How to Create a WooCommerce Buy One Get One (BOGO) offer?

WooCommerce Buy One Get One (BOGO) deal can turn 66% of online browsers into actual buyers. 

Various online brands widely adopt this approach as an effective method of introducing new products, drawing in shoppers, encouraging product trials, and ultimately driving up sales. 

Interestingly, these two-for-one deals don’t always mean giving away a product for free. You can structure the deal by offering a discount on the second item, such as “Buy One Get One 50% Off,” which can be just as enticing for customers.

Thus, implementing the WooCommerce BOGO offer can significantly boost your customer base and sales.

You can use the best BOGO plugin for WooCommerce like “Discount Rules Pro,” to overcome the missing BOGO feature in the default WooCommerce settings.

In this blog, we will discuss the step-by-step process of creating Buy One Get One in WooCommerce with some real-time examples.

What is a WooCommerce Buy One Get One Offer?

WooCommerce Buy One Get One (BOGO) is a type of promotional offer in which store owners offer one product at a free or discounted price when customers buy any other product at its original price.

It is a win-to-win sales strategy – Customers appreciate the offer because they feel they’re getting more value, receiving two products for the price of one or at a discount. For store owners, BOGO offers can attract more customers and increase sales.

Why Offer WooCommerce BOGO?

Offering Buy One Get One in WooCommerce helps you in many ways:

• Boost Sales: The main benefit of BOGO deals in WooCommerce is that it increases sales and leads to repeat purchases. Since customers can get two products at one price, it adds value to their purchase and boosts sales.
• Clear Inventory: If you have a slow-selling product, you can use ‘Buy One Receive One’ as an opportunity to provide the products at a discount or free to clear out old stocks.
• Attract New Customers: Offering the two-for-one deals can grab customers’ attention and attract new customers to your store.
• Reduce Cart Abandonment: You can provide these “one plus one” deals on products that customers have in their abandoned carts. This helps them complete a sale and reduces the cart abandonment rate.

When to Offer Buy One Get One Deal in WooCommerce?

Offering “Buy One Get One” WooCommerce deals will be effective only when you use it at the right time. Here are some ways you can utilize this offer:

• Launching New Products: Customers always hesitate to try out new products. To encourage customers to buy, you can use twofers and launch new products at free or discounted prices.
• Making Quick Sales: Since “Buy One Take One” is the best tactic to boost sales, use the offer to grab customers’ attention and increase sales of a particular product within a limited time.
• Rewarding Specific Customers: Offer WooCommerce BOGO deals only to specific and loyal customers to reward their journey with your store. It increases customer engagement and loyalty.
• Running Seasonal Sales: Running a holiday sale is a great way to increase sales during peak periods, and BOGO is a profitable strategy to enhance store performance on those days.

Two Main Variations of BOGO

The “Buy One Get One” strategy encourages customers to buy one product and get the second product for free or at discounted prices. 

This BOGO promotion can be offered mainly in two variations:

Buy X Get X

In the “Buy X Get X” promotions, the same product is offered for free or at a discount. For instance, customers can buy a “T-shirt” and get the same one for free.

Buy X Get Y

In the “Buy X, Get Y” promotion, a different product is offered for free or at a discount. The other products may be in the same or a different category. For instance, customers can buy a “T-shirt” and get a cap or belt for free.

These two variations can be implemented using various offers, such as:

• Buy One, Get One Free
• Buy One, Get One 50% Off
• Buy Two, Get One Free
• Buy Two, Get One At Discount
• Buy Two, Get Two
• Buy One, Get One For Friends, and more, where the Buy and Get products can be the same or different.

How to Create WooCommerce Buy One Get One Offers?

Creating WooCommerce Buy One Get One deals requires a plugin like “Discount Rules Pro for WooCommerce.”

“Discount Rules Pro” has advanced features for creating real-time BOGO campaigns, and its customization features help you customize offers based on your brand.

Before starting the campaign, make sure to install and activate “Discount Rules Pro” on your WordPress dashboard. Check this installation guide for any queries.

Let’s explore six different popular and profitable scenarios. For this guide, we will take “beverages” as an example. 

