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BOGO Promotions
BOGO stands for "Buy One Get One" - the classic retail offer where buying a certain quantity of one product earns another item free or at a discount. Examples:
- Buy 2 cans of soda, get 1 free.
- Buy 3 t-shirts, the cheapest is free.
- Buy 1 pizza, get a drink at 50% off.
- Buy any 2 shirts, get any tie free.
- Buy 1 large coffee, get 1 small coffee free.
Before creating a BOGO, make sure the promotions module is enabled. See Promotions for how to turn it on.
Setting up a BOGO
Go to Promotions > + New Promotion.
On step 1, pick BOGO.
On step 2, fill in:
What customers must buy (the "trigger")
- Choose Products (specific items) or Categories (any item in a category).
- Click the item area to open the picker, search, and select. For products with variants, expand the product row to pick all variants at once or individual sizes and colours.
- Enter how many they must buy (for example, 2).
What customers get (the "reward")
- Choose Products, Categories, or Same items (for "buy 3, cheapest is free" patterns).
- Select the reward items the same way as the trigger. When Same items is selected and the trigger covers multiple products, variants, or a category, a note appears: "The cheapest item they buy from this group gets the discount." For a single plain product with no variants, the rule still applies; no note is shown because there is no ambiguity.
- Enter how many discounted items they get (for example, 1).
- Set the discount: 100% means free, 50% means half-price, or any value from 1 to 100. Use the preset buttons for common values.
Maximum applications per cart
- How many times this deal applies in one transaction. Default is 1.
- Set higher for repeat rewards (for example, set to 3 so a customer can get three free sodas when buying six).
The live preview banner at the top of the step reads the offer in plain English as you fill it in. Use it to check the setup before moving on.
On the final step, set exclusions if needed, then save as Draft and click Activate.
Cheapest-is-free rule
INFO
When the reward could be any of several items, the cheapest item in the group gets the discount. This is standard retail practice - it prevents customers from claiming the most expensive item as free and ensures the deal works as intended.
For example, with "Buy 3 t-shirts, cheapest is free": a cart with a $20, $15, and $10 t-shirt gives the $10 shirt for free.
Targeting specific variants
You can target individual product variants, not just whole products. When picking trigger or reward items, expand a product row in the picker to see its variants listed separately. Check only the specific variants you want (for example, "Large Soda" and "Medium Soda" but not "Small Soda").
Selecting the product row itself without expanding matches all variants of that product, including any added in the future.
This also applies to exclusions on the final wizard step - you can exclude a specific variant (for example, exclude "Extra Large" from a BOGO) while letting all other sizes participate.
Weight and volume products
WARNING
BOGO counts whole units only. 2.5 kg in the cart counts as 2 units; 0.5 kg counts as 0. This means a customer must have at least 1 full kg (or litre, or metre) to meet a buy quantity of 1.
The wizard shows a note when you select a weight or volume product so you know what to expect.
The BOGO hint at the checkout
If a customer has the required items in their cart but has not added the reward item yet, the promotions panel above the cart total shows a hint in indigo:
- "Add the free item to complete this offer" (when the reward is 100% off)
- "Add the discounted item to complete this offer" (for partial discounts)
Adding the reward item immediately applies the deal. This hint only appears when the customer has bought enough of the required items. A cart that does not have those items yet will not show it.
Examples
Example 1 - Soda BOGO
Trigger: Coca-Cola can, qty 2. Reward: Same items, qty 1, 100% off.
A cart with 3 cans gives 1 free. With maximum applications set to 1, buying 6 cans still gives only 1 free. Set maximum to 3 to give 3 free cans for every 6 bought.
Example 2 - Buy a pizza, get a half-price drink
Trigger: Pizza category, qty 1. Reward: Drinks category, qty 1, 50% off.
A cart with 1 pizza and 1 drink gives the drink at half price. Setting maximum to 2 gives two half-price drinks (with 1 pizza in the cart).
Example 3 - Buy 3 t-shirts, cheapest free
Trigger: T-shirts category, qty 3. Reward: Same items, qty 1, 100% off.
A cart with $20, $15, and $10 t-shirts gives the $10 shirt for free.
Example 4 - Large coffee variant only
Trigger: Products, expand "Coffee", select the "Large Coffee" variant, qty 1. Reward: Products, expand "Coffee", select the "Small Coffee" variant, qty 1, 100% off.
Buying a large coffee earns a free small coffee. Medium and regular coffees are not part of this deal.
FAQ
Q: A customer added all the required items but no BOGO applied. Why?
A: Check:
- The promotion is Active and within its date and time window.
- The products are not on the exclusion list and not marked "Promotion eligible: off".
- The minimum basket (if set) is met.
- The reward item is also in the cart - having only the trigger items is not enough.
If the customer has the required items but the reward item is not yet in the cart, the promotions panel shows an indigo hint telling you which item to add.
Q: My BOGO and another promotion are both running. Which one wins?
A: The one that saves the customer more money. The system simulates both and picks the better outcome. If you specifically want them to combine, mark both as Stackable on the final wizard step.
Q: The customer bought 6 sodas. I expected 2 free but only 1 was free.
A: The default Maximum applications per cart is 1, so the deal applies once. Edit the promotion and raise this number to allow repeats.
Q: Can the trigger and reward be different products?
A: Yes. That is the classic "buy a pizza, get a drink free" pattern. Set the trigger to one product or category and the reward to another.
Q: The customer has 3 t-shirts. I expected the $20 one to be free but the $10 one was. Why?
A: The cheapest item in the group is always the one that gets the discount. This is standard retail practice and prevents gaming the deal.
Q: Can I make the reward a percentage off instead of completely free?
A: Yes. The Discount field accepts 1 to 100. Use 50 for half-price, 25 for a quarter off, and so on. The "Free" preset button sets it to 100.
Q: Can I target just one size or variant of a product?
A: Yes. In the item picker, expand the product row to reveal its variants and check only the ones you want. For example, "Large Soda" only - medium and small sizes are excluded from the deal.
Q: What is the difference between selecting a product row and selecting individual variants?
A: Selecting the product row (without expanding) matches all current and future variants of that product. Selecting individual variants matches only those specific variants. You can mix them: expand a product and check some variants to include only those, leaving others out.
Q: I have 2.5 kg of flour in the cart but the BOGO did not apply.
A: BOGO counts whole units only. 2.5 kg floors to 2 units, not 3. If your buy quantity is 3, the customer needs at least 3.0 kg to qualify. The wizard shows this note when you select a weight-based product.
Q: I want a "buy any 5, get 1 free" deal across the whole store. Is that possible?
A: Yes. Under Customer buys, choose Categories and add all your product categories, then set the quantity to 5. Under Customer gets, choose Same items, set the quantity to 1, and set the discount to 100%.
Q: What happens if a unit could be both a trigger and a reward when not using Same items?
A: Any item counted toward the purchase requirement cannot also be the discounted item. Each item plays one role only.
Q: Can I exclude a specific variant from a BOGO?
A: Yes. On the final wizard step, open the product exclusions picker, expand the product row, and check the specific variant to exclude. The rest of that product's variants still participate.
Q: The promotions panel shows an indigo hint but no discount was applied. Why?
A: The indigo hint means you have the required items but the reward item is not in the cart yet. Add the reward product and the discount applies automatically.