BOGO
Buy One Get One - promotional offer providing a free or discounted additional item.
1 min readLast updated Apr 2026
Reviewed by Golden Digital·Operator-reviewed ecommerce reference
Quick Reference
CategoryPricing & Promotions
Related Terms1
Buy One Get One - promotional offer providing a free or discounted additional item.
Why It Matters
BOGO offers feel like higher value than equivalent percentage discounts. 'Buy One Get One Free' (50% off) outperforms '50% off' in testing because customers focus on 'free.' BOGO also doubles units sold, which is valuable for building habits with consumables.
Practical Example
Scenario
A candle brand runs BOGO 50% on their $35 candles during holiday season.
Calculation
Regular month: 400 units × $35 = $14,000. BOGO month: 650 pairs × 2 × $35 × 0.75 = $34,125 (average effective price $26.25)Result
Revenue increases 144% while moving 2.4x inventory. Margin compression (25%) is offset by volume and inventory clearance.
Pro Tips
- 1BOGO Free on lower-priced items limits discount exposure
- 2Require second item to be equal or lesser value to protect margin
- 3Use BOGO to introduce customers to new products (free item is new SKU)
- 4Stack BOGO with threshold for AOV protection ('BOGO on orders over $75')
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Letting customers BOGO your highest-margin hero products
Not limiting BOGO quantity (customer buys 10, gets 10 free)
Running BOGO too frequently—trains customers to wait for it