ShopSite offers a robust customer rewards program that can apply to just the current order, or, combined with customer registration, can span over multiple orders. The feature allows the merchant to define qualifying categories, set minimum amounts, and set up rewards categories. Rewards can range from offering a Buy One Get One (BOGO) option to buy X of product Y and choose a free gift.

Two Different Approaches

If you plan on offering a “Buy X, get one free” (BOGO) rewards program, there are two ways to go about setting this up in ShopSite. Although the two methods are similar, there is a fundamental difference in terms of customer action.

Buy X, Get One Free

With this traditional rewards program, the customer will be required to take an additional action to activate the reward. If the promotion is “Buy 2, get 1 free“, the average customer will add 2 of the product to the cart. ShopSite will recognize they qualified for a reward, and will display a reward link/text that the customer will have to click on to add the free item to the cart. This requires customer action to claim the free item.

This type of reward program can be useful for many merchants who may want to limit the number of customers that actually take the extra step to add the free item. This is similar to a mail-in rebate program, where a large percentage of customers will not take the time or extra effort to send in the rebate. Some customers may not add the free product.

Buy Y for the Price of X

By simply changing the wording of the reward program, you can offer the same “Buy 2 get 1 free” promotion with “Buy 3 for the price of 2“. In this setup, the customer will add 3 items to the cart, ShopSite will recognize the reward qualification, and automatically make the third product free. There is no need for the customer to take any further action.

This type of reward program is quite simple for the customer to understand, will result in less confusion, but of course any customer who adds the Y number of items will automatically get the free one.

Which One to Choose?

If you’re looking for a simple, no hassle rewards program for your customers, using the “Buy Y for the price of X” program will result in the free product being automatically included in the cart. Customers will appreciate it, and there will not be any angry emails about the missing free item they should have received.

On the other hand, if you are looking for the customer to take an action to claim the reward in order to limit the number of free items that are actually “sold”, then the “Buy X, get one free” program is the way to go. Of course, doing a few A/B split tests with both programs might help determine which rewards system will work best for your store.

Whatever method you ultimately decide on, make sure the rules for the program are clear to the customer, so there is no confusion up front about what is being offered as a special. Some merchants will have a “Specials” page that detail programs such as these, where others will include the offer on the product detail page:

Buy 3 Get 1 Free

With ShopSite’s flexible customer rewards program, merchants have a number of options to offer their customers. Rewards programs can be a boost to sales, especially with regards to quantity purchased, as customers will want to qualify for the free item. Leveraged correctly, they can drive sales and profits for lagging items better than just dropping the price.

Have other creative ideas for ShopSite’s rewards program? Share them below.