A free gift with purchase is one of the simplest and most effective promotional strategies in e-commerce. When done right, it increases average order value, improves conversion rates, and makes customers feel rewarded for buying from you.

This guide walks you through why GWP works, how to set it up step by step, and how to measure success without overcomplicating the process.

Why Offer a Free Gift with Purchase?

Offering a free gift with purchase works because it taps into human psychology rather than a simple price reduction or discount. Instead of lowering the value of your products, they add value to the order, making the offer seem more rewarding. 

FGWP (free gift with purchase) not only encourages the customers to complete their purchase but also motivates them to spend more to receive increased benefits. 

Overall, free gifts are a flexible and high-impact incentive that works well across everyday promotions and major sales events.

Here’s why:

• Increased perceived value - Customers feel they're getting more worth for their money. This perception lessens their sensitivity to price and frequently outperforms a simple percentage discount.

• Higher Average Order Value - When combined with the right terms, such as a minimum spend or a required number of items, customers are incentivized to add more to their cart to qualify for the gift, thereby boosting the average order value.

• Strengthened customer loyalty - Thoughtfully chosen, relevant free gifts enhance the post-purchase experience, encouraging customers to come back and spread the word to their friends and family.

• Improved Conversion Rates - A clear incentive such as “free gift with purchase” can be the final push that helps hesitant shoppers complete their checkout.

• Product Discovery - Free gifts are a great way to introduce samples, accessories, or complementary products that customers may later repurchase.

How to Offer a Gift With Purchase

There are 2 ways you can provide a free gift with purchase

1. Shopify’s Buy X Get Y:

   Shopify’s native discount feature offers merchants a simple, quick, and cost-free solution to boost their sales.

   It doesn’t require prior coding experience and is ideal for beginner Shopify merchants who want to set up some simple and easy free gifting on their store.

   However, there’s a limitation to Shopify’s native Buy X Get Y gifting setup, the customer has to add the gift product along with their primary purchase to activate the free gift.

   
   

2. Free Gift Apps from the Shopify App Store

   Shopify third-party apps help automatically detect when the qualifying conditions are met and add the gift in real time, eliminating the need to add the gift manually.

   Here are some additional features offered by the free gifting apps:

   • Auto-add gifts when conditions are met

   • Offer multiple different gifts at once and let customers choose which gift they want from a selection

   • Tiered gift logic and multiple concurrent promotions

   • Custom widgets like banners and in-cart offers

   • Better analytics and targeting

Monk Free Gift is one of the most popular choices among the merchants for simple as well as complex free gifting campaigns, as it’s beginner-friendly and easy to set up. It’s highly customizable to suit your brand and allows custom fixes to cater to your store’s specific needs.

Offering a free gift with purchase is a simple yet effective strategy when structured properly. Here’s a detailed framework to get you started:

Step 1: Define your campaign objective

Start by identifying the purpose of the offer. You might want to increase average order value, encourage first-time purchases, clear inventory, or reward loyal customers. Having a clear goal helps you design the right gift and rules.

Step 2: Select the right gift (value, relevance, cost)

Choose a gift that feels useful and related to what you sell. Accessories, refills, samples, or complementary products usually work best. The gift should feel like a bonus, not something random or low value.

Tip: Match the gift to your goal.

If you want to increase AOV, offer accessories or add-ons that pair naturally with the main product.

To encourage first-time purchases, give a starter item or sample that helps customers experience the product fully.

To drive repeat purchases, consider consumables or refills that bring customers back.

Step 3: Decide eligibility rules

Decide exactly when the customer earns the gift. This could be after spending a certain amount, buying specific products, adding a set number of items, belonging to a customer group, or using a discount code. Keep the rules simple and easy to understand.

Tip: Align your qualification rules with your business goal and the gift you are offering. 

If your goal is to

• increase order value -> set a minimum spend that naturally justifies the gift

• move more units -> base eligibility on item count

• Acquire or retain customers -> restrict the gift to specific customer groups such as first-time buyers or loyalty members

Clear, goal-driven rules make the offer easier to understand and more effective.

Step 4: Set the promotion duration

Define a clear start and end date for your gift with purchase offer. Limited-time promotions create urgency and encourage customers to act sooner rather than postponing their purchase.

A defined duration also helps you manage inventory, measure performance accurately, and align the offer with specific campaigns such as product launches, seasonal sales, or holiday events.

Step 5: Plan inventory and logistics

Before launching the offer, ensure you have enough stock of the gift item and a clear plan for fulfillment. Factor in packaging, shipping costs, and handling time so the gift does not slow down order processing or increase operational issues.

Proper planning prevents overselling, avoids delayed shipments, and ensures a smooth experience for both your team and your customers.

Step 6: Create clear messaging and visuals

Show the free gift clearly on the product page and in the cart. Use banners, short messages, or progress bars so customers know what they receive and how close they are to qualifying.

Step 7: Set up automation on your website/checkout

Set up your free gift so it is added to the customer’s order automatically as soon as they qualify. The gift should appear clearly in the cart, at checkout, and in the final order details shared with your internal teams.

