The Impact of Free Gifts on Average Order Value
May 21, 2025
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In the competitive world of online retail, driving traffic to your e-commerce site is only half the battle. The real challenge lies in converting those visitors into paying customers. Whether you’re a seasoned site owner or just starting out, increasing conversions in e-commerce sites is essential for sustainable growth and profitability.
One proven strategy to encourage purchases and boost conversions is by offering free gifts. This simple yet effective tactic not only adds value to the customer’s shopping experience but also creates a sense of urgency and excitement, motivating them to complete their purchase.
In this post, we’ll explore best practices to increase conversions in e-commerce sites and review how free gifts—along with other actionable strategies—can help you turn more visitors into loyal customers and elevate your e-commerce success.
What are the most common reasons for low conversion rates?
Low conversion rates can significantly impact your e-commerce success, often stemming from avoidable issues that frustrate potential customers. Common pain points like the following can drive visitors away before they complete a purchase:
- Poor Website Design: A cluttered or outdated design can confuse visitors and make it difficult for them to navigate, leading to frustration and abandoned carts.
- Slow Loading Speed: If your site takes too long to load, potential customers will likely leave before seeing your products.
- Unclear Value Proposition: Visitors may lose interest and look elsewhere if they don’t immediately understand what makes your product or brand unique.
- Lack of Trust Signals: Without trust-building elements like customer reviews, secure payment badges, or clear return policies, shoppers may hesitate to complete their purchase.
- Complicated Checkout Process: A lengthy or confusing checkout process can deter customers from finalizing their orders.
- Insufficient Product Information: If product descriptions, images, or details are lacking, customers may feel unsure and abandon their purchase.
- No Mobile Optimization: With so many shoppers using mobile devices, a site that isn’t mobile-friendly has no chance to increase conversions in e-commerce sites.
- High Shipping Costs: Unexpected or expensive shipping fees at checkout are a major turnoff for online shoppers.
- Weak Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Vague or uninspiring CTAs can fail to guide visitors toward making a purchase.
- Lack of Personalization: Generic experiences that don’t cater to individual customer preferences can make your site feel impersonal and less engaging.
Best Practices to Increase Conversions in E-commerce Sites
In the fast-paced world of online shopping, attracting visitors to your e-commerce site is only the first step. The real magic happens when those visitors turn into loyal customers. But with so many options at their fingertips, how do you ensure your site stands out and what are the best practices to increase conversions in e-commerce website?
The answer lies in creating a seamless, engaging, and trustworthy shopping experience that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations. From recovering abandoned carts to optimizing your site for speed and mobile users, this guide uncovers the best practices to transform your e-commerce site into a conversion powerhouse.
Whether you’re a seasoned seller or just starting out, these actionable strategies will help you turn clicks into sales and increase conversions in Ecommerce site.
Let’s get started!
Encourage customers to buy: What psychological triggers encourage customers to buy?
To boost conversions on your eCommerce site, it’s essential to motivate customers to complete their purchases by leveraging trust, urgency, and value-driven incentives. Psychological triggers are particularly effective, as they tap into innate human behaviors and emotions, nudging customers toward making buying decisions.
Below, we’ll explore some of the most impactful psychological triggers that can help Increase Conversions in Ecommerce Site.
Optimize product pages
Your product pages are where the magic happens—they need to inform, engage, and persuade. Start with high-quality images and videos that showcase your product from multiple angles.
Write clear, benefit-driven descriptions that address customer pain points and highlight unique selling points. Include customer reviews and ratings to build trust, and use bold CTAs like “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” to guide users.
Don’t forget to display trust badges (e.g., secure payment icons) and shipping information to reduce hesitation.
A well-optimized product page can significantly reduce bounce rates and increase conversions.
How to optimize product pages for higher conversions?
If you run a WooCommerce store with a large product catalog, the WooCommerce product table plugin can transform how customers browse and buy. Unlike the default grid layout, this powerful plugin displays products in a clean, searchable table format, making it easier for shoppers to:
- Quickly compare multiple products side-by-side.
- Instantly filter & sort to find exactly what they need.
- Add items to the cart faster with fewer clicks.
- Shop efficiently on both desktop and mobile.
With built-in features designed to reduce friction and increase conversions, the WooCommerce product table plugin helps you create a seamless shopping experience. Below, we explore four key features that make it a must-have for WooCommerce stores.
1. Inline Add-to-Cart (Buy Directly from the Table)
No more forcing customers to visit individual product pages—the plugin lets shoppers add products to the cart directly from the table.
2. Smart Filters (Live Results with No Page Reloads)
Slow, clunky filters hurt conversions. The plugin uses instant AJAX filtering, so customers see updated results in real-time.
3. Flexible Sorting (Highlight Best-Selling or Lowest-Price Items)
Let customers reorder products based on what matters most—whether it’s price, popularity, or ratings.
