How to restrict Shopify products to specific customer tags

Short answer: Allow certain products to be purchased only by customers with a tag such as "vip", "member" or "approved". In Checkpost, choose “Products for tagged customers only” from Templates, adjust the values, test it, then save and enable the rule.

The problem

VIP launches, loyalty rewards and professional-only products should only be bought by eligible customers. Hiding products in the theme isn't enough, because direct links and cart permalinks still work.

How to set it up

1. Install Checkpost from the Shopify App Store.
2. Open Templates and choose Products for tagged customers only.
3. Tag the products and set the customer tag that is allowed.
4. Use Try this rule to test a sample cart, then click Save rule.

The rule

Checkout is blocked when all of these conditions are true:

• Cart contains products tagged vip-only
• Customer has none of tags vip

Shoppers see: “Some items are reserved for VIP members. Log in with a VIP account or remove them to continue.” at the top of checkout, in the cart and at checkout.

{
  "name": "VIP-only products",
  "match": "all",
  "conditions": [
    {
      "kind": "cart_contains",
      "filter": {
        "productTags": [
          "vip-only"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "kind": "customer_tag",
      "op": "has_none",
      "tags": [
        "vip"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "message": "Some items are reserved for VIP members. Log in with a VIP account or remove them to continue.",
  "target": "cart",
  "runOn": "always"
}

Where this rule works

These are cart and checkout validations, including supported accelerated checkouts. They are current-cart policies; they do not track previous purchases of a SKU. Shopify excludes POS, recurring subscription orders and native pre-order/Try Before You Buy flows from this API. See Shopify's validation compatibility.

Tips

• Tag eligible customers automatically with Shopify Flow (e.g. after 3 orders) so the rule stays hands-off.
• Tags are matched case-insensitively.

FAQ

What happens if a guest adds the product?

A guest has no tags, so they're blocked with your message and can log in to continue.

Can I use multiple eligible tags?

Yes. List them all, and a customer with any of the tags can buy.

Related rules

Add products for tagged customers only to your store