How BOGO incentives drive sales without killing margin

Buy One, Get One (BOGO) promotions remain one of the highest-performing incentive types in retail and ecommerce. From fashion and FMCG to DTC subscriptions, BOGO deals consistently lift AOVs, speed up inventory turnover, and nudge repeat purchases.

What is a BOGO promotion?

BOGO stands for "Buy One, Get One." It’s a promotion where a customer receives a free or discounted item, often of equal or lesser value, when they purchase another  product. Technically, it’s a form of bundle discounting.

The psychology of BOGO offers

Why do BOGO promotions convert so well? It all comes down to what happens when we hear the word "free".

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, in his book Predictably Irrational, describes a phenomenon called the "zero price effect" – the idea that people get irrationally excited when something is free, even if the actual savings are small.

In one of his well-known studies, participants were offered two chocolates:

• A Hershey’s Kiss for 1 cent.
• A premium Lindt Truffle for 15 cents.

Most people chose the truffle because it offered better value. But when the price of both items dropped by a penny – making the Hershey’s Kiss free and the truffle 14 cents, 90% of participants chose the free item, even though the price difference didn’t change.

This reveals a powerful truth for marketers: free products feel more valuable than discounted ones. That’s why BOGO offers resonate so strongly – customers aren’t just getting a deal, they’re getting something extra, without added cost.

Learn more: The Fascinating Psychology Behind Discounts and Promotions

Examples of BOGO deals & promotions

BOGO promotions aren’t limited to “buy one, get one free” t-shirts. When built with flexible rules and delivered at the right moment, they become powerful tools for personalization, upselling, and retention. Here’s how leading brands structure BOGO incentives that actually drive ROI:

1. Free product with an eligible purchase

Burger King rewards first-time Click & Collect customers with a free Whopper when their order exceeds £3. The promotion is frictionless: no codes, no opt-in. The system applies the offer automatically at checkout once the Whopper is added to the cart, a classic conditional BOGO with spend-based gating and product-specific rewards.

2. Weekly BOGO deals

Publix runs an ongoing BOGO cadence, automatically rotating eligible items into “buy one, get one free” promotions every week, often aligned with holidays or regional buying patterns. These offers typically include everyday essentials like canned goods or pantry staples. Bundled pricing formats like “2 for $X” are used alongside BOGO to drive basket size.

3. Tiered discount on second item

Famous Footwear regularly runs a “Buy One, Get One 50% Off” promotion across its product catalog. The discount applies automatically to the second item of equal or lesser value, a classic BOGO variant with tiered rewards. This setup is often mirrored across in-store and ecommerce channels, requiring consistent discount logic, cart-level validation, and prioritization rules to avoid misuse (e.g., cheapest item being discounted). It’s a high-performing pattern for brands with category overlap and price-sensitive shoppers.

4. Free menu item with a specific order

To celebrate World Sandwich Day, Subway offered a free 6-inch sandwich when customers purchased a sandwich and drink combo. The promotion was time-limited and ran across channels, boosting both in-store visits and mobile app engagement. Technically, this is a conditional BOGO with product and quantity requirements, a powerful tactic for driving upsell and cross-sell behaviors, while reinforcing app adoption through exclusive digital participation.

5. Volume BOGO deals

Coca-Cola Embonor used multiple BOGO strategies across the year. One staple offer: “6 for the price of 5” on multipacks, a volume-triggered BOGO designed to increase units per transaction. For the holidays, they layered in a thematic reward: customers who purchased any beverage in a returnable container could buy a set of branded Christmas ornaments at 50% off. These stacked promotions combined fixed-quantity logic with seasonal merchandising, driving both volume and brand affinity.

6. Recurring BOGO tied to weekday cadence

Domino’s runs a weekly “Buy One, Get One Free” promotion every Tuesday, where customers receive a second pizza free with the purchase of one at full price. This recurring campaign applies to both delivery and carryout orders, making it a predictable driver of midweek traffic and retention. From an implementation standpoint, it’s a time-gated, SKU-matching BOGO with omnichannel logic, ideal for automation and redemption control across ordering platforms.

