Shopify Buy X Get Y Not Working? Troubleshooting tips


Buy X get Y is a type of Shopify free gift with a purchase in which you offer a promotion when a customer makes a purchase on a specific product. This is a very popular strategy for Shopify merchants to boost sales and increase customer engagement. You can use Shopify’s internal features or a third-party app to set up this promotion.

Nonetheless, sometimes you may encounter the problem of Shopify buy X get Y not working correctly. What are the main reasons, and how can you solve them for a smooth-running campaign?

This article helps you identify common errors that can cause your promotion to fail and how to address them. Dive in to learn about this issue to maintain effective marketing campaigns.

1. Common Issues With Shopify Buy X Get Y Not Working and How To Solve Them

Here are the most common issues you will discover when the Buy X get Y promotion is not working:

Incorrect discount configuration

Problem:

You are likely misconfigured or forgot to fill in one to several steps during the promotion setup.

For example, the “Buy X”/“Get Y” conditions or minimum purchase requirements could be incorrect. If one of these configurations is not properly set up, your deal might malfunction at checkout.

Solution:

Incorrect product configuration
Incorrect product configuration

Navigate Discounts in your Shopify admin dashboard. Make sure you choose Buy X, get Y.

Review the following configurations to see whether they match your needs:

  • The “Buy X” condition has the correct number for specific products or collections (e.g., buy 3).
  • The “Get Y” condition has the correct number for specific products or collections (e.g., get 1).
  • The discount amount and application: a fixed amount, free product, or percentage discount? (e.g., 35% off for the Y product).

Product eligibility problems

Problem:

Sometimes, you may select the wrong products to be eligible for this buy X get Y discount. This is a part of the misconfiguration issue, but it happens often, so brand owners should pay more attention to it.

Setting up the correct goods ensures customers can successfully apply your discount. 

Solution:

  • Ensure the “Y” products are in stock and available during the campaign.
  • Verify that the discount conditions for the items in the “X” and “Y” categories or collections are correct.

Conflict with other discounts

Problem:

One of the main issues for Shopify buy X get Y not working is discount incompatibility. Shopify may prioritize one promotion over another, resulting in them overriding each other.

If you plan to run multiple offers simultaneously, ensure they do not conflict.

Solution:

Conflict with other discounts
Conflict with other discounts

Navigate Discounts in your Shopify admin dashboard.

  • Check your list of active discounts on the platform.
  • Disable other ongoing promotions to test whether “Buy X, get Y” runs normally.

Theme compatibility issues

Problem:

Although Shopify offers a wide range of themes for online stores, many merchants choose custom options.

However, your promotion may not be compatible with such themes, causing the discount not to work.

Solution:

Theme compatibility issues

Navigate Sales channels > Online store > Themes in your Shopify admin dashboard.

  • Remove any current custom theme from the Theme library.
  • Add your own new theme or choose from popular choices in the Theme store.
  • Test if the promotion operates appropriately.

Checkout script errors

Problem:

Although it is less common for Shopify buy X get Y to not work, your checkout script might be a potential problem.

Several script errors are related to syntax or logic; sometimes, they conflict with other scripts or discounts.

Solution:

Navigate Apps > Script editor in your dashboard.

  • Create a new script by clicking Create script > Line items > Blank template.
  • Copy the current script and paste it into the editor.
  • Replace ‘product_x_id’ and ‘product_y_id’ with the actual product IDs.
  • Test if the promotion operates appropriately.

Inventory synchronization issues

Problem:

The Buy X get Y offer needs to sync in real-time with your inventory. This ensures a sufficient stock of discounted or free items.

If they happen to mismatch, there will not be enough goods for your sales campaign. Your promotion’s failure is probably due to this insufficiency.

Solution:

Inventory synchronization issues
Inventory synchronization issues
  • Navigate Products > Inventory in your dashboard. Review your inventory levels of promotional products.
  • Use third-party apps integrated with an inventory management system to automate the process.

2. How To Ensure “Buy X, Get Y” Discounts Work Smoothly

A malfunctioning promotion can cause merchants a lot of problems during the campaign. To avoid sales loss and customer dissatisfaction, try this advice to ensure the Buy X get Y discount works smoothly.

Regular testing and monitoring

The best solution to deal with Shopify buy X get Y not working is to maintain regular testing and monitoring. Keep a close watch on how the promotion performs to address unwanted issues timely.

Ideally, you should periodically test the deal yourself. Try going through the whole purchase purchase to identify any problems.

Also, remember the discount’s compatibility on different browsers and devices. Switch between a laptop, a smartphone, etc., to check whether your promotion runs appropriately.

Another thing is to monitor customer feedback. Pay attention to their comments and inquiries related to your promotion, as they can help you identify errors quickly.

Utilizing Shopify apps for advanced features

As you can see, using Shopify’s native features causes several problems, such as conflict with other discounts, theme incompatibility, and inventory synchronization issues.

This is because Shopify does not enable business owners to create complex discounts. Thus, an external app will help you generate appealing deals without these errors.

BOGOS Free Gift is a widely trusted buy X get Y Shopify app that allows you to create discount deals and free gifts. It is designed to help merchants set up enticing promotions that increase their store revenue and enhance customer experience.

BOGOS has some highlight features that can do merchants a great favor:

  • Create and run multiple offers simultaneously: buy one, get one, tiered value offers, gift with purchase, and free or discounted gifts.
  • Reward unique gifts for specific customer segments to gain better retention and satisfaction.
  • Built-in integrations for cart drawers, translate apps, themes, subscriptions, and more.

Shopify rating: 4.9/5

Customer support: Documentation, FAQs, live chat, email, video call

Pricing: $23.99 – $79.99 per month

BOGOS Shopify free gift app
BOGOS Shopify free gift app

3. Conclusion

It is entirely normal to encounter Shopify buy X get Y not working during promotional campaigns. The important thing is to detect the issues and follow our advice to resolve them.

Addressing such problems and adequately configuring the promotion settings can make your Buy X get Y offer much more effective.

Note that merchants can solve several issues using Shopify’s built-in tools, but others require more complex configurations. That is when you need help from an advanced platform like BOGOS to elevate the game.

Also, monitor and test your offers regularly. This will help minimize the risks of promotional malfunctioning.