Building a “buy X products and get the cheapest item for free” promotion on Shopify is an effective strategy for increasing order quantities while providing customers with clear value. This type of promotion encourages customers to add more items to their cart to qualify for the discount, boosting average order value while automatically applying the discount to the lowest-priced qualifying item.

Creating this promotion on Shopify requires intelligent product recognition and automatic price calculation to identify and discount the cheapest item when customers reach the specified quantity threshold. This complex functionality cannot be achieved with Shopify’s native discount features and requires either custom coding or specialized third-party apps. BOGOS is currently the only Shopify promotion app that offers this advanced “cheapest item free” feature.

This guide will show you how to set up “buy X get cheapest free” promotions using BOGOS, covering quantity threshold configuration, automatic cheapest item detection, and creating compelling promotional presentations that drive customers to increase their purchase quantities for maximum savings.

Overview of BOGOS Shopify promotion app

BOGOS Shopify app (formerly Free Gifts by Secomapp) is a comprehensive, all-in-one promotion platform built to help merchants create sophisticated marketing campaigns including bundles, upsells, discounts, and free gifts. With advanced promotional logic and automation capabilities, BOGOS enables businesses to implement complex promotional strategies that would otherwise require custom development or multiple separate tools.

Designed for scalability and ease of use, BOGOS works seamlessly across all Shopify plans and provides intelligent product recognition, real-time price calculations, and flexible campaign management. It offers deep customization for promotional rules, customer targeting, and brand presentation—so merchants can tailor every promotional interaction. The app’s powerful backend systems make advanced promotional strategies accessible to merchants of all technical skill levels.

Shopify rating: 4.9/5 (2,350+)

Price: Free plan available; Premium plans from $29.99/month

Step-by-Step Guide to Set Up “Buy X Get Cheapest Free” with BOGOS

BOGOS’s “buy X get cheapest free” promotion is powered by intelligent algorithms that automatically identify qualifying products and apply discounts to the most cost-effective items. This feature includes several advanced capabilities:

• Smart product targeting: Apply discounts to all products, specific items, or entire collections/types/vendors, with options to exclude certain products.
• Customize gift selection: Choose to apply discounts to the cheapest or most expensive item.
• Flexible tier system: Add multiple tiers based on purchase quantity to reward bigger orders with bigger savings.
• Works with other discounts: Seamlessly combines with other promotions, including free shipping.

To create a “buy X get cheapest free” promotion using the BOGOS app, follow these steps:

Step 1: Install BOGOS from the Shopify app store

Step 2: Create a “buy X get cheapest free” promotion

Navigate to BOGOS admin dashboard > All Offers > Create Offer > Choose Discount Offer > Discount on cheapest / most expensive items

Step 3: Fill in the widget title & description

The widget title & description will be shown to your customers, so make sure they are clear, concise, and accurately reflect the value of your offering.

Step 4: Choose the triggered product

This is where you choose which products will trigger this promotion. BOGOS allows you to choose between these options as triggered products.

• Any Products.
• Specific products.
• Products that belong to collections/types/vendors.
• Exclude certain products.

Choose “Count unique products only” if you want the product set to include unique items only. If this box is left unticked, the promotion will still be applied when customers add the same products to their cart.

• Unique by product: Each product is counted once, even if it has multiple variants or quantities.
• Unique by variant: Each variant is counted once, even if it appears multiple times.

Step 5: Set up discounts

This is where you will set up discount conditions for the set of products you have chosen at the previous step.

To start, choose between these two options:

• Cheapest item: Discount applied for the cheapest item in the cart.
• Most expensive item: Discount applied for the most expensive item in the cart.

Finally, set up tiers: For this step, BOGOS allows you to create a tiered discount in which the more your customers buy, the bigger the rewards they will receive. You can add as many tiers as you like.

Step 6: Set up discount code & Discount combination

• Choose “Add a custom discount code” if you want to customize the BOGOS discount code as you will.
• Finally, decide if you want this discount can be combined with other discounts

Step 7: Save & test your offer

Ready to Boost Your Average Order Value?

“Buy X get cheapest free” promotions effectively increase order quantities and average order value by incentivizing customers to add more items for automatic savings. Since this requires advanced price calculation capabilities, BOGOS is the only app offering this specific promotion type with intelligent product targeting and flexible tier systems.

Start implementing quantity-based promotions today with BOGOS to encourage larger orders while maintaining healthy profit margins through strategic discount application to lower-priced items.