Gift with purchase (GWP)

From Learn, the They Sent It email marketing encyclopedia · First edition · Updated October 31, 2026

A gift with purchase gives a customer a free item when they make a qualifying purchase. The requirement might be any order, a minimum spend, or a specific product - or it might be bundled with a percent-off sale. Between February and October 2026, 2,187 of the 42,061 brands we follow (5.2%) put GWP phrasing in at least one subject line.^[4]

Unlike a percent-off discount, a GWP configured as one gift per order costs a flat amount: the cost of goods on the gift item plus the cost to pack and ship it. That flat cost is cheaper than a percent-off on large orders and more expensive on small ones. If the promotion gives one gift per qualifying item rather than per order, the cost grows with basket size. In the US, the FTC’s guide on free offers applies to GWP, and a brand cannot fix a deceptive free offer by calling it a “gift” instead.^[1]

Versions

Free with any order. Every qualifying order includes a free item. No minimum spend is required beyond placing an order, so there is no hidden threshold to communicate. Example: “Free hoodie with every order.”
Threshold gift. The free item unlocks at a specific spend, such as $75 or £100. The threshold encourages a larger basket; the email must state it clearly so subscribers are not surprised at checkout. Example: “Unlock a free gift with £75 spent.”
Choose-your-gift. The customer picks a gift from a small selection - typically two or three items. This adds perceived value and can surface items relevant to what the customer bought. The customer must add their chosen item to the cart; the email should tell them how.
Stacked with a discount. A GWP runs alongside a percent-off sale. The gift is an extra on top of the price cut, not a substitute for it. In the archive, 970 of the gift subjects (20.4%) also named a percent off.

What it really costs

A percent-off discount is proportional to order size: 10% off a $100 order costs $10; on a $50 order it costs $5. A GWP is different. The cost is fixed per order - the cost of goods on the gift item plus the handling cost to include it. On a large order that fixed cost is a smaller share of revenue than a percent-off would be; on a small order it is larger.

The table below is an example only, with specific numbers chosen to illustrate the crossover. Actual margins and handling costs vary by product and fulfilment setup.

Example: gift item with a $12 retail price, 50% margin (COGS $6), and $1 in extra handling. True gift cost per order: $7.

GWP cost versus 10% off, by order size (example only)
Order size	10% off (cost)	GWP cost	Cheaper option
$50 order	$5.00	$7.00	10% off is cheaper
$70 order	$7.00	$7.00	Equal
$100 order	$10.00	$7.00	GWP is cheaper
$150 order	$15.00	$7.00	GWP is cheaper

A brand comparing GWP with a percent-off should use its real COGS and handling figures. A gift item at a high margin costs much less than its retail price suggests. A low-margin item, or one that significantly increases box weight, can be more expensive per order than a comparable percent-off discount.

The word “free”: FTC and UK guidance

US: FTC 16 CFR Part 251.1

The FTC’s Guide Concerning Use of the Word “Free” is guidance on how to avoid deceptive free offers; enforcement happens under the FTC Act. It covers offers that make an item free with a purchase, which is what a GWP is. Its main points:^[1]

A real regular price. The price of the item the customer must buy should be one at which it was openly and actively sold, with substantial sales, in the same area during the preceding 30 days. For products with fluctuating prices, use the lowest price at which substantial sales occurred during that period. Introductory offers are subject to separate conditions under section 251.1(f). Raising the regular price to pay for the gift makes the offer deceptive.
No hidden recovery. The brand cannot raise the price of the required purchase, cut its quality, or reduce its quantity to fund the gift.
Terms stated upfront. Conditions must be stated clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer, right beside it - not in a footnote reached by an asterisk. The purchase requirement and any limitations belong next to the headline offer.
Frequency limits. These limits apply per product size and trade area: a free offer should not run in that area for more than six months in any 12-month period, with at least 30 days between offers, no more than three offers in 12 months, and sales of the promoted size with the free offer should not exceed 50% of all sales of that same size in that trade area during the 12-month period.
“Gift” is not a workaround. Section 251.1(i) states that substituting the word “gift”, “given without charge”, or “bonus” for “free” does not fix a deceptive offer. The substance of the offer governs, not the label.

UK: CAP Code

In the UK, non-broadcast promotions are governed by the CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority. For a promotion that requires a purchase, Rule 8.17 requires that significant conditions - including any cost to the consumer - be communicated clearly. Rule 8.17.6 says marketers should state the nature and number of available gifts where appropriate. Rule 8.19 says an item offered to a significant proportion of participants would ordinarily be described as a gift; one offered to a small minority may be a prize. It also requires a clear distinction between qualifying for a gift and an opportunity to win a prize.^[2]

This section describes the US FTC guide and the UK CAP Code for general information only and is not legal advice. Both apply only in their respective jurisdictions.