This ensures the gift is packed and shipped along with the main products, removes the need for manual checks, and reduces the risk of missed or incorrect orders.

Step 8: Promote your GWP campaign

Promote it across multiple channels such as homepage banners, email campaigns, social media, and paid ads.

Highlight the gift as a benefit, not an afterthought.Consistency across channels builds trust and avoids confusion.

Step 9: Track performance and optimize

Monitor the campaign daily, especially in the first few days. Check for technical issues, inventory mismatches, or customer questions.

Use insights to adjust thresholds, messaging, or gift selection if needed.

Gift With Purchase Ideas

Product samples

Product samples are a smart move, a way to get customers to explore more of what you offer. They're particularly useful for brands in the beauty, food, and wellness sectors.

Limited edition items

Limited edition items generate buzz and a sense of urgency. Even something simple feels special when it's not something you can just buy anytime.

Small accessories

Small accessories are a great way to enhance your main products. Think pouches, cables, stickers, or anything that makes using your product even better.

Digital freebies

Digital freebies, like e-books, templates, or guides, are a good option, as they don't require inventory or shipping, making them a cost-effective choice.

They're especially effective for brands focused on education, fitness, SaaS, and lifestyle. Just be sure the content is genuinely valuable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Choosing an irrelevant gift - A gift that has no clear connection to the main product may feel random and forgettable for the customer. Relevance matters just as much as perceived value, but relevance creates a long-term impact.

2. Offering a low-quality gift - Cheap or low-quality gift can impact your brand perception negatively instead of improving it.

3. Unclear eligibility rules - Confusing conditions for the gifts may frustrate the customers. Make sure the rules are easy to understand and clearly visible on your website.

4. Running out of inventory - Promoting a gift that is out of stock will lead to disappointment and support issues.

5. Unrealistic spending threshold - Make sure to study your customers’ purchase behavior and psychology to construct a solid and practical offer that motivates the customers and drives the Average Order Value.

6. Not testing the setup before launch - Small configuration issue can break the shopping experience. Always test multiple scenarios before launching the offer.

7. Ignoring performance data - Not tracking results means missed opportunities to optimize your offer.

8. Overusing GWP promotions - Running free gift offers too often can train customers to wait for deals and reduce perceived value

How to Measure Success of a Free Gift with purchase Campaign

• Always measure success based on your original objective

• Track relevant metrics such as Average Order value, Conversion Rate, revenue uplift and customer acquisition

• Compare performance with and without the Free Gift With Purchase campaign.

• Review qualitative feedback like customer reviews and support tickets to understand what your customers have to say about the gifts they received.

Note: A successful FGWP campaign should increase revenue while improving customer satisfaction, not just add cost.

Conclusion

A free gift with purchase can be a powerful tool, given it's thoughtfully constructed and executed with careful planning. The ideal gift, straightforward eligibility criteria, compelling messaging, and effective automation can boost order value, drive conversions, and build enduring customer loyalty, all without slashing the prices of your primary offerings.

The key is alignment. Your gift, goals, timing, and customer expectations should all work together. When you track performance and optimize based on real data, FGWP becomes more than a promotion, benefiting both your business and your customers.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a gift-with-purchase promotion?

   A free gift with purchase promotion is one of the most effective marketing offers used by e-commerce stores, where a customer receives a free item when they make a qualifying purchase.

   The gift is usually unlocked by meeting specific conditions, such as spending a minimum amount, buying a particular product, or placing a first-time order. The goal is to add extra value to the purchase without lowering the product price.

2. How do I choose the right gift for my campaign?

   The right gift should feel useful, relevant, and valuable to your customer, like a bonus and not a random add-on.

   Match your gift to your goal. Use add-ons to increase AOV, starter items or samples for first-time buyers, and refills to encourage repeat purchases.

3. How long should a gift-with-purchase promotion run?

   A free gift with purchase promotion can run for days, weeks, months, or an ongoing basis, depending on your goal.

   Short-term campaigns work best for creating urgency or supporting launches and seasonal sales even to clear out inventory.

   Ongoing promotions are better for first-time purchase incentives.

4. Should the gift be free or discounted?

   The gift should be free in case of a free gift with purchase promotion.

   A free gift feels more rewarding and creates a stronger perception of value than a discounted add-on. 

   Discounted gifts can cause confusion and reduce the impact of the offer.

5. What tools can I use to automate GWP offers?

   To automate GWP offers, you can use free gifting apps like Monk Free Gift from the Shopify App Store. 

   Using Monk, you can automatically add the free gift to the basket based on its eligibility and remove it when the criteria are not met. 

   You can show the free gift with the purchase promotion using a highly customizable banner on the product page and in the cart.

6. What metrics should I track for campaign success?

   To measure the success of a free gift with a purchase promotion, track metrics such as average order value, conversion rate, and revenue uplift and compare performance with and without the free gift with a purchase campaign.

7. Can digital products be used as free gifts?

   Yes, digital products such as e-books, templates, and guides make great free gifts if they are relevant to your business.

   Digital products as free gifts work well for education, fitness, and lifestyle brands.

   Make sure the content is genuinely useful and relevant to your business.