Offer types

Types of Offers

Atom Commerce offers a variety of promotion types to help you grow your business. Explore each type below to find the best fit for your goals.

Buy X Get Y

Reward customers with a free or discounted product when they buy something else.

Buy More Save More

Offer bigger discounts as customers buy more items.

Bundles

Sell groups of products together at a special price.

Gift With Purchase

Add a free or discounted gift to qualifying orders.

Order Discount

Take money off the whole order when certain conditions are met.

Shipping Discount

Reduce or remove shipping costs for your customers.

Buy X Get Y

BXGY promotions are great for increasing average order value and introducing customers to new products.

When a customer buys a certain product or quantity, they get another product for free or at a discount.

• Buy One Get One Free (BOGO): Buy any sweater, get a scarf free.

• Buy X, Get Y at a Discount: Buy a laptop, get 20% off any laptop bag.

• Buy X, Get Y at a Fixed Price: Buy a camera, get a tripod for $19.99.

Make sure the free or discounted item complements the main purchase.

• Set clear purchase requirements.
• Use limited-time offers to create urgency.
• Communicate the value clearly to your customers.

Buy More Save More

BMSM promotions excel at increasing average order value and encouraging larger purchases.

Buy More Save More (BMSM) promotions create a compelling incentive for customers to increase their purchase quantity or spending amount by offering progressive discounts. These offers tap into the psychology of value perception, where customers feel they’re getting a better deal as they add more to their cart, driving higher average order values and increased revenue.

• Volume Discount: Reward customers for purchasing multiple units of the same or similar products. For example, “Buy 3 t-shirts, save 10%.”

• Tiered Discount: Create multiple spending or quantity thresholds with progressively better discounts at each level. For example, “Buy 2 items, save 5%; Buy 3 items, save 10%; Buy 4+ items, save 15%.”

• Advanced BMSM: Provide customizable rules and conditions to create precisely targeted promotions. For example, combine spending thresholds with product category requirements.

Ensure threshold jumps are realistic and attainable.

• Display progress toward the next threshold during the shopping experience.

• Balance discount depth with your margin requirements.

Bundles

Bundle promotions are most effective when the included products naturally complement each other and solve a broader customer need.

Bundle promotions allow you to group complementary products together and offer them at a special price or discount when purchased as a set. This strategy increases average order value, introduces customers to new products, and provides a convenient shopping experience by presenting logical product combinations. Bundles also simplify the decision-making process by offering pre-selected product groups that work well together.

• Percentage or Amount Bundle: Offer a discount when customers purchase a specific combination of products. For example, “Purchase these 3 skincare products together and save 15%.”

• Fixed Price Bundle: Set a specific price for a collection of products when purchased together, typically lower than the sum of their individual prices. For example, “Complete home gym set: $299 (normally$450).”

• Advanced Bundle: Provide customizable rules and conditions. For example, create conditional product combinations with variable discount structures.

Group products that logically go together or solve a common problem.

• Consider offering different bundle configurations for different customer segments.

• Create bundles of various price points to appeal to different customer budgets.

Gift With Purchase

GWP promotions create a powerful sense of added value and exclusivity.

Gift With Purchase (GWP) promotions reward customers with free or heavily discounted items when they make qualifying purchases. This strategy creates a strong perceived value, encourages customers to reach specific spending thresholds, and provides an opportunity to introduce them to new products they might not have tried otherwise. GWP offers combine the psychological appeal of “free” with strategic product sampling, making them particularly effective for boosting customer satisfaction and average order value.

• Spend X Get Free Gift: This classic GWP format offers a free item when customers reach a specified order value. For example, “Spend $100, get a free tote bag.”

• Buy X Get Free Gift: Rather than focusing on order value, this GWP type rewards customers for purchasing specific products or categories. For example, “Buy any foundation, get a free makeup sample.”

• Spend X Get Discounted Gift: Offer premium items at a significantly reduced price when customers reach a spending threshold. For example, “Spend $75, get this $50 diffuser for just $20.”

• Buy X Get Discounted Gift: Similar to the above, but triggered by the purchase of specific products rather than spending amount. For example, “Buy any dress, get this $40 necklace for $15.”

• Advanced GWP: For sophisticated marketing strategies, allow for customizable rules and tiered gifts. For example, multiple gift tiers based on spending levels.

Ensure gifts are desirable and relevant to your customer base.

• Select gifts that complement the qualifying purchases.
• Use premium or exclusive gifts for higher spending thresholds.
• Consider seasonal or limited-edition gifts to create urgency.
• Rotate GWP offers to keep the promotion fresh and engaging.

Order Discount

Order discounts are powerful tools for driving overall sales volume and increasing average order value.

Order discounts apply to the entire purchase rather than specific products, offering customers savings on their total cart value when they meet defined conditions. These promotions are particularly effective for driving overall sales volume, encouraging customers to reach specific spending thresholds, and creating straightforward, easy-to-understand value propositions. Order discounts provide flexibility in promotional strategy while being simple for customers to understand and redeem.

• Spend X Get Amount Off: This straightforward discount offers a fixed dollar amount reduction when the cart reaches a specified threshold. For example, “$10 off when you spend $50.”

• Spend X Get Percentage Off: Percentage-based order discounts offer a proportion of the total purchase as a discount when customers reach a spending threshold. For example, “15% off when you spend $100.”

• Buy X Get Order Discount: This hybrid approach applies an order-level discount when customers purchase specific products, connecting product-specific promotions with total order benefits. For example, “Buy any jeans, get 10% off your entire order.”

• Advanced Order Discount: For complex promotional strategies, provide customizable rules and conditions. For example, multi-tiered spending thresholds with progressive benefits.

Create a clear connection between the spending requirement and the reward.

• Consider progressive tiers to encourage even higher spending.
• Use limited-time offers to create urgency.

Shipping Discount

Shipping discounts directly address a major friction point in the purchase process.

Shipping discounts reduce or eliminate delivery costs for qualifying orders, addressing one of the most common causes of cart abandonment in e-commerce. By offsetting or removing shipping fees, these promotions can significantly improve conversion rates, increase average order value, and enhance customer satisfaction. Shipping discounts create a powerful incentive for customers to complete their purchase while also encouraging them to add more items to their cart to qualify for better shipping rates.

• Free Shipping: The most popular shipping promotion removes delivery costs entirely when orders meet specific conditions. For example, “Free shipping on orders over $75.”

• Discounted Shipping: This approach offers a percentage reduction on delivery fees when qualifying conditions are met. For example, “50% off shipping when you spend $75.”

• Fixed Shipping: This promotion sets a flat shipping rate regardless of order size, weight, or destination (within defined parameters). For example, “$5 flat-rate shipping on all orders.”

• Advanced Shipping Discount: For sophisticated logistics strategies, provide customizable rules and conditions. For example, destination-based shipping promotions.

Set free shipping thresholds slightly above your average order value to encourage incremental purchases.

• Clearly communicate shipping offer terms, including any geographic limitations.

• Consider time-limited shipping promotions to create urgency.

• Test different shipping discount structures to find what resonates best with your customers.

• Ensure your margins can support the shipping promotion without eroding profitability.

Next Steps

• Understand Scheduling Offers for future promotions
• Explore Best Practices for effective promotion strategies