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A welcome offer is the reason a new visitor hands over an email address. Ten percent off is the familiar choice, and familiar offers are easy to scroll past. Here are other welcome offers worth trying, along with a simple way to check what each one really costs before you commit.
Key takeaways
- Set a free shipping threshold a little above your typical first order, so reaching it takes about one more item.
- Pick a gift with purchase that leads somewhere, like a travel size or refill, and set stock aside before launch.
- Keep tiered offers to two or three tiers, and show every tier in the pop-up and the welcome email.
- Before committing, work out how many extra first orders an offer needs to cover its cost on orders you'd get anyway.
Free shipping over a threshold
A free shipping threshold rewards a slightly bigger first order. Set it a little above your typical first order, so reaching it takes about one more item.
Say a typical first order at your store comes to $38, and shipping costs you $6. A threshold of $45 nudges people toward adding one small extra. A threshold of $90 would feel out of reach, and the offer would lose its pull.
Keep the threshold in view after the pop-up closes, too. A line in the cart showing how far the shopper is from free shipping turns the offer into a goal.
Copy idea. "Free shipping on your first order over $45"
Gift with purchase
A free gift adds something to the order without lowering the price of anything. The best gifts lead somewhere. A travel size of a best seller, a refill, or a sample of a second product gives a new customer a reason to come back for the full size.
- Set stock aside before launch. An offer that runs dry halfway through leaves late sign-ups disappointed.
- Name the gift plainly. "A free gift" is vague. "A free travel-size face oil" tells shoppers exactly what's coming.
- Pick something that photographs well. A clear picture of the gift in the pop-up does more than a paragraph about it.
Copy idea. "A free travel-size face oil with your first order"
Tiered offers
A tiered offer gives more to bigger first orders. For example:
- $5 off orders over $40
- $10 off orders over $70
- $20 off orders over $120
Two or three tiers are plenty. Beyond that, the offer turns into a math problem. Show every tier clearly in the pop-up and again in the welcome email, so the shopper can plan their cart around it. For layouts that put the offer first, see these welcome email examples for new subscribers.
Samples and trial sizes
For coffee, tea, skin care, pet food and anything else people use up, a sample pack lets a new customer try several products at little risk. It shows off your range, and it gives you a natural reason to follow up and ask which one they liked. You can include the samples free with a first order, or offer the pack itself for the cost of shipping.
Early access
A welcome offer doesn't have to cost you margin. Early access to new releases, restocks or a sale gives subscribers something real without touching your prices. It suits stores with limited runs, small batches or a loyal following, and stores that rarely discount.
It only works if you have regular releases to offer. Promise early access and then go quiet for three months, and the offer looks empty.
Copy idea. "Get new batches 48 hours before everyone else"
Hand out codes that work at checkout
Every prize is one of your store's coupons, shown to the winner with a Copy button and emailed as a backup.
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Loyalty points
If you already run a points program, welcome points are a tidy option. For example, 200 points worth $5 on a future order. The cost moves to a second order, which gives a new customer a reason to come back.
A starter bundle at a welcome price
If new customers often ask where to start, answer with a bundle. Put together three or four products that work well as a first order, such as a starter set of your best-selling scents or a trio of your most popular blends, and offer it to new subscribers at a set welcome price. The shopper gets an easy first choice, and you get a first order large enough to carry the discount.
Copy idea. "Start with our three best sellers for $39."
A donation in their name
Some stores would rather not discount at all. A welcome offer can instead promise a small donation to a cause your store supports for each first order, such as a few dollars to a local animal shelter. It works best when the cause genuinely connects to what you sell, and when you report back on what the donations added up to.
Compare the options
| Offer | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| 10% off | A quick, familiar start | Costs more on bigger orders |
| Free shipping over a threshold | Lifting the size of first orders | A threshold set too high |
| Gift with purchase | Products with refills or a wide range | Running out of the gift |
| Tiered dollars off | Stores with a wide price range | Too many tiers |
| Samples | Coffee, tea, skin care and other consumables | Packing time for small parcels |
| Early access | Limited drops and small batches | Needs regular releases |
| Welcome points | Stores with a points program | Value arrives only on a later order |
| Starter bundle | Stores where new customers ask where to start | A bundle price that leaves too little margin |
| Donation | Stores with a cause that fits the brand | A cause that feels unconnected to what you sell |
How to check what an offer costs
Every offer costs you something on every order that uses it, including orders from people who would have bought anyway. That's the cost that's easy to forget. The real question is how many extra first orders the offer must bring in to cover it.
Here is the math with simple numbers. Say you sell tea, a typical first order is $40, and it leaves you $22 after the cost of the tea and packing. You're weighing a $5 welcome code.
- With the code, each order leaves you $17.
- Suppose 20 of the people who use the code in a month would have ordered anyway. You can't know this number exactly, so make a cautious guess. Giving each of them $5 costs you $100.
- Each extra order the code brings in earns you $17. To cover the $100, you need 6 extra first orders that month, since $100 divided by $17 rounds up to 6.
If you believe the offer can bring in more than that, it pays for itself. A break-even calculator for store discounts runs these numbers for you, so you can compare a few offers side by side.
Put the offer where it fits
- A single offer sits naturally on a classic email pop-up.
- Several offers can share a game as different prizes. The guide to spin wheel prize ideas shows how to mix them.
- Whatever you choose, give each new subscriber a code of their own. The guide to unique coupon codes explains why.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good first-order discount?
A good first-order offer feels worth an email address and still leaves you a profit on a typical first order. Ten percent off is the usual pick, but a fixed dollar amount, free shipping over a threshold or a gift with purchase may suit your margins better. Work out what each option costs on your own typical order before you choose.
Is free shipping better than a discount?
It depends on your products and shipping costs. Free shipping takes away a delivery charge that can put people off a first order, while a discount lowers the price of what they buy. Compare what each costs you on a typical order. Shipping heavy or chilled parcels can cost more than it looks, while a percent off grows with the size of the cart.
Will a welcome discount cheapen my brand?
It can, if discounts become the main reason people buy from you. If you rarely discount, choose a welcome offer that leaves your prices alone, such as early access to new releases, a free gift or sample with the first order, or a donation to a cause that fits your store. Whatever you pick, keep it consistent with how you normally sell.
How do you stop people sharing a welcome code?
Give each new subscriber a single-use code where you can. A shared code can end up on deal sites and work for anyone, while a single-use code works for one order only, even if it gets posted online. If you use one shared code, limit it to one use per customer and give it an end date, so old codes don't linger. In Spin Wheel, a prize's code appears only after a shopper wins it, and your coupon's limits apply at checkout.
Try it on your store
Spin Wheel turns coupon-based offers, such as free shipping or a dollar or percent discount, into prizes backed by real coupons from your store, so every winner's code works at checkout. See how it works on the coupon pop-up page.
We build marketing apps for online stores: myuser.ai writes and sends emails and texts from a store's own products, and we make Spin Wheel and Session Recordings for Wix sites. Product details in our guides are checked against the apps themselves.
