How to Offer Free Gifts in WooCommerce?

Everyone loves a freebie, right?

In online shopping, offering free products is a powerful way to attract new customers, retain existing ones, and encourage them to buy more. 

In fact, 65% of customers become loyal to a brand after receiving free items from them. 

But how do you do this in WooCommerce?

The two best ways to offer a WooCommerce free gift are:

• Buy X Get X Free (BOGOF) strategy, where the same product is offered for free.
• The Buy X, Get Y Free (BOGOF) strategy involves offering different products for free.

In this blog, we will discuss how to create a WooCommerce free gift with purchase using these BOGO strategies.

WooCommerce missed the BOGO feature, so we can use a free gift plugin called “Discount Rules Pro for WooCommerce,” to create free product offers.

Benefits of Offering Free Gifts For WooCommerce Store

WooCommerce Free Gifts not only increases sales and customer engagement, it also provides some more benefits like:

• Reduce Cart Abandonment: When customers see the added value of a free gift at checkout, they may be more likely to complete their purchase rather than abandon their cart.
• New Product Launches: Offering a free sample with a purchase creates excitement and boosts awareness and sales for new products.
• Encourage More Purchases: Free products drive more purchases; for example, offering a gift with a minimum spend encourages customers to buy more, boosting sales.
• Create a Sense of Urgency: Limited-time free product offers can create a sense of urgency and drive immediate action from customers.
• Reward Loyal Customers: Use a WooCommerce free gift to reward loyal customers; for instance, offer exclusive gifts or special promotions to loyalty program members.
• Clear Inventory: Free items help in clearing excess inventory and promoting slow-moving products.
• Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Happy customers share their freebie product experiences that can potentially attract new customers to the store.

How to Offer WooCommerce Free Gifts In Two Ways?

Offering a WooCommerce free gift with purchase is one of the best strategies for customer engagement. For this guide, we will use “Discount Rules Pro for WooCommerce” to create customized free products.

Installing Plugin

Let’s get started by installing the Discount Rules for WooCommerce Plugin.

Step 1: Log into your WordPress Dashboard and go to the Plugins section.

Step 2: Click on the “Add New” button as illustrated below.

Step 3: Search for the plugin “Discount Rules for WooCommerce” as shown below.

Step 4: Install and activate the plugin.

You can also download this Discount Rules for WooCommerce plugin from the WordPress repository.

The above process explains the installation of the free version.

You can upgrade to the premium version of WooCommerce Discount Rules plugin to get more features like user role based discounts, BOGO deals, category-based discounts, and more.

If you have any issues while activating the plugin, check this installation guide to install the plugin to your WooCommerce dashboard.

Let’s discuss two BOGO techniques with different scenarios to offer free gifts to customers.

1. WooCommerce Free Gift with BOGO Coupons

Using BOGO coupons in WooCommerce adds a free gift to the cart when the customer uses the coupon code to purchase a particular ‘X’ product. We will configure this using the “Buy X Get Y” strategy.

Example: Customers can buy from Category A or B and get a “Belt” for free on their purchase using the Coupon code “FREEGIFT.”

To offer a WooCommerce free gift coupon:

• Navigate to WooCommerce -> Woo Discount Rules -> Add New Rule.

• Select the discount type as “Buy X and get Y.”
• In the Filter section, choose “Category” and select the specific category(ies) for the BOGO offer.
• In the Discount section, you’ll find the options below,
  • Get Y discount type: Buy X and get Y – Products (when the customer purchases X, he gets Y as the free product).
  • Buy X count based on- Filters set above
  • Make sure to enable the Auto-Add button so that the freebie product is automatically added to the cart once the WooCommerce discount condition is met.
  • Set “Minimum and Maximum” buy quantities and choose the free product.
  • Choose “Discount Type” as “Free.”
• the Get discount section, you’ll find the below options,
• In the rules section, choose the Condition type as “Coupons” and create your own coupon. Here, “FREEGIFT.”

The customer will receive a free product only when purchasing from the specified categories and applying a coupon code.

Here is the result of this offer:

Similarly, you can create different WooCommerce discounts using coupon codes.

2. WooCommerce Free Gift Based on Cart Subtotal

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

The customer can avail of the WooCommerce free gift with purchase when his/her subtotal is above $300.

To create free gifts for WooCommerce based on cart subtotal:

• Choose the discount type as “Buy X and get Y.”
• In the Filter section, choose “All Products.”
• Follow the same process in the “Discount” section.
  • Get Y discount type: 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.”
  • Make sure to enable the Auto-Add button so the complimentary product is added automatically to the cart once the discount condition is met.
  • Set “Minimum and Maximum” buy quantities and choose the free product.
  • Choose “Discount Type” as “Free.”
• In the rule section, choose the Condition Type as “Subtotal” with its value as greater than or equal to $300.

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

Here is the cart page of this scenario:

You can also use the Buy X Get X strategy to provide free gifts in your WooCommerce store.

3. WooCommerce Free Gift Based on Specific User Role

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 free gift in WooCommerce only for specific customer roles:

• Select “Discount Type” as “Buy X Get X.”
• Filter “All Products,” as it is a storewide discount.
• In the “Discount” section, set “Minimum and Maximum” quantities, 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.

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

Troubleshooting WooCommerce Free Gift Offer Issues

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

Check if WordPress and WooCommerce are updated to the latest version. Also, make sure that the Discount Rules plugin is updated to the latest build. 

This could surely troubleshoot the problems you face while setting free gifts for your WooCommerce store. 

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

Conclusion

WooCommerce free gift with purchase can attract customers and retain them for future purchases. It drives more traffic and sales for your WooCommerce store.

With WooCommerce free gift option using the BOGO strategy, offer exclusive gifts for your customers and add value to their purchases. This strategy helps convert first-time buyers into repeat customers.

If you don’t want to use default WooCommerce with limited features, install Discount Rules and use the advanced discount campaigns to boost sales and conversions.

Also Read

• 5 Best WooCommerce Buy One Get One Plugin
• How to create a Buy 2 Get 1 Free Discount in WooCommerce?
• 5 Best Free Gift Plugins for WooCommerce