The Shopify Free Gift Strategy That Drives Bigger Orders
Are free gifts better than discounts for your Shopify store? New research discussed in this episode, covering **16.8 million orders across more than 10,000 stores**, reveals some surprising findings about ecommerce promotions, average order value, and Black Friday discounting.
In this episode of **Winning With Shopify**, host Nick Trueman welcomes back **Charlie Tyler from 506, the team behind EasyGift**, to explore how Shopify brands can use free gifts with purchase, tiered rewards, and smarter promotional strategies to increase customer spending while protecting profit margins.
One of the biggest findings? The research showed a **45.5% higher median order value for gifted orders compared with non-gifted orders**. In the US, Charlie reports median order values of $125 for gifted orders versus $86 for non-gifted orders.
But there's a catch. The research also suggests that **42% of EasyGift users may be giving away gifts without setting effective spending thresholds**, potentially missing opportunities to increase average order value.
In this conversation, Nick and Charlie discuss when discounts make sense, why customers respond positively to free gifts, how to choose gifts that complement your products, and how Shopify Sidekick and EasyGift can help businesses optimize promotions.
Whether you're preparing your Shopify store for Black Friday, trying to improve conversion rates, or looking to increase average order value without excessive discounting, this episode is packed with practical ecommerce marketing insights.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction: Free Gifts vs Discounts
00:58 When Should Shopify Brands Offer Discounts?
02:16 Research: 16.8 Million Orders Across 10,000 Stores
03:06 How EasyGift Works for Shopify Stores
05:41 The Psychology Behind Free Gifts
08:26 Best Free Gift Ideas for Ecommerce Brands
14:38 Black Friday Gifting vs Discounting Strategies
19:04 How Free Gifts Increase Average Order Value (AOV)
22:31 Common Free Gifting Mistakes to Avoid
24:35 Using Shopify Sidekick to Improve Sales
28:14 Free Gifts at Checkout and Conversion Optimization
29:14 Outro
Charlie Socials:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleshtyler/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/506-io/home/
Want some help with profitably scaling your Google Ads? Reach out to Nick's agency: team@spec.digital
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Ships-A-Lot - Improve fulfilment costs, shipping margins and customer experience.
https://info.shipsalot.com/winning-with-shopify
Yoast - 15% off Shopify and WordPress with code WWS15.
https://yoast.com/product/yoast-seo-shopify/
Inventory Planner - Free seven-day inventory bootcamp.
https://info.brightpearl.com/winning-with-shopify-holiday-planning-bootcamp
Easygift - Extended 30-day free trial with code WWS
https://506-io.webflow.io/wws-easygift
ABOUT WINNING WITH SHOPIFY
Winning With Shopify helps ecommerce entrepreneurs grow their online businesses through expert conversations, real-world Shopify strategies, digital marketing advice, SEO, conversion rate optimization, and practical business insights.
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What works better for your Shopify store: free gifts or discounts? Share your experience in the comments!
#Shopify #EcommerceMarketing #AverageOrderValue #BlackFriday #ShopifyMarketing
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