Many of our merchants are prepping for the upcoming BFCM. It is always nice to have another set of eyes on ways to maximize profits during this time. So I was wondering what is your take on the best offer structure to increase average order value?
Is ‘Buy More, Save More’ better than a simple bundle? Or do you have any other recommendations?
Hi,
You’re right!
BFCM often comes with the same advice: slash prices and hope for the best. But after working with thousands of Shopify merchants, I’ve seen that smarter, margin-conscious offers outperform deep discounts every time.
Here’s my take on structuring offers to increase average order value this BFCM:
Offer an enticing, low-risk discount to capture clicks.
Once shoppers are in the cart, upsell higher-margin items or complementary products.
Pro tip: Pair this with a free shipping threshold and a dynamic progress bar to encourage larger carts.
Give customers an exclusive, low-cost gift when they hit a purchase threshold.
Creates excitement and perceived value without eating into margins.
Simple “Buy More, Save More” can work, but refine it:
Discount only the cheapest item in the bundle.
Set limits on discounts to protect margins.
Example: Buy 3, get the cheapest free, or a 2-for-£20 offer where the discount doesn’t over-extend your costs.
Encourage customers to hit higher spending thresholds with fixed-value rewards or gifts instead of percentage discounts.
Keeps margins healthy while motivating larger orders.
Want to run promotions like these? Try the BOGOS App here!
Hey @PieLab,
One thing I’d add from what I’m seeing with a lot of stores: people work really hard on PDP offers and cart drawers, but the classic cart page is often left almost untouched. Even when a store uses a drawer, shoppers can still end up on the full cart (from the header icon, “view cart”, or stepping back from checkout) - and that page is usually just a subtotal and a checkout button. There’s potentially a lot of intent left there.
IMHO, the cart page isn’t the place for heavy, gimmicky upsell flows - simple add-ons that pair well with items already in cart should be the way to go:
Gift wrap / handwritten note
Priority packing / faster handling
A small accessory that matches the main product (e.g. warm candle set in cart → bath salts as a potential addon, or a set of stoneware mugs → perhaps you’d like a nice table linen to go with it, etc.)
We’ve recently launched a lightweight cart-page upsell app that allows you to add checkbox/toggle upsells with product/collection/tag targeting, feel free to check it out on the app store - AS: Check & Toggle Cart Upsell.
If you have any questions, let me know - happy to chat!
But regardless of the tool, giving the cart page a bit of love with small, relevant add-ons is one of the easiest wins you can get.
Hey @PieLab
A best offer structure is something a lot of merchants dial in for BFCM.
But, there isn’t a single absolute best offer structure, it is highly dependent on the products in your store and the customer purchase behavior.
However, a few patterns consistently tends to perform well during BFCM.
In most cases, “Buy More, Save More” tends to drive higher AOV than simple bundles, as they are more engaging and nudge the customers to add one more item to the cart to unlock the next tier.
Bundles, on the other hand, work best when the products naturally complement each other and you want to simplify the decision.
After working with 2500+ merchants across multiple BFCM cycles, one pattern that clearly stands out is the use of combined offer supported by a cart progress bar. Showing customers how close they are to unlocking a reward(free gift, shipping, cart discount etc.) motivates customers to add more products to their cart to avail gifts and benefits, improving conversion.
Tools like Monk help set this up by gamifying the cart and visually guiding customers toward higher cart values while also supporting cross-sells and tiered offers.
Monk is perfect for high traffic event seasons like BFCM, Labor day, Independence day, etc., as it does not slow down your store rather blends seamlessly to your native Shopify cart, while letting you customize the widgets fully to match your brand guidelines.