By Visibility Design / In Packaging Design, GWP / On 25 Nov 2020
Gift-with-purchase is a common sales tactic used by brands to entice buyers to purchase their products. Generally, the gift is exclusive and limited, offered only during the promotion for a limited period or “while stocks last.” This creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity of the special offer, while instilling ‘fear-of-missing-out’ or also known as FOMO.
I remember my first toy from the cereal box, it was a diecast toy car, and it made me want to eat more to get to the next toy. Since then, I’ve always had good experiences with gifts with purchases, even if they are mystery gifts that surprise me.
Benefits of Gift-With-Purchase
1. Boost sales
Customers feel more value in their purchase, and getting that cooler bag with the purchase can quickly “seal the deal.” We all want to make better economic decisions, more so during times when the economy is looking gloomy.
If the gift is attractive, like an exciting toy that the kid wants to own, this can trigger the micro-moments for impulse buying.
2. Upsell
If customers generally buy 1 unit of your product, providing a unique mug for a twin-pack can encourage them to buy 2. Bundling for lower-valued products allows the brand to give a high-valued gift while increasing the sales quantum.
3. Adds brand value
Instead of giving discounts, which may lower your products’ worth, a gift-with-purchase provides better value for money, while a gift adds perceived value.
For luxury brands, it is essential not to give deep discounts to attract sales. This will be deemed as they have “cheapened” their brand while having a gift-with-purchase to entice sales works on the contrary and increases the brand value instead.
4. Helps with branding
Giving out that free Milo mug with a big Milo logo can also help with branding and build brand loyalty. A valuable and useful gift-with-purchase can enhance your brand experience, and they will likely respond with loyalty.
Many companies have used gift-with-purchase to some extent and have seen results. However, most gift-with-purchase promotions are just one-off and do not encourage the customer to look forward to buying more. Thus, marketers have come up with gift-with-purchase series to address this and to build stronger brand loyalty.
Gift-With-Purchase Series
Like movie trilogies, gift-with-purchase made into a series can tell a compelling story for customers to look forward to the next gift release.
Suppose your brand can create a collection of gift-with-purchase, comprising of 3 items that can work independently. If they can be combined and used together as a set, the gift-with-purchase series can encourage repeat purchase for people who want to get the collection.
An example would be McDonald’s limited edition Hello Kitty toy series, which created long queues islandwide in Singapore.
Why Is There Not Many Gift-With-Purchase Series In The Market?
Traditionally, companies do gift-with-purchases seasonally — usually done once a holiday, following a theme.
Doing a gift-with-purchase series would also mean an extended campaign, which will require continuous engagement to make it successful. Giving a good gift-with-purchase is already not easy, and having a series that can work together would make it harder.
Important Considerations
1. Pick the gifts wisely
How does the gift-with-purchases compliment your products? Is it enticing to your customers? Will your audience actually use it? Knowing your audience can help you pick better gifts.
2. Provide value
Even if it is a gift, make sure it is something of value your customers will want. For example, a packet of tissues cost next to nothing, and if you give it free with a twin pack of flu medicine, it could detract from the actual value of the product. However, if you give away a well-made travel pill container, it adds more value and can be an incentive for purchase consideration.
3. Provide utility
Make sure the gift-with-purchase is something useful. Think of relevant gifts for your product and not just be concerned with the budget. Cooler bags to go with a multipack beverage is a good start.
4. Make promotions details clear
If the products don’t come in a bundle, make sure that the gift-with-purchase and ways to redeem the gift is clear and transparent. If customers don’t know about it and find out about it later, they will not be happy.
Create a detailed list of any exclusions or exceptions, and include information on how they will receive the gift, whether they get the gift at checkout or delivered to them when products and gifts are not in sets.
5. Stock up enough gifts for the promotion
You don’t need too much stock; having limited quantities gives the customers a sense of urgency.
Even when you put the gifts as “while stocks last,” make sure that there is enough stock to last the promotion. Poor logistics and planning will tarnish the company image, and if you expect sales to increase due to gift-with-purchase, having the gifts run out before the end of the first day may make your customers frustrated.
6. Market the promotion
Many companies run gift-with-purchase without promoting the deal. So the people who are getting these gifts are already buying the products anyway.
To have the most impact, promote the gift-with-purchase like any sales or events, and share it on your social media to make sure your audience knows about it and entice them to look out for your products.
Interested to find out more, please feel free to contact us for a no obligation chat. Send us an email at email@visibility.com.sg and leave your contact information and Visibility Design will get back to you as soon as we can.