October is a good time to start testing. You’ll have a few weeks to see how customers respond, check inventory, and fix any problems before BFCM.
Why You Should Launch a Gift With Purchase Before BFCM (6 Examples)
A gift with purchase (GWP) is a free item a shopper gets when their order meets a condition, usually a minimum spend or a specific product. For Shopify stores, October is the best time to launch one, weeks before Black Friday.
Why launch a gift with purchase in October
The first reason is timing. A gift with purchase puts the word “gift” into your offer before the holiday rush, so you can talk about gifting now without touching your prices. Shoppers start thinking of your store when they think about presents, well before every brand in their inbox is saying the same thing.
The second is the shopper. Someone buying a present for a friend gets the free item too, and the best gifts with purchase work as small presents on their own. That makes the offer appealing to people shopping for themselves and people shopping for others.
The third happens behind the scenes. A fall offer is a low stakes test of your threshold, your gift, and your cart setup before the busiest weeks of the year. And customers who see a gift offer a few times this fall already know how it works by the time your BFCM sale goes live.
Here are 6 brands running gift with purchase offers well, and why each one works.
6 gift with purchase examples and why they work
1. Caudalie, a free ice roller on $140+ orders
Caudalie’s recent email leads with the product benefit (cool, depuff, and smooth skin) and puts a small round “free gift” badge in the corner of the hero image. Spend $140 or more, use code FREEZE, and the ice roller ships with the order.
People who buy serums and creams are already engaged in their skincare routine, and an ice roller slots right into it. It’s also an easy stocking stuffer, so the shopper can keep it or gift it to someone they care about. Even the code name is clever, tying the gift, the season, and the product into one word people will remember at checkout.
2. Marini Skin Solutions, free peel pads on $300+ orders
Marini Skin Solutions, the skincare line from Jan Marini, is giving away a full size jar of Marini ResurFace Peel Pads on orders of $300 or more through October 31, 2026. The offer starts in an email banner right under the email headline, and the line below it tells shoppers the gift is added to the cart automatically.
The gift is the brand’s award winner, so naturally it’s a slam dunk of an offer. The peel pads took a 2025 Dermascope Aestheticians’ Choice Award and sell for $103, so a full jar makes the $300 threshold feel worth reaching. In the cart drawer, the free jar appears as a separate item with the original $103 price crossed out and replaced with $0. A customer buying 3 jars for $309 gets a 4th free. The promotion runs through October 31, giving the brand time to test the offer before BFCM.
3. Brooklinen: spend $100 and choose a loungewear piece
Brooklinen has run a $100 threshold where shoppers pick 1 loungewear piece, worth up to $55, at checkout. For its anniversary sale, it added an exclusive tote on orders of $250 or more.
Plenty of Brooklinen sheet buyers have never tried the loungewear, and a free piece is the easiest way to get it into their hands. Letting shoppers pick their own piece also makes the gift feel personal. The $250 tote gives bigger orders their own reward, so shoppers past the first threshold have a reason to keep going.
4. Summer Fridays, a deluxe sample duo on $50+
Summer Fridays texted subscribers about a free Jet Lag Deluxe Sample Duo with orders of $50 or more, while supplies last.
The $50 minimum makes the gift easy to qualify for, while the deluxe samples give customers a chance to try a best-selling product before buying the full size. The offer ran in June, but the same approach could work for the holidays with a giftable pouch or mini set instead of samples.
5. Jones Road, a free Dopp kit for 10+ minis
Jones Road ran a promotion on minis with discounts starting at 15% off for 3 to 4 minis and increasing to 30% off for 10 or more. Customers who reached the highest tier also received a free Dopp kit.
The Dopp kit makes the offer even more appealing because customers can use it to store the minis or give them as a gift. It’s a simple way to encourage larger purchases, especially during the holiday shopping season.
6. Tiny Beets Foods, 3 reward tiers on the product page
Tiny Beets Foods, an Australian baby food brand, uses Promo Party Pro to show 3 reward tiers right on its product pages. The first unlocks free delivery, the second a free spoon, and the third a free food jar.
This lets parents see what they can earn before adding to the cart, so the tiers encourage more purchases. A spoon and a jar cost little to include, get used every day, and fit naturally with the food in the box.
Test your holiday gift offer this month
Promo Party Pro adds the gift to the cart, shows a progress bar across multiple tiers, and works with Dawn and Horizon themes. See pricing.
How to set up a gift with purchase on Shopify before BFCM
- Pick a gift that goes with the purchase. An ice roller with skincare, peel pads with a skincare routine, a Dopp kit with minis, or a spoon with baby food. Look at what customers are already buying and choose something they’ll actually want to use with it.
- Promote the free gift on your store. Caudalie includes the offer on its main image, while Marini uses a banner below the headline. Both make the promotion visible before customers reach the cart.
- Set a reasonable spending minimum. Look at your current average order value and consider setting the threshold 15% to 35% higher. You want customers to be able to qualify by adding another item to their order.
- Let customers pick their gift. Brooklinen gives shoppers a choice of loungewear. If you have a few products that could work as gifts, let customers choose the one they want.
- Show how much more customers need to spend. A progress bar in the cart or on the product page lets customers see how close they are to getting their gift. Promo Party Pro can display progress across multiple gift tiers and works out of the box with Dawn and Horizon themes. Once the gift is added, show the original price crossed out next to $0, as Marini does with its $103 peel pads.
- Figure out what happens when the gift sells out. Check your inventory before launching and have a replacement ready if you’re expecting a lot of orders. Include “while supplies last” in the promotion from the beginning rather than having to change the offer halfway through.
- Test the offer in October. See how many customers qualify for the gift, which gifts are most popular, and how quickly inventory sells. You’ll also have time to make sure the progress bar, cart, and discounts are working properly before BFCM.
- Start promoting gifts before BFCM. Send an offer to your email list or run a smaller promotion for repeat customers in October. You’ll get an idea of how people respond before launching your bigger holiday offer. Save your best gift or highest-value offer for BFCM.
Gift with purchase FAQ
Most guidance puts it 15% to 35% above your current average order value, so one extra item gets most shoppers there.
Automatic is the simplest experience, and it’s how Marini Skin Solutions runs its peel pad offer. Letting shoppers choose from a few options makes the gift feel more personal, which is why Brooklinen uses it.
It can if the fall gift matches the holiday one. Keep the October gift smaller so the BFCM offer still feels worth waiting for.
Related articles
How to Get Your BFCM Gift With Purchase Promotions Ready in Promo Party Pro
How to Set a Free Gift With Purchase Threshold That Actually Works
Free Gift With Purchase Progress Bar Ideas for Product Pages on Your Shopify Store