Scenario 1: Buy One Get One Free (Same Product)

WooCommerce Buy One Get One Free is the most common scenario that every online store implements to increase sales.

Example: Buy One “Apple Juice” and Take One Free

To create Buy One Get One Free in WooCommerce,

• Open “WordPress Dashboard.” Check whether the “Discount Rules  Pro” is installed and activated.
• Now, go to “WooCommerce” and select “Woo Discount Rules.”
• Click the “Add New Rule” button to add a new discount rule to your online store.
• Enter the name of your campaign.

These above four steps are common for all scenarios. The following steps can be modified for each scenario.

• Now, select “Discount Type” as “Buy X Get X,” as we offer the same product for free.
• In the “Filters” section, filter the specific product, “Apple Juice.”
• In the “Discount” section, set “Minimum and Free Quantities” to “1” and leave the “Maximum Quantity” blank since customers must buy at least one product to receive a free item.
• Then, choose “Discount Type” as “Free.”
• Enable “Recursive” for “Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Buy 2 Get 2 Free.” But since we’re only offering “Buy One Get One” here,  I’ll disable it.
• Finally, save and enable the rule.

Now, when a customer purchases at least one “Apple Juice,” another one is automatically added to their cart.

Scenario 2: Buy One Get One 50% Off (Same Category)

Buy One Get One 50% Off in WooCommerce is the next commonly used scenario, where the second item is offered with a 50% discount instead of giving it for free.

Example: Buy One “Apple Juice” and Get 50% Off on “Mango Juice.”

Here, we offer the second product from the same “Juices” category.

To create Buy One Get One 50% Off in WooCommerce,

• Add a new discount rule from “Woo Discount Rules.”
• Choose “Discount Type” as “Buy X Get Y,” as we offer different products for free, even if they are from the same category.
• In the “Filter” section, select “X” as “Apple Juice.”
• In the “Discount” section, 
  • Choose “Y Discount Type” as “Buy X Get Y- Products,” as we are providing discounted products from the same category, specifically a particular “Y” product.
  • Keep “Buy X Count” as “Filters Set Above,” and set the “Minimum, Maximum, and Free” quantities.
  • Choose “Get Quantity” as “Mango Juice” and set “Discount Type & Value” as “Percentage Discount” and “50.”
  • Optionally, select “Recursive” to continue this offer loop.
  • Now, choose “Mode of Apply” as “Cheapest.” It will suggest the discounted “Y” product in the cart; customers can add it to the cart if they want.
  • If you want to automatically add discounted “Y” products to the cart, select “Auto add” instead of “Cheapest.”
• Save the rule.

When a customer adds “Apple Juice” to their cart, they’ll see the discounted offer for “Mango Juice” and can add it to their cart if they choose to.

Scenario 3: Buy Subtotal Worth to Get One Free

WooCommerce Buy One Get One deal can be applied based on customers’ purchase criteria such as total order value, cart item quantity, no.of.purchases made, specific users or user roles, and more. 

It encourages them to meet these conditions to get the BOGO deals.

Example: Buy a Juice for $40 from the “Juices” category And Get A Free Lemon Juice.

To create conditions-based BOGO deals in WooCommerce,

• Choose the “Buy X Get Y” discount type.
• In the “Filters” section, filter the “Juices” category, as the products only from this category should reach subtotal to get a free item.
• In the “Discount Type,” follow the same process as before:
  • Choose “Buy X Get Y – Products” and “Filters Set Above.”
  • Select “Mode of Apply” as “Auto Add” to automatically add the free item once the customer reaches the fixed subtotal.
  • Set “Minimum, Maximum, and Free Quantities.”
  • Set “Get Quantity” as “Lemon Juice” and select “Discount Type” as “Free.”
• In the “Conditions” section, select “Condition Type” as “Subtotal” and set the “Subtotal Amount.” 
• Save the rule.

Now, when a customer reaches $40 in the “Juices” category, he will receive “Lemon Juice” for free.

