendations based on what they received.
Recipients often convert weeks or months after receiving a gift — allow for lag time when measuring attribution.
Scale your list:
Every recipient can become a marketing subscriber. A single gifter sending to 50 recipients creates up to 51 potential opt-ins (1 gifter + 50 recipients).
Pair in-box inserts with calls-to-action pointing recipients to your website or a dedicated landing page.
Common edge cases
Proxy email setups: If your storefront uses proxy email addresses (non-real customer emails) for Shopify orders, the marketing opt-in flag is recorded against the proxy address — not the recipient's real email. In this case, contact Zest support to request a periodic export of real customer names, email addresses, and opt-in status for manual upload to your marketing tool.
Ship-to-recipient orders (non-e-gift): For standard orders where a physical gift ships directly to the recipient without a digital card, Zest only collects the shipping address — not the recipient's email. Email capture only occurs when the gifter uses the e-gift or digital card feature.
Retroactive opt-in recovery: If your Klaviyo integration was not properly connected when customers opted in, those email addresses are still stored in Shopify. You can retroactively export customers who opted in before the integration was working and import them into Klaviyo or your marketing tool.