HI there, we would like to add a free gift to the shopping cart. and also incentivize our customers to shop until a certain amount for an additional free gift (or free shipping). What are the best practices here?
I’m Ellie from BOGOS team! Thank you, @br20251 , for joining our BOGOS AMA event!
Q: we would like to add a free gift to the shopping cart
This can easily done by BOGOS app as when customers purchase something that meet your conditions, a free gift(s) will be automatically added to their cart. BTW, for time saving, you can utilize the templates below to setup Free GWP:
Q:Best practice for Incentivize our customers to shop until a certain amount for an additional free gift
Here’re some best practices from many of our Shopify Plus:
1. Set strategic thresholds:
- Set the threshold just above the product price to make customers feel they can easily qualify for the reward, sparking a desire to claim it and add extra items to their cart.
- Review your sales history to identify average order values and common purchase patterns. Set thresholds just above these figures to encourage additional spending.
- Experiment with various thresholds to see what resonates best with your audience. A/B testing can let you determine which levels drive the most conversions.
2. Avoid “cheap” gifts
TTSL Lab: 72% of consumers believe gifts reflect brand reputation & their overall product quality
- If the GWP is meant to be a reward, it should feel valuable.
- That’s why offering low-priced or low-quality gifts can backfire, as customers may not feel compelled to claim them.
- There is no need to be expensive gift—find what resonates with your customers and complements the primary purchase.
3. The “gift” theory
- Customers often perceive the “gift” as less valuable than the main item → carefully choose which item serves as the gift and which is the focal product.
- When giving new products as gifts, offer samples or avoid “100% off” to avoid being devalued.
4. Number of gifts each offer
Offer about 1-4 gifts per offer to avoid profit loss & shopper confusion. This ensures clear choices that enhance perceived value and drive quicker purchasing decisions.
5. Simplify the gift claim process
It’s a must to enhance the shopping experience and avoid customer frustration. Auto-add free gifts to customer carts and give them choices of discounted gifts.
To do this, you have to use a third-party app and I highly recommend using BOGOS, powerful Shopify promotion app featuring Free Gifts, Discounts, Bundles, and Upsells.Try BOGOS (4.9 rating, 2k+ reviews) for 7-free days here!
6. GWP insights
Some GWP insights to maximize its impact:
- Gifts for kids are practical for adult customers, as children’s joy increases the gift’s perceived value for parents.
- With GWP, customers are less likely to return an item because the perceived loss of giving back a “free” item is too high.
- “Get it for $0” works better than “Get it free” for price-sensitive shoppers (Journal of Retailing)
We’ve created a BFCM promotion playbook to help merchants better understand how to effectively increase AOV using 5 most popular offer types (with insightful, data-backed tips). You can read and implement those strategies for your store. Download it here FOR FREE!
I hope my answer is helpful. If you have any further questions, I’m always here for you 
Hi @br20251 
,
That’s a great strategy to boost average order value and customer engagement.
Shopify’s native Buy X Get Y feature has a limitation where customers must manually add the free gift to their cart, which often leads to missed gifts or confusion. To streamline this, you can use Monk, an app built specifically for advanced free gifting setups, just like the one you are looking to build. (Full disclosure, I am a part of the team behind Monk.)
With Monk, you can automatically add a free gift to the cart once a customer reaches your defined threshold. You can also create tiered campaigns to encourage higher spending.
For example:
- Spend $50 and get free shipping
- Spend $75 and get Gift A
- Spend $120 and get Gift A + Gift B
All of this can be done in a single setup, without creating multiple discount rules using Monk.
Monk also lets you display a customizable progress bar in your cart, showing how close customers are to unlocking the next reward. The widget blends seamlessly with your store’s theme and can be styled to match your brand guidelines, helping you drive AOV in a smooth and visually engaging way.
With Monk, you can create engaging setups like this that work especially well during major sales events such as Black Friday, Labor Day, Independence Day, and Cyber Monday.