How to Add a WooCommerce Free Gift with Purchase?

Gifting a product to your customers shows your gratitude, makes them feel special, and increases their loyalty.

Believe it or not, 90% of consumers become loyal to a brand when receiving a free gift with a purchase, and 65% of them share this positive experience with their network.

If you haven’t offered a free gift in your WooCommerce store yet, you’re losing half of the potential customers who might become your long-term loyal customers.

So, what are you waiting for? Start offering a free product with purchase to enhance your customer experience and increase brand loyalty.

WooCommerce doesn’t have a built-in free gift option. In this blog, you’ll learn the detailed steps using a plugin to add a WooCommerce free gift to customers’ carts and convert them into loyal customers.

We will also explore some strategies and real-life examples to learn how to offer free products without losing your profit.

Let’s get started.

Why Offer Free Products with Purchase in WooCommerce?

Offering a WooCommerce free product with purchase is not only a method to enhance customer experience but also a strategic investment. Here is why free gifts are beneficial:

1. Reduce Cart Abandonment: When customers see the added value of a free product at checkout, they may be more likely to complete their purchase than abandon their cart.
2. New Product Launches: Offering new products as a free gift with purchase increases their visibility and sales.
3. Encourage More Purchases: Gifting a product drives more purchases; for example, offering a gift with minimum spending encourages customers to buy more, increasing order value.
4. Create a Sense of Urgency: Limited-time free product offers can create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate action from customers.
5. Reward Loyal Customers: Use a WooCommerce free gift to reward loyal customers; for instance, offer exclusive gifts or special promotions to long-term customers.
6. Clear Inventory: If you have slow-selling or old stocks in your inventory, you can clear them in the free gift product campaign. It saves your space and increases brand awareness.
7. Word-of-Mouth Marketing: According to the Research discussed above, 65% of happy customers share their freebie product experiences with their friends and family, which drives more new customers to your store.

Choosing the Best Free Gift WooCommerce Plugin

Choosing the best free gift WooCommerce plugin is essential to ease your gifting process. You can pick the right plugin with the following factors:

• You have to select an affordable plugin that comes within your budget.
• The free gift plugin you choose must be compatible with other plugins in your WooCommerce store.
• You should receive consistent updates and customer support from the plugin.
• As the main factor, the chosen plugin should have a flexible gifting feature to make your “free gift” strategy profitable.

With a lot of free gift WooCommerce plugins available, I recommend the “Discount Rules for WooCommerce -Pro” plugin and used the same for this blog tutorial because:

• It allows you to offer free gifts in two ways: Buy X Get X and Buy X Get Y.
• It allows you to offer free products with purchase only to specific users or user roles, such as subscribers, wholesale dealers, corporate customers, and others.
• It helps you offer free gifts only when specific products or categories are purchased.
• It has the option to provide free gifts when customers spend a specific amount.

It also has more advanced features that enhance your free gifting strategy.

Note:

• With the “Buy X Get X” method, you can offer the same product as free that customers are purchasing. For example: Buy One T-shirt and Get One for Free.
• With the WooCommerce “Buy X, Get Y” method, you can offer different specific products for free. The products may be from the same or different categories.

For example, you could buy jeans (Clothing category) and get a T-shirt (Clothing category) for free, or buy jeans (Clothing category) and get a cap (Accessories category) for free.

How to Add a WooCommerce Free Gift to Carts?

Adding a WooCommerce free gift is simple and easy with the “Discount Rules for WooCommerce -Pro” plugin. Check the installation guide to activate it on your WordPress dashboard.

Let’s check WooCommerce multiple free gift scenarios:

1. WooCommerce Free Gift with Purchase for a Minimum Spend

You cannot offer a WooCommerce free gift with every purchase. So, you can only offer it when customers spend a specific amount at checkout. This will encourage customers to shop more and reach the specific amount to unlock their free gift.

