“Buy one, get one free” is one of the easiest offers for shoppers to understand. On Shopify, BOGO and its variations fall under Buy X Get Y.
Common Buy X Get Y offers
- BOGO: buy 1, get 1 free
- Buy 2, get 1 free
- Buy 1, get 1 at 50% off
- Buy 3, get the cheapest free
- Buy from collection A, get an item from collection B free
Shopify’s built-in Buy X Get Y discount
In Discounts → Create discount → Buy X get Y, you can set what the customer buys, what they get, and the discount on it. It can run automatically or as a code.
It has two gaps:
- Shoppers don’t see it. Nothing in the cart says “Add 1 more to get one free.” Unless you promote it elsewhere, people miss it.
- The free item isn’t added. The shopper has to add the “Y” item themselves. If they don’t, they don’t get it.
Make the offer visible
The fix is a message in the cart and on product pages that tracks the offer:
- Before: “Add 1 more tee to get one free.”
- After: “Your free tee is applied at checkout.”
A progress bar based on item count does exactly this. In Kai, a quantity goal with a Buy X Get Y reward shows the count left and applies the discount automatically.
Set up BOGO with Kai
- Create a campaign with a quantity goal (for example, 2 items).
- Choose Buy X Get Y as the reward and set what’s free or discounted.
- Limit it to products or collections if the offer covers only part of your catalog.
- Write the messages and choose where the bar shows.
- Publish. It runs as a Shopify automatic discount — no code.
For “buy 3, get the cheapest free,” use Kai’s cheapest-item-from-a-collection reward.
BOGO or a tiered discount?
| Use BOGO when… | Use tiered discounts when… |
|---|---|
| Products are similar in price | Prices vary a lot |
| You want to move a specific product | You want a bigger cart across the whole store |
| The offer is short and simple | You want several goals to keep shoppers adding |
You can also combine them: one tier for free shipping, the next for Buy X Get Y.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify support BOGO natively?
Yes. Shopify's Buy X Get Y automatic discount handles BOGO and similar offers, but the shopper has to add the qualifying items themselves and isn't shown how close they are.
What's the difference between BOGO and Buy X Get Y?
BOGO (buy one, get one) is a type of Buy X Get Y where X and Y are one item each. Buy X Get Y also covers offers like buy 2 get 1 free, or buy 3 get 50% off the cheapest.
Can I make the cheapest item in the cart free?
Yes. Kai can give the lowest-priced item from a collection for free — a common way to run “buy 3, get the cheapest free.”
Which Kai plan includes BOGO?
BOGO / Buy X Get Y is included on every Kai plan, starting with Basic at $5.99 a month.