By streamlining these updates, the Woocommerce product table plugin helps you maintain a professional and engaging product catalog, which is essential for building trust and encouraging purchases. This plugin makes it easy to optimize your shop page at scale and increase conversions in e-commerce sites.
WooCommerce Product Table Plugin
The easy way to enhance your WooCommerce store conversion rates
Use urgency and scarcity
Urgency and scarcity are psychological triggers that create a fear of missing out (FOMO), prompting customers to act quickly.
Use countdown timers for limited-time offers, display low-stock alerts (e.g., “Only 2 left in stock!”), or highlight exclusive deals like BOGO available only for a short period.
These tactics create a sense of immediacy, encouraging shoppers to complete their purchase before it’s too late. However, you need to use these strategies authentically to maintain trust with your audience.
How to use urgency and scarcity to boost conversions?
To increase conversions in e-commerce site by creating a sense of limited availability or time-sensitive offers, you can use Free gift for WooCommerce plugin, efficiently.
For WooCommerce users, the free gifts for WooCommerce plugin is an excellent tool to motivate shoppers to make a purchase before it’s too late. One effective way to leverage these tactics is by offering free gifts with purchases, which adds value and excitement to the shopping experience.
This plugin allows you to create customizable free gift rules, such as offering a free gift when a customer spends a certain amount, buys a specific product, or meets other conditions.
For example:
Get a free wine bottle with any purchase over $500 in Black Friday.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to applying this rule using the free gifts for WooCommerce plugin:
Install and Activate the Plugin:
- Download the ZIP file of the plugin with the license key.
- Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New, and upload the Zip file then click on Install now.
- Once installation is finished, find iThemeland tab in WordPress dashboard and go to the License tab.
- Enter the license key in the form and activate the plugin.
- Return to the iThemeland menu and click on the Free Gift option.
Create a New Free Gift Offer Rule
On the plugin main page, click on Add Rule button to create a new free gift offer.
Set the Gift Offer Rule Conditions
In the rule form, set the related fields as follows:
Set Method for Your Gift Offer
Here, you’ll define how the free gift promotion will be triggered. By selecting “Subtotal” as the method, the gift will be offered based on the total cart value before discounts or taxes.
Set the Minimum Purchase Requirement
Under Quantities & Settings, enter 500 in the Subtotal Amount field to set the minimum order value required. In the Get field, enter 1 to specify that the customer receives 1 free gift upon meeting the condition.
Enable Auto-Add Gift to Cart (Optional)
Activating the Auto add gift to cart field ensures the free gift is automatically included when the subtotal reaches $500, improving convenience and reducing cart abandonment.
Read more: Automatically Add Free Gifts to WooCommerce Orders.
Select the Free Gift Product
In the Product Get section, choose “Wine” from the Include Product dropdown to set it as a complimentary item. This ensures that only the selected product is given as a free gift when conditions are met.
Set Start and End Dates For Gift Offer Rule
To create urgency, you need to set a time limit for the offer by pressing Add Conditions button under Conditions section, then following the below steps:
- Set the first field to Date.
- Choose a specific date from the second dropdown list.
- Set the date to Black Friday – the last Friday of November moth- by using the built-in calendar.
Save your settings and test the rule by adding products to your cart and meeting the conditions.
Ensure the free gift is automatically added and appears correctly on the cart page as shown below:
Using reviews and testimonials
Reviews and testimonials are powerful forms of social proof that build credibility and trust. Display star ratings and customer feedback prominently on product pages to show real-life experiences.
Include photos or videos from customers using your products to make testimonials more relatable. Highlight case studies or user-generated content to demonstrate the value of your offerings.
By showcasing authentic feedback, you reassure potential buyers and reduce their hesitation, leading to increase conversions in Ecommerce site.
How to build trust with customers using reviews and testimonials?
For WooCommerce users, several plugins make it easy to collect, manage, and showcase reviews and testimonials effectively.
One such plugin is YITH WooCommerce Reviews, which allows you to customize the review section on your product pages, add review filters, and even enable photo or video reviews.
Another great plugin is WP Customer Reviews, which lets you display testimonials and reviews in a clean, professional format.
Personalized recommendations
Personalized recommendations make customers feel understood and valued, increasing the likelihood of a purchase. Use data like browsing history, past purchases, and customer preferences to suggest relevant products.
For example, sending personalized emails with tailored product suggestions and free gift offers can re-engage shoppers who abandoned their carts.
By offering products that align with individual needs, you create a more engaging shopping experience that drives sales.
How can personalized recommendations increase sales?
Personalized recommendations make customers feel understood and valued, leading to a more engaging shopping experience. By suggesting products based on browsing history, past purchases, or customer preferences, you can showcase items that are highly relevant to each shopper.
This not only increases the likelihood of a purchase but also encourages upselling and cross-selling. For example, if a customer buys a camera, recommending compatible lenses or accessories can boost the average order value.