Example: Get “Sunglass” for free on orders above $300

To add a WooCommerce free gift based on cart subtotal:

• Go to “WooCommerce” -> “Discount Rules”.
• Click the “Add New Rule” button.
• Enter the rule name for your reference.
• Choose the discount type as “Buy X and get Y”, as we offer a specific product for free when customers purchase any items.
• In the Filter section, choose “All Products”.
• Follow the same process in the “Discount” section.
  • Get Y discount type: Choose “Buy X and get Y – Products” (when the customer purchases X, he gets Y as the free product).
  • Buy X count based on: Choose the option “Filters set above.”
  • Enable the “Auto-Add” button to add the free product to the cart automatically.
  • Set the “Minimum and Maximum” buy quantities and choose the “Get Quantity (free product & quantity)” option.
  • Choose “Discount Type” as “Free”.
• In the “Rules” section, choose the Condition Type as “Subtotal” with a value greater than or equal to “$300.”
• Save and enable the rule.

When the customer reaches the specified subtotal ($300), WooCommerce adds the free product to the cart automatically.

Related Read:
How To Set A Minimum Order Amount In WooCommerce?

2. WooCommerce Gift Product for Specific User Roles

Instead of adding a WooCommerce free product with a purchase for every cart, you can offer it only for specific users or user roles to enhance their loyalty and reward loyal customers.

Example: Let’s offer a “Buy One Get One Free” deal, where the same product is offered for free only for specific customer groups.

To offer a WooCommerce free product only for specific customer roles:

• Navigate to “WooCommerce” -> “Discount Rules”.
• Click the “Add New Rule” button.
• Select “Discount Type” as “Buy X Get X”, as the same product is given for free.
• Filter “All Products”, as it is a storewide discount.
• In the “Discount” section, set “Minimum and Maximum” quantities, “Free” quantity, and choose “Discount Type” as “Free”.
• In the “Rules” section, select the condition as “User Role” and choose the specific customer groups, such as regular customers, VIP customers, wholesale dealers, or subscribers.
• Save and enable the rule.

For instance, when a specific user role, “subscriber”, logs into the store and buys any products, a free product is automatically added to the cart.

Related Reads:
How To Create A User Group Discount In WooCommerce?
How to Setup Customer Specific Discounts in WooCommerce?

3. WooCommerce Free Product Based on Quantities (Limited-Time Offer)

Without offering a WooCommerce free gift product for a single item purchase, you can offer it when customers buy more quantities. Also, you can add more gifts when product quantities are increased.

It motivates customers to buy products in bulk and increases order value.

Example: When customers buy a specific product, let’s offer the same product as free gifts based on quantities. This will increase the sales of that item. Also, we will enable the offer for a specific time to create urgency.

“Buy 1 to 4 grey T-shirts and Get one for free.
Buy 5 to 8 grey T-shirts and Get two for free.” (For a limited time)

To add free gifts for WooCommerce based on product quantities:

• Go to “WooCommerce” -> “Discount Rules” -> “Add New Rule”.
• Choose the discount type, “Buy X Get X”.
• Filter the specific product, “Grey T-shirt.”
• In the “Discount” section, set the respective “Minimum and Maximum” buying quantities and the free product quantities.
• And choose the “Discount type” as “Free”.
• In the “Rules (Optional)” section, select the condition type “Date and Time” and set the specific dates and times.
• Save and enable the rule.

The WooCommerce gift product offer is active only on selected dates and automatically becomes invalid after the mentioned time.

Also, when customers add a specific product to the cart, the free gift will be added based on the quantities.

Related Read:
How to Create a WooCommerce Bulk Discount? (Quick Steps + Examples)

4. WooCommerce Free Gift Product Using Coupons

Instead of adding a WooCommerce free gift product automatically to the cart, you can add it only when customers enter the given coupon code at checkout.

Example: Customers can buy from specific categories and get a “Belt” for free with purchase using the Coupon code “FREEGIFT.”

