Guide
Free gift above an order value, added to the cart automatically
Shopify's Buy X get Y discount makes a gift free, but according to the help center it never adds it to the cart itself. Hand-E Discounts adds the gift through a theme app embed once the cart value is reached and removes it again when the value drops below.
A gift the customer has to find first
Spend $60, get a free tote bag. With built-in tools you build this as Buy X get Y: a minimum purchase amount as the condition, the tote bag as the item the customer gets, and the value set to free. But the discount doesn't apply unless the bag is already in the cart.
Shopify's help center says customers have to add all items to their cart themselves and the free item is never added automatically. A customer who doesn't notice the bag doesn't get it, even though they're entitled to it.
The second gap shows up when the customer removes something. If the bag is still in the cart, the discount no longer applies and the bag sits there at its regular price. For a gift that comes and goes automatically, you need something in the theme that changes the cart.
| Shopify native | With Hand-E Discounts | |
|---|---|---|
| Gift gets into the cart | the customer adds it | automatically through a theme app embed |
| Cart drops below the threshold | item stays, the discount is gone | gift disappears again |
| Gift at checkout | free as long as the condition is met | free through a Shopify Function |
| Choice of several gifts | possible through products or collections | no, exactly one gift variant |
| Setup | one discount | one discount plus turning on the embed in the theme editor once |
Natively: Buy X get Y with a minimum purchase amount
The native discount fully covers the pricing side. Adding and removing the item stays with the customer.
- Setup: A Buy X get Y discount with a minimum purchase amount as the condition, the tote bag as the item the customer gets, and the value set to free. With the maximum number of uses per order you limit the gift to one.
- Notice in the store: Since nothing happens automatically, you need a clearly visible note, for example in the cart or the announcement bar, that the bag can be added from $60.
- No adjusting: If the customer removes products, the bag stays in the cart. If they overlook it, they pay for it.
- Post-purchase: According to the help center, Buy X get Y discounts created in the admin don't apply on the post-purchase page in checkout.
- Good enough if: the gift is an extra the customer picks deliberately, for example a sample of their choice from a collection. That's what Buy X get Y is built for.
How to set up the gift in Hand-E Discounts
Two parts work together: the theme embed puts the gift in the cart, and the Shopify Function makes it free at checkout.
- Choose the Gift above cart value discount type.
- Pick exactly one variant as the gift, for example the tote bag in natural white.
- Enter the threshold, for example $60. The cart value is counted without the gift.
- In the Shopify admin, open the theme editor and turn on the Hand-E Discounts app embed. You do this once, not per discount.
- Test in your store: bring the cart above the threshold and check that the gift appears. Then remove an item and check that it disappears again.
Walkthrough: $60 threshold, tote bag worth $9.90
A customer buys coffee at $24.95 and a mug at $14.90. The table shows step by step what happens in the cart.
| Step | Cart value without gift | Gift | Customer pays for the products |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 × coffee | $49.90 | not in the cart | $49.90 |
| plus 1 mug | $64.80 | in the cart, $0.00 at checkout | $64.80 |
| mug removed again | $49.90 | disappears again | $49.90 |
| a different cart at $52.00 | $52.00 | not in the cart | $52.00 |
Limits you should know
- Theme events: Depending on the theme, the gift doesn't appear until the next page load. That happens when the theme doesn't send cart events while the cart changes.
- One gift, one threshold: Each discount has exactly one gift variant above one cart value. A choice of several gifts isn't covered by this discount type.
- No embed, no gift: If the app embed isn't turned on in the theme, nothing puts the gift in the cart.
- Customer's own purchase: If the customer buys the item themselves, their line stays untouched. It isn't turned into the gift.
- The gift is an automatic app discount and takes one of the 25 slots for active automatic discounts.
- If you uninstall the app, Shopify removes the discount.
Common questions
Does the free gift disappear when the cart drops below the threshold?
Does the gift's own price count toward the free gift threshold?
Why doesn't the free gift appear until the page reloads?
Can I let customers choose between several free gifts?
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