The holiday shopping season is fast approaching, and if you’re running a WooCommerce store, you know what that means—it’s time to get those Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts ready! But which discount strategies should you use to maximize sales?
Below, we’re breaking down our top discount strategies, explaining why each one works, giving you real-world examples, and showing you how to configure them for your WooCommerce store.
Cart Based Discounts
Cart-based discounts are very effective for increasing your average order value (AOV). By rewarding customers who spend more, you incentivize larger purchases and reduce cart abandonment. A good example of this would be offering $20 off for orders over $100. It’s a simple psychological trigger—customers often add a few extra items to their cart just to reach that discount threshold.
Best Buy uses cart-based discounts during the holiday season by offering “$50 off when you spend $300 or more on electronics.” This strategy encourages customers to buy high-ticket items like laptops, tablets, or multiple accessories to qualify for the discount, driving up total order values.
How To Configure It:
- From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the Coupons option in the marketing menu.
- Create a new coupon and set the type of discount to be offered and the amount.
- Go to the usage restrictions tab to set a minimum spend amount (e.g., $200).
- Set conditions such as excluding certain products or allowing multiple coupons to be used together.
Quantity-Based Discounts
Quantity-based discounts are great for clearing out inventory and encouraging bigger purchases. This strategy works well for products like cosmetics, supplements, or items customers like to stock up on.
For example, Lush Cosmetics, known for its fresh handmade products, frequently offers deals like “Buy 3 Bath Bombs, Get 1 Free.” This encourages customers to try out different varieties and purchase in larger quantities, ultimately increasing the average order value.
How To Configure It:
- Install the Quantity Based Discounts and Pricing for WooCommerce extension on your site and activate the plugin.
- Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Quantity Based Discounts
- Next, go to the Product Discount Rules tab and set the quantity requirements and discount rules.
- Select which products or product categories will be affected by the new discount.
- Finally, enable the toggle to activate the rule. When your sale is over, simply disable the rule using the toggle.
Free Shipping Discounts
Free shipping is one of the most powerful motivators for online shoppers. By eliminating shipping costs, you remove a common barrier to completing a purchase. It’s especially effective during Black Friday and Cyber Monday when customers expect amazing deals and offers.
Amazon is the king of free shipping offers. They use free shipping to incentivize customers to become Prime members. During major sales like Black Friday, Amazon offers free shipping on most items, even for non-Prime members. This tactic not only boosts sales during these events but also serves as a teaser to show how valuable a Prime membership could be for regular shoppers.
How To Configure It:
- Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping
- Next, select the shipping zone for which you want to offer free shipping.
- Click on “Add shipping method” and select “free shipping”.
- Next, a “free shipping required” dropdown will appear on your screen. Select the “minimum order amount” option to set the required amount.
Buy One Get One Free
BOGO deals are a classic marketing tactic, often used to clear out excess inventory or encourage customers to try new products. The psychology here is simple: people love getting something for free, and the perceived value increases significantly. This strategy is ideal for consumables or products with a relatively low cost-per-unit.
Old Navy frequently runs BOGO deals during Black Friday and other major sales. For example, they might offer “Buy One, Get One Free on all jeans.” This not only moves more inventory but also encourages customers to buy in bulk.
How To Configure It:
- To set up this type of promotion you will need to get the “Buy One Get One Free for WooCommerce” extension.
- Next, go to WooCommerce > Buy One Get One > Add new.
- Select the “Get the cheapest option for free” promotion type.
- Select the quantity of products the customer must buy. For traditional BOGO promotion, select 2. However, you can also configure it as a 3×2 deal or other variations.
- Select what products or product categories you want to apply for the promotion.
- There’s a schedule setting to configure the dates you want the promotion to be active. In this case, it could be Black Friday weekend.
Bundles
With product bundles, you encourage customers to buy complementary products at a slightly lower combined price. This strategy works well for items that naturally pair together—think electronics and accessories or skincare sets. By offering bundles, you increase the perceived value while also increasing the average order value.
One great example of this is Apple’s “Back to School” promotion bundles MacBooks with free AirPods, encouraging students to purchase high-ticket items during a promotional period.
How to Configure It:
For this type of discount, you’ll need a WooCommerce extension that allows you to create product bundles; in this case, we’ll use the WooCommerce Product Bundles plugin.
- The first step is to install and activate the plugin.
- Next, go to “Products” > Add New.
- In the Products Data panel box, select “Bundled Product” from the Product Type drop-down menu.
- Next, click on the Bundled Products tab and add the products you want to include.
- If your bundle includes only one item of each product, make sure you set the default, minimum, and maximum quantity to 1 for each product. Otherwise, you can set the quantity options for each item directly from this section.
