BOGO (Buy One, Get One) promotions are among the most effective tactics for increasing purchase volume, moving inventory, and capturing customer attention. But if not set up correctly, they can cause confusion, hurt your margins, or even frustrate the shopping experience.
In this article, we review the most frequent mistakes when creating BOGO promotions in Shopify stores and how to avoid them using a solution like Planet.
Also offering bundles? Don’t miss our article on Common Bundle Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.
With Planet, you can launch BOGO promotions without the hassle: clear offers, maximum visibility, and advanced personalization, all from within Shopify.
1. Not making the benefit clear
One of the most common mistakes in BOGO promotions is failing to clearly explain the benefit. Customers are left wondering:
Is the second product free? Is it the same as the first one? Can I choose a different item? What products does this apply to?
When the message is unclear, the customer hesitates, gets distracted… and abandons the cart.
How to avoid it:
Use a clear, direct message: “Buy 1, get the second free” or “Buy 2, pay for 1 (only on selected items).”
With Planet, you can customize this message and display it exactly where your customer needs to see it.
2. Not limiting the promotion by units or applications
A very common issue in BOGO promotions is failing to define how many times the offer can be applied. Without limits, you could end up with oversized orders, e.g., a customer adds 10 items and gets 10 more free, when your goal was to give away just one.
This can severely impact margins and cause operational headaches.
How to avoid it:
Set clear conditions like “Buy 2, get 1” or limit the offer to one application per order.
Planet lets you control how many units trigger the benefit and whether it can repeat.
3. Choosing the wrong products
BOGO can seem attractive in any context, but choosing the wrong products can be costly. Including low-margin, limited-stock, or slow-moving products can create stockouts, devalue the offer, or erode profit.
Also, if customers feel like you're giving away what's not selling, the incentive loses strength.
How to avoid it:
Choose products with good turnover and healthy margins.
Planet allows you to apply the promotion only to selected items, collections, or variants.
4. Not displaying the promotion in the right place
You can set up a BOGO perfectly, but if the customer doesn’t see it… It’s useless. Many stores launch attractive offers and assume customers will find them, but most need clear messaging at the decision-making moment.
If the benefit isn’t shown on the product page or in the cart, customers may miss it or be confused, reducing conversion.
How to avoid it:
Increase visibility where it matters most: product page, cart, or banners.
Planet lets you show the message in all these places without touching code.
5. Misaligning BOGO with business goals
Sometimes a BOGO is launched impulsively, without defining the goal:
Are you trying to clear inventory? Raise AOV? Build loyalty?
Without a clear purpose, the promotion may not make an impact or, worse, damage your margins.
How to avoid it:
Before launching a BOGO promotion, define what you want to achieve.
If you're looking to clear inventory, prioritize products with high stock and good turnover.
If your goal is to increase the average order value, choose complementary products for the “get one” offer.
With Planet, you can fine-tune every condition so the promotion aligns with your strategy, by product, threshold, market, or customer.
Create effective BOGOs with Planet
Setting up BOGO promotions with Planet not only helps you avoid common mistakes, but it also gives you full control from one place, with no need for technical work.
Key benefits include:
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Advanced conditions:
Trigger offers based on cart value, customer segment, or country.
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Personalized messages:
Show exactly what the customer needs to know in the cart or widgets.
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Visual widget with editable products
Add a widget that displays the products included in the BOGO promotion and allows the customer to change them if you wish. This makes the offer more interactive, visible, and flexible.
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Compatibility with other promos:
Combine BOGO with free gifts, quantity discounts, or progress bars without conflict. -
Currency conversion:
Show localized prices and benefits based on the customer’s currency. -
Centralized management:
Set everything up from Planet, no theme edits required. -
Shopify-native integration:
Work directly with your existing catalog and product setup.
A BOGO promotion isn’t just “buy one, get one.”
It’s a tool to boost average order value, move inventory strategically, and improve perceived value.
Ready to launch error-free BOGO promotions?
Start now with Planet and activate high-converting offers today.