How to Get More People to Buy From You Without Just Discounting

All of this comes from Beyond the Discount, a survey of 700+ shoppers by DTC Newsletter with Smile.io.

Price still matters. 75.4% put best price or discount in their top three reasons for choosing a new brand. But 49.2% also picked reviews and reputation, and 40.4% picked free or fast shipping. So a first order is won on price, trust AND convenience, which is why a stack of perks can do the job of a bigger code.

One more, from the brand side (brands doing $1M+ a year): asked which tactic can beat a straight discount, 24.1% said gift with purchase and 20.7% said free shipping. 11.3% said nothing beats a discount, so I'd call these worth testing with your own numbers.

Every offer below was live on the brand's own site on 6 October 2026. Where a brand pairs the perk with a discount, I've said so.

1. Free shipping on the first order

The perk shoppers picked most (53.3%).

• Glow Recipe (beauty): the email sign-up says "Join the Glow Gang to get free shipping on your first order!" No percent off at all.
• Caraway (home): free shipping normally starts at $90. Subscribe and you "unlock free shipping on your next order".
• Suits: light products and anyone already offering free shipping over a threshold. Costs you: your real postage on that order, so know that number first.

2. A gift with purchase

48.2% of shoppers picked this one.

• RYZE (drink): the product page lists every free gift with its dollar value, like a spoon and scoop ($10). This sits on top of a sale (up to 40% off today), so it's a stack.
• Three Ships Beauty (smaller skincare brand): "FREE MINI TOTE WITH ORDERS +$85" in the announcement bar. They also offer 15% off a first order by email.
• Suits: nearly everyone. Costs you: the gift at COST, plus any extra postage weight.

3. A gift for subscribing

• Magic Spoon (food): "Free bowl set with your first order" for new subscribers, alongside Subscribe & Save 26%.
• Huel (food): "FREE t-shirt worth $25" for new subscription customers, and a free shaker for all new customers. There's 15% off by email too.
• Suits: refillable products. Costs you: one gift, once, against a customer who reorders.

4. A starter kit

A low-priced, everything-you-need first order.

• Harry's (grooming): the Plus Starter Set is $10 (was $12.50) with a handle, a cartridge, shave gel and a travel cover.
• Graza (food): the two-bottle starter duo is $37, exactly what the two oils cost separately ($21 and $16). The value is that the decision is made for them.
• Suits: products with refills or a routine. Costs you: very little if you price it like Graza does.

5. A bundle

29.2% of shoppers are swayed by a better deal for buying more.

• Fishwife (food): The Starter Pack is seven tins for $78, and free shipping starts at $75. Clever, right? The bundle clears the threshold by itself. 👀
• Otherland (candles): build a bundle of 3 for 10% off, or 6 for 15% off. That one IS a discount, but they earn a bigger basket for it.
• Suits: ranges people mix and match. Costs you: margin per unit, usually made back in order value.

6. A mini or trial size

• Three Ships Beauty: 0.5 oz minis from $15 beside full sizes at $38 and up.
• Coterie (baby): subscribers get a "first-order free trial pack of next size" with their nappies.
• Suits: skincare, food, anything people want to test before committing. Costs you: a new product size to stock.

7. Try before you buy

• Snif (fragrance): the full-size bottle arrives with a sample. You get 7 days with the sample while your card is only on hold.
• Kizik (shoes): "Risk Free Trial: Free Shipping & Easy Returns", with 30 days to send them back.
• Suits: scent, fit and feel products. Costs you: returns handling, and stock that's out on trial.

8. A money-back guarantee

30.6% of shoppers picked a strong return or guarantee policy.

• Magic Spoon: not in love with it? They refund your first case (up to 4 boxes) within 6 months.
• Smalls (pet): "If they don't eat it, we'll pay for it. Full refund, no questions asked." It runs next to 50% off and free treats for life, so this one's a big stack.
• Suits: consumables with a taste or results question. Costs you: your refund rate times your order value. Start by counting how many refunds you already give.

9. A first-item guarantee

A guarantee on just the FIRST one.

• Mack Weldon (apparel): "If you don't love your first pair of underwear, it's on us." One pair, within 30 days, and you keep it. They pair it with 20% off a first order of $125 or more.
• Shinesty (apparel): "Love your first pair or they're free."
• Fishwife: the Sardine Guarantee refunds your first sardine purchase if they're not for you, after a short survey on why.
• Suits: the product people hesitate over. Costs you: one unit per unhappy new customer, capped.

10. Free returns

• Quince (apparel and home): standard shipping is always free, and most items can be returned free within 365 days.
• Suits: apparel and shoes. Costs you: return postage and restocking. Only 16.4% of the $1M+ brands in the survey run extended holiday returns, so it stands out.

11. A free sample with the order

• Summer Fridays (beauty): the cart has a "Choose Your Free Sample" picker.
• Snif: the cart tells you when "you're eligible for a free sample".
• Suits: brands with more than one hero product. Costs you: cents per order, and it sets up the second purchase.

12. Points from the very first order

Second on the shopper list at 51.3%.

• Kyte Baby (baby): "You'll get 500 points for signing up", then 10 points for every $1 spent.
• Suits: products people rebuy. Costs you: nothing until the points are redeemed on order two.

Run every offer through this before it goes live:

Profit per first order =
price − discount + shipping charged − product cost − shipping cost − gift cost

A worked example (example numbers, run your OWN). A $60 product that costs $15 to make. You charge $6 shipping and it costs you $7 to send.

In this example the gift plus free shipping shows your shopper $26 of value. 20% off shows them $12 and leaves you with LESS.

The break-even rule: extra orders needed = old profit ÷ new profit − 1. Against 10% off here, 25% off needs 31% more orders just to make the same money, 20% off needs 19% more, and gift plus free shipping needs 15% more.

The floor rule: take your ad cost per order off the profit. If the answer is negative, that offer is out, however well it converts.

Pop-up:

Announcement bar:

Product page, under the add to cart button:

Compare two to four weeks on the new offer against the same stretch on the old one. You want profit per first order AND conversion rate both up. Conversion alone doesn't count, because giving more away will nearly always lift it.

And if your day-to-day is working, don't overhaul everything before Black Friday. Trial one offer.

• Valuing the gift at its retail price in your own math. Show the shopper the $20 and put the $5 in your spreadsheet.
• Letting the offer stack with other codes. One first-order offer per customer.
• A cheap first order followed by a much bigger refill price nobody warned them about.
• Assuming Shopify adds the free gift to the cart. With a Buy X get Y discount the customer has to add it themselves, so tell them how.
• Running out of the gift halfway through.
• Copying a big brand's stack without checking your own margin. Their numbers aren't yours.

If you'd love a second set of eyes on this, that's what my free 45 minute chat is for. You've got this, and I've got you. 🫶