If you’ve been in the e-commerce game for a while, you might be aware of the popular free+shipping offer used by many dropshippers. It was highly popular in the late-2010s.
It was a new angle at the time, and it converted really well. People mentally just don’t like paying for shipping. If something is $35 – instead of $30 and $5 for shipping – it’s probably going to convert quite a bit better. In fact, you could probably go a little above the $35 mark (with free shipping) and have it convert better than $30 + $5 shipping.
So, many brands still use free+shipping.
Giving away the target product for free can be a winning offer, so let’s look at one way to do it.
It goes like this…
Create a bundle where the target product comes as a gift.
For instance, if your audience is looking for a fitness tracker, the offer will be:
Get a fitness tracker for free (value $29), when you buy a weighing scale (value $29).
If you’re offering bundles like “Buy X and Get Y for Free,” giving the target product for free is better than the other way around.
Why?
1) The free angle is “evergreen.”
Everybody wants free stuff, and if it’s what we are looking for, it’s still better.
2) Customers don’t expect to find the product they want for free, hence, when they do they feel lucky.
Here are a couple studies that show its value:
1) A souvenir store next to a Chinese university sold 78% more “university notebook [target product] + knit cap for ¥12” bundles when the notebook was framed as a free gift.
2) People rated a promotion 20% more attractive when the main product (either a flash drive or headphones) was framed as a free gift.
Some tips to keep in mind to implement this offer
1) Play around with the bundles until you find the combination that converts best.
2) Include messaging that makes the user feel lucky they found your offer.
3) If it seems too obvious to the customer why you’re offering the product for free, the effect may weaken.