Personalized recommendations create a sense of connection, making customers more likely to trust your brand and return for future purchases.
With the free gifts for WooCommerce plugin, you can easily create and manage free gift rules. Simply set conditions (e.g., cart total, specific product purchase) and choose the free gift product. The plugin automatically applies the rule, adds the gift to the cart, and displays gifts in the customer cart page. This seamless process enhances the shopping experience while driving customer satisfaction helping you to increase conversions in e-commerce websites.
Read More: How to setup WooCommerce product upsell/cross-sell.
Checkout page optimizations
The checkout page is where conversions are won or lost, so it’s crucial to make it as seamless and enjoyable as possible by using the following strategies:
- Offer a guest checkout option to avoid forcing users to create an account.
- Simplify the process with autofill fields and multiple payment options.
- Display a list of free gifts to customers to choose from.
- Display trust badges and security icons to reassure customers, and clearly show shipping costs and return policies upfront.
- Use progress indicators to show how many steps are left, and avoid distractions like unnecessary links or pop-ups.
A smooth, frictionless checkout experience can significantly reduce drop-offs and increase conversions in Ecommerce sites.
What are the best checkout page optimizations to reduce drop-offs?
One of the most effective tactics for checkout page optimizations is to show a list of free gifts that customers can earn by completing their purchases. This not only adds value but also creates excitement and urgency, encouraging shoppers to finalize their orders.
Using the free gifts for WooCommerce plugin, you can display a list of available gifts on the checkout page based on predefined rules (e.g., “Spend $50 and choose a free gift”).
This feature enhances the customer experience by making the offer visible and enticing at the final stage of the purchase journey. By showing what’s at stake, you motivate customers to complete their purchase to claim their reward.
Additionally, it helps build goodwill and increases the perceived value of the transaction, making shoppers more likely to return in the future. This simple yet powerful optimization can significantly reduce cart abandonment and boost conversions.
Free Gift For WooCommerce Plugin
The easy way to optimize your WooCommerce store checkout page
Recover abounded carts: Why do abandoned carts happen, and how to recover them?
Abandoned carts are a common challenge for e-commerce websites, often caused by unexpected shipping costs, a complicated checkout process, or simply distraction.
To recover these lost sales, implement strategies like sending personalized email reminders with a clear call-to-action, offering limited-time free gift offers, or addressing potential concerns such as free shipping or easy returns.
Improve site speed and mobile experience: How to improve site speed and mobile experience for better conversions?
A slow-loading website or a poor mobile experience can drive potential customers away. Studies show that even a one-second delay in page load time can significantly reduce conversions.
Optimize your site speed by compressing images, using a reliable hosting provider, and minimizing unnecessary scripts. Additionally, ensure your site is fully responsive and provides a seamless experience across all devices, as more than half of online shoppers use mobile devices.
A fast, mobile-friendly site not only improves user experience but also boosts your search engine rankings.
One of the most effective tools for improving site speed and mobile experience is WP Rocket, a premium WordPress caching plugin that optimizes performance with minimal setup. WP Rocket automatically implements critical speed enhancements such as page caching, lazy loading for images, and script minification—reducing load times significantly. It also includes built-in CSS & JavaScript optimization, database cleanup, and CDN integration, ensuring your site runs smoothly on both desktop and mobile devices.
By improving core web vitals and delivering a faster, more responsive experience, WP Rocket helps increase conversions while maintaining SEO-friendly performance. For WooCommerce stores, it even offers specific optimizations to prevent cart and checkout slowdowns. Try WP Rocket to instantly enhance your site’s speed and user experience without technical hassle!
Use A/B testing: How can A/B testing improve your sales?
A/B testing is a powerful tool to optimize your e-commerce site for higher conversions. By testing different versions of your web pages, CTAs, product descriptions, or even images, you can identify what resonates best with your audience.
For example, you might test two different checkout button colors or headlines to see which one drives more sales. Over time, these small tweaks, backed by data, can lead to significant improvements in your conversion rates and overall revenue.
Conclusion
To increase conversions in your ecommerce site, you need a combination of strategic optimizations, psychological triggers, and customer-centric features. From recovering abandoned carts and optimizing product pages to leveraging urgency, scarcity, and personalized recommendations, each strategy plays a vital role in creating a seamless and engaging shopping experience.
Plugins like the Free Gifts for WooCommerce and WooCommerce Products Table make it easier to implement these tactics, whether you’re offering free gifts, displaying your products in table view, or streamlining the checkout process.
By building trust through reviews and testimonials, simplifying the checkout process, and using urgency-driven offers, you can address common pain points and motivate customers to complete their purchases.
Personalized recommendations and free gift incentives further enhance the shopping experience, making customers feel valued and understood.
Ultimately, these best practices not only boost conversions but also foster customer loyalty, setting the stage for long-term success in the competitive world of ecommerce. Start implementing these strategies today and watch your sales grow!
