E-Commerce Referral Deep Links: Share and Earn

Referral programs are one of the highest-ROI acquisition channels for e-commerce apps. A customer who loves your product shares a link with friends, the friends get a discount on their first order, and the referrer earns a reward. Deep links make this seamless: the referred friend taps one link, installs the app (if needed), and lands on a page with their discount already applied.

For the general referral deep link guide, see How Referral Deep Links Work. For e-commerce referral program design, see Referral Programs for E-Commerce Apps. For broader e-commerce deep linking patterns, see Deep Linking for E-Commerce Apps.

How Referral Deep Links Work in E-Commerce

The Flow

1. Referrer shares a link: The app generates a unique referral link for the user
2. Friend taps the link: The link opens the app (or app store if not installed)
3. Attribution: The deep linking platform matches the click to the install/open
4. Reward triggered: When the friend makes their first purchase, both parties get rewarded

The Deep Link

https://go.yourapp.com/invite/JANE-SMITH-12?ref=user_abc123

This link carries two pieces of data:

• JANE-SMITH-12: A human-readable referral code
• ref=user_abc123: The referrer's user ID (for attribution)

When the friend opens the app, the referral data is available for:

• Auto-applying the friend's discount
• Displaying a personalized welcome ("Jane invited you!")
• Tracking the referral for reward payout

Generating Referral Links

In-App Link Generation

When the user taps "Share" or "Invite Friends" in your app:

async function generateReferralLink(userId, userName) {
  const referralCode = generateCode(userName); // e.g., "JANE-SMITH-12"

  const link = await Tolinku.createLink({
    path: `/invite/${referralCode}`,
    params: { ref: userId },
    ogTitle: `${userName} invited you to [Your App]`,
    ogDescription: 'Get $10 off your first order!',
    ogImage: 'https://cdn.yourapp.com/referral-og.jpg',
  });

  return link.url; // https://go.yourapp.com/abc123 (short link)
}

Share Sheet Integration

import { Share } from 'react-native';

async function shareReferralLink() {
  const link = await generateReferralLink(user.id, user.name);

  Share.share({
    message: `Here's $10 off your first order at [Your App]! Use my link: ${link}`,
  });
}

Pre-Generated Links

For users who want to share their link later (copying to social media, messaging apps):

// Store the user's permanent referral link
const permanentLink = `https://go.yourapp.com/invite/${user.referralCode}`;

// Display in the referral screen
<TouchableOpacity onPress={() => Clipboard.setString(permanentLink)}>
  <Text>Copy your referral link</Text>
</TouchableOpacity>

Handling Referral Links in the App

Direct Open (App Installed)

When a referred user with the app installed taps the link:

function handleReferralDeepLink(url) {
  const parsed = new URL(url);
  const pathParts = parsed.pathname.split('/');
  const referralCode = pathParts[pathParts.indexOf('invite') + 1];
  const referrerId = parsed.searchParams.get('ref');

  if (referralCode) {
    // Store referral data
    referralStore.setReferral({
      code: referralCode,
      referrerId: referrerId,
    });

    // Navigate to welcome screen or apply discount
    navigation.navigate('ReferralWelcome', {
      discount: '$10 off your next order',
      referrerName: referralCode.split('-').slice(0, -1).join(' '),
    });
  }
}

Deferred Deep Link (App Not Installed)

This is the critical path. The friend doesn't have the app yet:

1. Friend taps the link
2. Web page loads (showing the referral offer + app install buttons)
3. Friend installs the app from the App Store / Play Store
4. On first launch, the SDK checks for deferred deep link data
5. The referral data is retrieved and applied

// On app first launch
useEffect(() => {
  Tolinku.checkDeferredLink().then((result) => {
    if (result && result.path.startsWith('/invite/')) {
      const referralCode = result.path.split('/')[2];
      referralStore.setReferral({
        code: referralCode,
        referrerId: result.params.ref,
      });
      navigation.navigate('ReferralWelcome');
    }
  });
}, []);

Reward Structures

Double-Sided Rewards

The most effective structure rewards both parties. For a detailed breakdown of double-sided incentive design, see Double-Sided Referral Incentives: Designing Rewards That Work.

Referrer Gets	Friend Gets	Example
$10 credit	$10 off first order	Balanced incentive
15% of friend's first order	15% off first order	Revenue-proportional
Free product	Free shipping	Non-monetary
Loyalty points	Loyalty points	Gamified

Tiered Rewards

Increase rewards based on referral volume:

Referrals	Reward Per Referral
1-5	$10 credit
6-10	$15 credit
11-25	$20 credit
25+	$25 credit

Product-Specific Referrals

Instead of generic referral links, let users share specific products:

https://go.yourapp.com/product/running-shoes-v2?ref=user_abc123

The friend gets a discount on that specific product, and the referrer earns a reward when the friend purchases it. This works well because the referral comes with a specific product recommendation, which converts better than a generic invite.

Preventing Fraud

Common Fraud Patterns

• Self-referral: User creates multiple accounts to refer themselves
• Fake referrals: Bots or fake accounts clicking referral links
• Reward farming: Referred users make the minimum purchase, get the reward, then return the item

Prevention Measures

• Device fingerprinting: Detect multiple accounts from the same device
• Purchase minimum: Require a minimum order value before the reward is issued
• Return window: Only credit the reward after the return window closes (e.g., 14 days after purchase)
• Unique email/phone: Require verified email or phone number for new accounts
• Rate limits: Cap the number of referrals per user per time period

// Only credit referral after purchase and return window
async function processReferralReward(referralId) {
  const referral = await getReferral(referralId);
  const order = referral.friendOrder;

  // Check return window (14 days)
  if (Date.now() - order.completedAt < 14 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000) {
    return; // Too early, wait for return window
  }

  // Check for returns
  if (order.hasReturns) {
    referral.status = 'invalidated';
    return;
  }

  // Credit the referrer
  await creditReferrer(referral.referrerId, referral.rewardAmount);
  referral.status = 'rewarded';
}

OG Metadata for Referral Links

When shared on social media or messaging apps, the referral link preview should be compelling:

og:title: Jane invited you to [Your App]
og:description: Get $10 off your first order. Shop thousands of products.
og:image: referral-banner.jpg (branded image showing the offer)

Personalize the OG title with the referrer's name. This makes the link feel like a personal recommendation, not a generic ad.

Measuring Referral Program Performance

Key Metrics

Metric	Formula
Referral link shares	Total share actions per period
Click-through rate	Link clicks / Shares
Install rate	Installs from referral links / Clicks
Conversion rate	First purchases / Installs from referrals
Referral revenue	Total revenue from referred users
Cost per acquisition	Total rewards paid / New customers acquired
Viral coefficient	Average referrals per user that convert

Viral Coefficient

The viral coefficient (K-factor) measures how many new users each existing user brings in:

K = (invites per user) x (click rate) x (install rate) x (conversion rate)

If K > 1, your referral program drives exponential growth. Most successful e-commerce referral programs achieve K = 0.3-0.7, meaning referrals contribute 30-70% of new user growth alongside other channels.

For referral features, see Tolinku referrals. For referral program documentation, see referral docs. For the e-commerce use case guide, see the e-commerce documentation.