To add a WooCommerce free gift product using coupons:

• Navigate to “WooCommerce” -> “Discount Rules” -> “Add New Rule”.
• Select the discount type, “Buy X Get Y”.
• In the Filter section, choose “Category” and select the specific categories for the free product offer.
• In the “Discount” section:
  • Get Y discount type: Choose “Buy X and get Y – Products” (when the customer purchases X, he gets Y as the free product).
  • Buy X count based on: Select “Filters set above.”
  • Enable the “Auto-Add” button.
  • Set “Minimum and Maximum” buy quantities and choose the “Get” product and quantity.
• Choose “Discount Type” as “Free”.
• In the “Rules” section, choose the Condition type as “Coupons” and create your own coupon. For example, “FREEGIFT”.
• Save and enable the rule.

Customers will get a free gift product when they purchase products from specific categories and enter the given coupon code.

Tip:
Instead of offering a specific product for free, you can also allow customers to pick their free gift using the BOGO strategy.

To learn more about these implementations and other example scenarios, check out this blog: How to offer a Buy One Get One Free deal in WooCommerce.

Strategies to Gift a Product in WooCommerce

Gifting a product in WooCommerce is effective and easy when you implement it at the right time. Here are some strategies:

• Instead of gifting a product for every single cart, you can offer it to specific customers based on subtotal or product quantities. It increases customer loyalty and order value.
• WooCommerce coupons are powerful ways to grab customers’ attention, and free gifts are not exceptional. Combine both these tactics and offer a free WooCommerce product using a coupon code. This increases brand awareness and drives new customers.
• Choosing the right “BOGO” free discount type is essential for offering related products as a gift.
• You can offer gifts only on specific holidays, promotional events, or even for a specific time to create a sense of FOMO. This increases sales on particular days.
• Offering a WooCommerce free gift is the best way to thank customers for their purchases on your store. Utilize the opportunity and offer free products with purchase at right time using the “specific date and time” feature to enhance their shopping experience.
• Offering customers a free gift product on their first order is an excellent way to attract new customers and convert them into regular customers. To implement this strategy, you can choose the “first-order” condition in the “Discount Rules” plugin.

Also, you can filter specific products, categories, or attributes, mix-and-match scenarios, and offer free gifts to increase sales.

Related Read:
How to Create a First Order Discount in WooCommerce?

Troubleshooting WooCommerce Free Gift Issues

Have you experienced issues with the BOGO discount rule while setting the WooCommerce free gift deals?

Check the following points to solve your issues:

• Check whether the WordPress/ WooCommerce has been updated to the latest version.
• Check the plugin’s latest version and update it to ignore bugs.
• With the “Discount Rules” plugin, you can create a few free gift offers in a free version. For advanced free gift features, make sure you install the “Pro” version of the plugin.
• Uninstall and install each plugin to identify the error plugin.
• Make sure to enable the discount rule after it is created and saved.
• If a specific BOGO rule is not working, check whether the options are properly set and the necessary settings are enabled.

If the problem continues further, contact our support team to solve your queries.

Examples of Free Gift Product Campaigns by Brands

Many popular brands are offering free gifts with purchase to increase brand awareness, boost product visibility, and increase sales. Here are a few examples:

1. Nykaa

The famous Cosmetics brand Nykaa offers a free gift with purchase when customers make an order above a specific amount. This helps the brand increase order value.

2. McDonald’s

The famous fast food brand McDonald’s also offers a free Burger when customers purchase for a specific amount using the coupon code. It grabs customers’ attention and enhances their experience with the brand.

Conclusion

Offering a free gift with purchase is a strategic idea to bring new customers to the store, make them purchase more to claim free gifts, enhance their shopping experience, and boost sales.

You can use the “Discount Rules for WooCommerce -Pro” to easily provide the WooCommerce free gift to your customers.

Remember that free products should not be the go-to tactic for increasing sales. You can change your free offer and provide product or category discounts, free shipping, and other deals to stand ahead of competitors.

Always check different free products and discount offers to understand which method works best for your store and boost your sales.

Also Read

• How To Offer WooCommerce Free Shipping? (Strategies + Examples)
• How to Add Discounts in WooCommerce?
• 5 Best WooCommerce Buy One Get One Free Plugins.