SkinShop.ie’s 4 Secrets to Achieving €300K via Free gift with Purchase

Skinshop.ie is an Irish owned advanced skincare website, focusing on medically superior products that bring the best results for their customers. Using gift offers, SkinShop generated more than €300,000 in revenue last year. Here’s a detailed look at how SkinShop is adapting free gift with purchase (GWP) tactics in their marketing strategy with BOGOS.

SkinShop.ie website

SkinShop.ie Background

“Our goals has always been providing the best skincare options,” explains Emma Gunning, Managing Director and Co-Founder of SkinShop. “We import top-end, cosmeceutical skincare products mainly from Europe and America. So it is a premium kind of offering that brings great results.”

The company has been in the industry for 10 years, starting as an add-on business with its beauty consultation clinic. This side business took off during the 2020 pandemic, so they decided to move from WordPress and make it serious with a Shopify store. In their journey of searching for an app that could help with their business growth, they first adopted BOGOS in 2021.

"If there is one word to describe BOGOS and its team, it would be ‘reliable’. We can schedule and manage everything efficiently, and we never have to wait for help.”
skinshop.ie brand logo
Emma Gunning
Managing Director and Co-Founder

Let’s see how they utilize the free gift with purchase (GWP) strategy with BOGOS, helping them achieve an impressive €60,000 in total sales in November 2023.

1. Understanding the Psychology of Free Gift with Purchase Marketing

Here’s why the free gift with purchase marketing works so well: When someone does something nice for us, we usually want to do something nice back. It’s just how people are wired. SkinShop understands this concept, so from the start they have made gift offers a part of their marketing strategy.

But, it’s important not to see it just as a freebie. Customers can quickly tell if you’re just giving away things without genuinely adding value to their purchases. “We used to offer 15ml serum bottles of SkinCeuticals, they could be worth €7 to €8.50, so they are definitely going to be popular,” said Emma.

BOGOS Free gift offers on website

When choosing the gift for one offer, SkinShop would pick the one that complements the original products. Nevertheless, there were smaller products that Emma thought wouldn’t gain that much attention, but they still became popular among their shoppers, like wash bags or cosmetics bags. Therefore, as long as customers see the gift products providing more value to their personal lives, they will be interested in it. 

2. Always Adding Value Beyond the Product 

The free gift with purchase marketing is different from discounts or free shipping because psychologically, it adds value to the purchase instead of taking away from it. Also, when consumers know they are getting more from you, it increases the likelihood that they will convert.

“With a gift, you give something for free, but it eliminates the need to discount all of the time. It is a great strategy to utilize what you have already had on the site.”
skinshop.ie brand logo
Emma Gunning
Managing Director and Co-Founder

To bring more value to the customers, SkinShop also combines free samples with gift offers in one purchase. Spending €100 on a skincare product you never used before can be difficult, Emma explains, so customers are obsessed with samples. This strategy allows SkinShop.ie customers to experiment with a variety of products, increasing the chances of repeat purchases and strengthening their loyalty to SkinShop.

SkinShop.ie combines samples with free gift with purchase marketing offers

3. Streamlining the Process for Maximum Efficiency

SkinShop carefully plans all its gift offers and marketing strategies, deciding which product collections to highlight and which gifts to give. They then use BOGOS to schedule these offers and test things out carefully in advance without showing them to customers on the online store. This strategic approach helps them fine-tune their promotions for maximum effectiveness. “It’s really helpful when you discover an app that removes the manual work, making it easy to schedule and plan offers,” said Emma.

Emma mentioned that SkinShop experimented with two other apps, but they found them overly complicated. They were looking for a solution that wouldn’t take up too much time to set up and didn’t require constant attention to maintain. Faced with these challenges, they decided to return to BOGOS. After almost three years of using the app, the team at SkinShop is still satisfied with the user-friendly nature of BOGOS and its ability to cater to merchants’ needs.

4. Learning from the Giants

While SkinShop is growing in Ireland, the team understands the importance of continually raising their standards. They invest a lot of time working and researching to learn from major beauty retailers globally. The team will not only explore Shopify-origin stores; they will also look for anywhere the skincare and beauty markets thrive, such as in the US and the UK. Emma emphasizes, “You can find valuable tips by simply surfing their sites.”

To explore and learn from industry leaders, you use Similarweb, Semrush, or Ahrefs to gather valuable information and stay inspired by successful businesses.

What SkinShop has achieved with BOGOS

During November 2023, SkinShop created many special offers for the Black Friday Cyber Monday sales, and the revenue soared to 60,000!

Achieving the success of SkinShop is not easy, but you can start by embracing free gift with purchase marketing with BOGOS. It’s time to gear up for the upcoming Valentine’s Day sales!