Gift Card Scheduling

Gift Card Scheduling is a feature that allows the purchaser to set a future delivery date for a digital gift card. Instead of sending the card immediately upon purchase, the system holds the gift card and delivers it on the specified date—typically via email or SMS at a predetermined time.

Why scheduling matters

Scheduling is a key driver of gift card sales, especially around holidays and personal celebrations. Buyers often purchase gift cards days or weeks in advance of birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Without scheduling, the buyer would need to remember to forward the card on the right day—or the recipient would receive the gift prematurely, ruining the surprise.

How it works technically

When the buyer selects a delivery date, the system stores the date alongside the gift card record. A scheduled task (cron job or WooCommerce Action Scheduler) runs periodically (e.g., every hour or every 15 minutes) to check for cards due for delivery. When a card’s delivery time arrives, the task triggers the delivery email and updates the card’s status from “scheduled” to “delivered.”

Implementation tips

• Use WooCommerce Action Scheduler rather than raw WordPress cron for reliable, scalable scheduling.
• Allow the buyer to specify a time zone or assume the recipient’s local time based on their profile.
• Provide a confirmation showing the scheduled date, and allow the buyer to edit or cancel the schedule before delivery.
• Send the buyer a notification when the scheduled delivery completes successfully.