Scenario 4: WooCommerce BOGO Coupons Using Different Category

WooCommerce Buy One Get One deals are not necessarily applied directly to the cart. You can also offer a BOGO coupon in WooCommerce.

Customers can enter the coupon code in their cart to get the offer.

Example: Buy A “Milk” and Get A Free “Juice” with code ‘MJFREE’!

Here, we are taking two different categories: “Juices” and “Milk.”

To create a WooCommerce BOGO coupon offer:

• Choose the “Buy X Get Y” discount.
• Filter the “Milk” category.
• Select “Buy X Get Y – Category” and choose the “Juices” category in “Get Quantity.”
• Set “Minimum, maximum, and Free” quantities and “Discount Type” as “Free.”
• Set “Mode of Apply” as “Cheapest” to add the cheapest product for free.
• In “Conditions,” select “Coupons” and create your coupon code. For instance: “MJFREE.”
• Save the rule.

When a customer adds any one product from the “Milk” category and applies a coupon code on the cart page, all prices of the “Juices” category become Zero. 

Customers can add any free “Juice” to their cart. But what if they add more than one?

The “Juice” with the cheapest price can be provided for free while the other one is added with its original price.

Note: Since we set the “Free” product as a “category,” the “Juices” are not shown on cart pages. Customers have to navigate to the “Juice” page to add their free product.

But there is a way to show these “free” product suggestions on cart pages. That’s what we see in the next scenario.

Scenario 5: Choose a Free Product From the List

Without automatically adding a specific “Free” product to the cart, you can allow customers to choose their favorite product.

Example: Buy “Strawberry Juice,” Choose “Orange or Lemon Juice” Free!

To create a Buy One Get One Free WooCommerce deal, where the customers can choose the free product:

• Choose the “Buy X Get Y” discount type.
• Filter “Strawberry Juice” in the “Filters” section.
• Select “Lemon and Orange Juices” in Get Quantity and set “Mode of Apply.” Save the rule.

When customers buy a “Strawberry Juice,” the other two free items – “Lemon and Orange Juices” are shown as suggestions on the cart page. They can choose anyone from the list.

If they choose both, the cheapest product can be given for free while the other is provided with the original price.

Scenario 6: Buy Two, Get One At a Fixed Discount

You can encourage customers to buy 2X of a specific product to get the third one at a fixed discounted price.

Example: Buy Two “Orange Juices,” Get $10 Off the Third!

To create a WooCommerce Buy Two Get One offer with a fixed discount:

• Choose the Discount Type “Buy X Get X,” as we offer the same product for free.
• Filter “Orange Juices” in the “Filter” section.
• In the “Discount” section, set the “Minimum Quantity” as “3.” This is because we offer three products, where customers can get the first two at full price and the third one at a discounted price.
• Set “Free Quantity” as “1,” as one product is eligible for a discount from the three products.
• Set “Discount Type” as “Fixed Discount” with Value “10.” Save the rule.

Now, when customers add 3 “Orange Juices” to their cart, a discount will be applied to the third item.

These are all a few common and popular WooCommerce Buy One Get One scenarios that online store owners use to increase their sales. 

There are many more offers you can create, such as:

• Based on first-orders
• Based on the Purchase history
• Offers only for specific users, user roles, shipping locations, or payment methods.

You can create a unique strategy like these to attract more customers with the “Conditions” features in the “Discount Rules Pro” plugin.

How to Promote WooCommerce BOGO Deals?

Promoting the WooCommerce Buy One Get One deals can help you reach more targeted customers and maximize its effectiveness. You can do it in many ways like:

• Email Marketing: Emails are the most effective way to convey your “Purchase One Receive One” deals to your customers and make them come back to your store for more sales.
• Social Media: Social Media is the immediate attention-grabbing method to increase the awareness of your BOGO offers.
• In-Store Banners & Popups: You can utilize pop-up offers and side & top banner space on your website to announce the “two-for-one” exclusive offers.
• Cross-Promotion: Collaborate with niche influencers and affiliate marketers to create content related to your brand and make them promote your Buy One Get One deal to their community.

Strategies For Effective Buy One Get One WooCommerce Offers

Implementing targeted BOGO promotions rather than conventional deals can yield sales beyond your expectations. 