Setting it up on Shopify

Shopify’s native discount type for GWP is Buy X Get Y. As of October 2026, the path is Discounts › Create discount › Buy X get Y.^[3]

Customer buys. Set a minimum purchase amount (for a threshold gift) or a minimum quantity of items (for a product-linked gift). A threshold gift of “free gift with any order” uses a minimum quantity of 1.
Customer gets. Select the gift product and set the discount to Free (100% off). Set the maximum uses per order to 1 for a standard single-application offer. To give multiple identical gifts in one order, increase the quantity in “Customer gets” rather than raising maximum uses.
Discount code or automatic. An automatic discount applies at checkout without a code. A discount code requires the customer to enter it. With either method, the customer must add the free item to their cart manually - Shopify does not add it automatically.
Maximum uses. Discount codes support a total-use limit set at creation. Automatic discounts have no global redemption cap - instead, ensure adequate gift inventory, because the offer becomes unredeemable when the gift item sells out.

A choose-your-gift setup requires the customer to select one item from an eligible set. The email and any on-site banner should tell the customer which items qualify and how to add the gift to their cart. Automating that selection at checkout requires custom development or a third-party app.

GWP in email

State the purchase requirement in the subject line. In the archive, only 8 of 40 sample subjects named the purchase requirement in the subject at all. When the purchase condition is hidden in the body, a subscriber who opens expecting a no-strings gift and finds a purchase minimum may feel misled.
Name the gift. “Free gift” without identifying the item creates curiosity but not specificity. Naming something desirable - “free full-size serum”, “free tote” - is more persuasive and more honest about what qualifies.
Put the threshold in the subject when the gift is threshold-gated. Only 204 of 4,759 GWP emails (4.3%) did this. “Free gift with £75 spent” sets expectations before the click and reduces friction at checkout.
GWP stacked with a discount frames the send as doubly valuable. 970 of the 4,759 gift subjects (20.4%), from 457 brands, also named a percent off. They tend to follow one structure: lead with the sale, add the gift as a secondary reward. The body must deliver both elements clearly.
Tell the customer how to claim. On Shopify, the customer must add the gift item to their cart. The email should say so - ideally with a direct link to the qualifying product.

What brands send

Observed subject-line matches in the emails published brands sent to our subscriptions, February 1 to October 28, 2026. Days are Eastern Time.^[4]

2,187 brands sent 4,759 emails with GWP phrasing in the subject, 5.2% of the 42,061 brands that sent anything.
Only 204 emails (4.3% of GWP emails, from 139 brands) used explicit spend-threshold language in the subject. The purchase requirement is visible in the subject for a small minority of GWP sends.
117 emails (2.5%) were identified as automated, against 1.9% of all email in the period. Our automation label is incomplete, so this does not show how often gifts are offered in flows or campaigns.
Friday was the most common day for a GWP email.
The data covers subject lines only. Offers described only in the email body are not counted. These are counts from a subscriber who never purchases, so post-purchase GWP emails - sent only to customers who ordered - are not in the data. The period ends October 28, 2026, so the data says nothing about peak holiday GWP activity in November and December.

Brands that used GWP phrasing in a subject line, by email platform
Platform	Brands sending	Used GWP	Share
Klaviyo	34,476	2,071	6.0%
Mailchimp	4,260	43	1.0%
HubSpot	2,489	25	1.0%

The platforms serve different mixes of business (Klaviyo mostly online stores, HubSpot more often B2B companies), which may explain much of the difference. These are observed subject-line matches, not an estimate of every GWP offer sent: offers mentioned only in the email body, or worded differently, are not counted. In a hand check of 40 random matches, 38 of 40 were genuine gift-with-purchase offers; 8 of 40 named the purchase requirement in the subject.

Examples from the archive

Today only: Free hoodie with every order, MilkyMoon, March 30, 2026
Unlock a Free Gift with £75 Spent!, My Car Cleaning, March 19, 2026
Up to 65% off + 2 FREE gifts when you spend £100+, Hampton and Astley, March 29, 2026
FREE Gift With Purchase 🍒 — Labor Day Sale, Ethika, September 6, 2026
Free Limited Edition USA Hat with your order this 4th of July, Catch America, July 2, 2026

Common mistakes

Hiding the purchase requirement. A subject that says “free gift” with no qualifier, when a $60 minimum is buried in the email body, misleads subscribers who open expecting an unconditional offer.
Raising the required item’s price before the offer. The FTC guide describes this as recovering the cost of the free item through the required purchase price, which makes the offer deceptive.^[1]
Calling it a “gift” to sidestep the FTC guide. Section 251.1(i) explicitly names “gift” as a substitute word that does not fix a deceptive free offer. The substance of the offer governs, not the label.
Running it constantly. The FTC guide’s frequency limits apply per product size and trade area: no more than six months of free offers in any 12-month period, at least 30 days between offers, and no more than three in 12 months.
Choosing the wrong gift item. A low-margin or heavy gift can cost more per order than an equivalent percent-off discount. Calculate with real COGS and fulfilment costs before choosing the gift, especially for a free-with-any-order promotion.
Not telling the customer how to claim. On Shopify Buy X Get Y, the free item must be added to the cart by the customer. An email that does not say this leads to checkout confusion and abandoned carts when the discount does not appear automatically.

References

First edition, October 31, 2026, by Conner Baker. Corrections are made in place and noted here. October 31, 2026, after an independent review: withdrew the claim that this offer is mostly a campaign tactic, because the archive's automation label is incomplete. Found an error? Tell us.