- If you want to configure a customizable bundle, check the “priced individually” box. This will allow you to set a discount rate that will be applied to each item when added to the bundle. You’ll also need to enable the “optional” setting so customers can choose whether to include it.
Percentage Discount
This is the simplest type of discount, but don’t underestimate its power. A straightforward “20% off everything” approach creates a sense of urgency and gets people to act quickly. It’s particularly effective for large sales events like Black Friday, where simplicity and speed are essential. For example, GAP has run 40% off storewide sales, drawing huge crowds during the holiday season.
How to configure it:
- To get started you’ll need to enable the coupons feature, to create a coupon for your discount. Navigate to: WooCommerce > Settings > General > Enable coupons.
- Next, go to Marketing > Coupons and add a new coupon
- Give your coupon a name, and select the “percentage discount” option.
- Set the coupon percentage amount (e.g., 20% off) and an expiry date.
- Go to the usage restrictions tab to set any rules for your coupon, for example, if you want to exclude certain categories or specific products from your sale.
Discount A Specific Category
Discounting specific categories helps you strategically push items you want to move quickly, such as seasonal or last-season products. It also lets you avoid diluting the perceived value of your flagship products. For example, Nike often discounts specific categories like “Running Shoes” during end-of-season sales.
Another example is Target. This retailer offers category-specific discounts like “20% off all kitchen appliances” during Black Friday, allowing them to compete with niche retailers specializing in the same category.
How to configure it:
- To configure this one, follow the same steps as in the section above for the percentage discount.
- Go to the usage restrictions tab and select the specific category to which the discount will be applied from the corresponding field.
- If necessary, exclude any specific products from the sale.
Conditional Discounts or Dynamic Pricing
Conditional discounts allow you to offer tailored deals based on customer behavior. You can set conditions like offering discounts only to repeat customers, giving percentage-off discounts for purchases over a certain amount, or offering a discount if a customer adds specific items to their cart.
Starbucks uses conditional discounts regularly, like “Buy 2 drinks before 2 p.m., get 50% off your third drink after 5 p.m.” These offers encourage repeat purchases on the same day and increase overall store visits. During Black Friday, we frequently see stores offering different discounts at different times of their sale event. For example, 50% off until midnight, 40% off from midnight to 5 am, and 30% for the rest of the weekend. This creates a sense of urgency, motivating customers to shop quickly to secure the best deal.
You can also create combined strategies, for example, offering a special offer when buying one piece of a product, allowing you to get a second one at 50%.
How to Configure It:
For this scenario, you can use a plugin like WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing to set conditions based on various rules, such as cart total, product combinations, or purchase history. The best part about this tool is that it enables you to set different rules based on your promotional strategy.
Spin the wheel discount codes
Gamification can turn a regular discount into something fun and interactive. Spin-the-wheel discount codes create excitement and can lead to higher engagement rates. Customers feel like they’ve “won” something, which increases the likelihood that they’ll use the code they receive.
Many eCommerce stores use gamified discounts during holiday sales events. One popular brand that has hosted spin-the-wheel promotions is The Body Shop, where customers could win various discounts or other prices. This strategy adds a layer of excitement, making the shopping experience memorable.
How to Configure It:
For this case, you can use a WooCommerce extension like WooCommerce Spin Wheel or WooCommerce Lucky Wheel. Then, just customize the wheel with different discount options (e.g., 5%, 10%, 15% off). Set it to appear as a pop-up on specific pages or when a user is about to exit.
Free Gift With Purchase
Who doesn’t like freebies? Offering a free gift encourages more purchases, especially if the gift complements the item being bought. This strategy is perfect for promoting new products or clearing old stock.
For example, Estée Lauder often runs promotions like “Free gift set with any $75 purchase.” They offer a selection of small-size skincare and makeup products as gifts, which costs them relatively little but has a high perceived value for the customer. This tactic is particularly effective in the beauty industry, where customers are willing to spend more to get a curated set of products.
How to configure it:
To set this up, we recommend using a plugin that supports the gifting functionality. There are many options out there, but a popular solution is the Free Gifts WooCommerce Extension.
WooCommerce Discounts For The Holidays!
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge opportunities for WooCommerce store owners to boost sales and attract new customers. By implementing strategic discounts, whether through percentage-based deals, flash sales, or exclusive bundles, you can create a sense of urgency and excitement that drives conversions. Remember to plan your promotions in advance, test your configurations, and ensure your site is optimized for a surge in traffic. With the right combination of discount strategies and WooCommerce settings, you’ll be well on your way to a successful holiday sales season.
Need help setting up your discounts or optimizing your store for the holidays? Our WooCommerce development team is here to assist! From advanced discount configurations to performance optimization, we’ll ensure your site is ready to handle the busiest shopping days of the year. Reach out today to get started.