7. Rotating bundle rewards across categories

Ulta Beauty runs “Buy Two, Get One Free” promotions on select brands, allowing customers to choose any three eligible items and pay only for two. These bundle offers rotate frequently across skincare, makeup, and haircare categories, driving repeat purchases and category exploration. Technically, this is a quantity-based BOGO campaign with collection-level targeting and dynamic SKU rotation, ideal for brands leveraging limited-time offers across physical and digital storefronts.

8. Loyalty-exclusive mobile BOGO

Starbucks runs recurring Happy Hour campaigns where Starbucks Rewards members can get a second handcrafted drink for free when ordering via the app. These mobile-exclusive BOGO offers are time-limited and only available to logged-in loyalty members, creating urgency while driving app engagement and retention. Behind the scenes, it’s a segment-gated BOGO with channel-specific redemption rules and time-sensitive triggers, a smart use of exclusivity to deepen loyalty.

Why BOGO promotions work (when done right)?

• Moves inventory fast without dumping value – ‍BOGO campaigns are ideal for clearing aging stock, seasonal overages, or slow-moving SKUs, without resorting to steep discounts. They drive volume while preserving price perception, making them a smarter alternative to blanket markdowns.
• ‍Flexible implementation across channels – BOGO logic is easy to model: it can run as an auto-applied rule at checkout or behind a gated promo code. This flexibility supports A/B testing, segmentation, and channel-specific targeting, all critical for personalized campaigns.‍
• Preserves brand positioning – Unlike straight % discounts, BOGO keeps the primary item at full price. Customers perceive the free or discounted product as added value, not a price cut, protecting your premium positioning and avoiding long-term erosion.‍
• Improves margin through basket economics – When structured well, BOGO offers offset the cost of the reward item through increased AOV and volume. Customers often add additional full-priced items alongside the deal, compounding profitability, especially in FMCG and DTC.‍
• More efficient fulfillment – By encouraging bundled purchases, BOGO promotions consolidate shipments and reduce per-order handling costs. For ops teams, this means fewer pick lists, more streamlined packing, and lower last-mile overhead.

BOGO best practices: How to build high-performing bundle promotions?

• ‍Define conditions precisely – Make the rules crystal clear: which items are eligible, what the reward is, and what restrictions apply (e.g. stock limits, channels, timeframes). For added control, use cart validation rules like minimum order value or customer segment to protect margin and reduce abuse.‍
• Match the offer to buyer intent – BOGO works best when it feels relevant. Use behavioral or purchase data to pair primary products with logical add-ons. Think: guitar + picks, not guitar + drumsticks. Relevance drives conversions and post-purchase satisfaction.‍
• Run the math before launch – Model the cost of each BOGO format against expected AOV, margin, and conversion lift. If your free item has low COGS but high perceived value, you're likely in the green.‍
• Use urgency as a multiplier – Limited-time BOGO offers outperform open-ended ones. Tie them to a holiday, flash event, or campaign cycle. Add countdown timers, usage caps, or exclusivity to push action and improve CTR.‍
• Test multiple BOGO variants – “Buy One, Get One Free” is just the starting point. Try “Buy One, Get One 50% Off” or “Buy 3, Get 1 Free”, then monitor redemptions, basket size, and lift. Use experimentation tools to kill underperformers fast.‍
• Integrate promotion messaging across the funnel – Visibility drives results. Surface the BOGO offer early, on product detail pages, cart previews, banners, and checkout flows. Reinforce via email, push, SMS, and in-app messages. Don’t assume users will just “find it.”

How to create BOGO promotions in Voucherify? 

If you're looking for an easy way to set up Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) promotions or bundle discounts that drive conversions, Voucherify is your go-to solution.

Popular BOGO campaign structures in Voucherify

‍Pro tip: To protect your budget and ensure fair redemptions, Voucherify lets you apply granular validation rules to every buy-one-get-one campaign. You can cap redemptions per day, per customer, or by total order value, helping you stay in control of your promo performance and marketing spend.

Summary

BOGO promotions are all about creating high-perceived-value moments that keep customers engaged. When structured with intent, BOGO becomes a strategic tool to drive repeat purchases, increase share of wallet, and build customer loyalty without undercutting your brand.

With Voucherify, you can build rule-based BOGO campaigns that integrate directly with your stack, personalize offers using first-party data, and combine them with loyalty programs, referrals, or tier-based rewards, all without waiting on engineering.