Here are some WooCommerce Buy One Get One strategies to boost your sales:

• Classic BOGO: Providing a regular offer like “Buy One Get One Free” can kickstart your sales campaigns, especially if you are running a new online store.
• BOGO Percentage Off: The next move to “Buy One Get One Free” deals is BOGO percentage off, as offering free items is not always possible. Thus, you can try “Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off” or “Buy 2 Get 1 70% Off” deals to add value to customers’ purchases.
• BOGO Coupon: Instead of offering a direct “one plus one” offer, utilize BOGO coupons in WooCommerce to make customers enter the coupon code on checkout to receive free items or discounts. It creates a valued experience for customers to buy items with savings.
• Tiered BOGO: Implementing a tiered BOGO deal can help customers purchase more products with a smaller amount. You can make recursive offers like “Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Buy 2 Get 2 Free, and Buy 3 Get 3 Free” to appreciate bulk purchases from customers.
• Bundle BOGO: Mix and match your products. For example, you can offer girls’ tops and accessories. This bundle product discount allows customers to explore more unknown products in the store.
• Limited-Time BOGO: Provide these twin deals only for a limited time to trigger customers to make quick purchases before missing the deals.
• BOGO with Minimum Spend: Enable BOGO free offer when customers reach a specific amount in the cart. This helps customers add more to their cart to reach the minimum offer threshold.

Best Practices For Offering Buy One Get One in WooCommerce

Implementing WooCommerce Buy One Get One involves several best practices to ensure they are effective and beneficial for your business:

• Provide Purchase Value: Offer Buy One Grab One deals that add value to customers’ purchases and save them money. 
• Apply Terms & Conditions: Clearly set the terms and conditions for your offer regarding eligibility, duration, and limitations to avoid confusion.
• Implement Customer Segmentation: Based on your sales goal, segment your customers into groups like Wholesalers, loyal customers, Subscribers, First-Comers, and more. This helps you offer exclusive BOGO discounts to specific customers.
• Analyze Profits: Before offering BOGO discounts, ensure that you make a profit in terms of sales. Calculate product margin, shipping charges, and total revenue to avoid losses.
• Monitor Campaign Performance: Monitor your campaign performance, traffic, and sales to optimize your BOGO strategy and elevate overall sales.

Real-Life Buy One, Get One (BOGO) Examples

Many popular online store brands are still utilizing the “Buy 1 Get 1” strategy to increase their sales and revenue. Let’s explore a few brands that are offering BOGO deals in their stores:

1. E.L.F. Cosmetics

E.L.F is a popular vegan cosmetics brand that sells its products on its website and on Nykaa.

To increase Lipstick sales, E.L.F offers a “Buy X Get Y” discount with a subtotal condition. Customers can buy Lipstick and get a Free EyeShadow when their total orders reach above INR800.

2. Target

Target is a popular departmental market in the US that offers Buy One Get One deals on some products using the Buy X Get X strategy.

Here, customers can buy any one product and get the same product with a 25% discount. This strategy helps Target to increase sales of particular products.

Conclusion

Increasing your WooCommerce sales and revenue requires a unique offer or strategy that would grab customers’ attention.

Buy One Get One WooCommerce deals are one profitable strategy that can easily influence customers’ buying decisions and make them add more to their cart.

To increase the sales of your specific products or categories, utilize different BOGO strategies, such as Buy One Get One Free, Buy Two Get One 50% Off, Buy X Get Y Free, and more.

Offering personalized BOGO deals is an effective way to boost campaign performance. You can use the “Discount Rules Pro” plugin to create your customized WooCommerce Buy One Get One offers.

Guides to Offer Different Discount Strategies On Your Store:

Along with this BOGO strategy, you can also implement the following discount types to widen your brand reach and increase sales:

1. A detailed blog on “WooCommerce Buy X Get Y” scenarios
2. Different “Buy Two Get One WooCommerce” Scenarios
3. How to create bulk discounts in WooCommerce?
4. 5 Best Buy One Get One Free plugins for WooCommerce