How to automatically add a free gift with purchase to a customer's cart?
This guide is a detailed walkthrough on how you can use Monk to automatically add free gift products to a customer's cart using the app's Free Gift - Auto Add funnel. This funnel can be configured across a variety of rules and eligibility criteria and works seamlessly with types of themes and carts (cart drawer, cart popup or cart page).
If you wish to also display a progress bar & banner in cart along with the auto added free gift, you can refer to this document.
Funnel Creation
Eligibility and Display
Gift Products
Advanced Configuration
FAQ
Here is an example of what this funnel will look like live at the cart step -
Go to 'Create New Funnel' on the top right of the Funnel page in Monk > Create New Funnel > Go to Gifts and Shipping > Free gift (Without banner and progress bar) > Auto add > Set offer name
On step 1 of the funnel setup, select the eligibility rule as per your convenience. Please refer to this document for a detailed guide on eligibility rules.
Please note, the Free Gift - Auto Add funnel can also be configured at checkout, however, this is only exclusive for stores on Shopify Plus. You can click here for a walkthough on how to set this up at checkout.
You can also schedule the funnel for a specific date range from Step 1 of the funnel set up, using this setting below -
On Step 2, select the product(s) that will be automatically added to customer's cart as free gift. You can also click on 'Add Product' button to add more products as free gifts.
To make sure the gifts are added, please go to your Shopify Product section --> Open the free gift product and ensure the following:
- The free gift product is in Stock
- The free gift product is in Active status
- The free gift product is available in the 'Online Store' sales channel
Under Step 2 , you have the following settings with respect to auto adding the free gift to the customer's cart -
Gift Quantity
- Increase gifts with more purchases - When this setting is enabled, you can configure offers to repeat automatically when multiple quantities of the trigger products are added. This allows for flexible offer structures like 'Buy X, Get Y,' 'Buy 2X, Get 2Y,' 'Buy 3X, Get 3Y,' and more—all within a single eligibility rule. It integrates seamlessly with BOGO deals, such as 'Buy 2X, Get 2X,' etc.
This setting is available only when you've configured the Rule on Step 1 to trigger based on specific products/collections/tags/vendors.
Auto Remove and cart refresh
- Offer unviable - Remove gift from cart : When this setting is enabled, the gift will be automatically removed from the cart if the customer doesn’t meet the eligibility rules in Step 1. If disabled, the gift will remain in the cart at full price, and the customer can choose to remove it manually.
Additionally, enabling this setting prevents customers from purchasing the gift products separately in your store. This is particularly useful when selling sample products, as it ensures customers can’t buy them individually.
- Gift opt-out enabled : There may be instances where a customer does not wish to receive the free gift. If this setting is enabled, they will have the option to remove the gift item from their cart. Conversely, if this setting is disabled, the customer will not be able to remove the gift. In such cases, any attempts to remove the item will result in it being automatically re-added to their cart.
- Automatically refresh the page once the gift is added/removed - If this setting is enabled, the app will automatically refresh the entire page to show the updated cart when a gift is added or removed. However, if you do not want the entire page to refresh and still show the updated cart please check with your team/theme support whether your theme has a cart listener or not. Alternatively, you can contact us via live chat/email support and we will add it in for you. Once you have the cart listener, this setting can be disabled and the gift product will automatically appear in the cart without having to refresh the whole page. Please refer to this article for further details.
Yes, a discount code can be configured with the app that automatically add the free gift to the cart upon usage. Please refer to this document on how to set it up. If you wish to set this up at Checkout, please click here (checkout features are exclusive for stores on Shopify Plus)
If multiple Free Gift - Auto Add funnels are configured and a customer qualifies for several of them at the same time, the offer from the funnel positioned higher on the Funnels dashboard will be applicable. Please refer to this article for details on how funnel priority is determined.
If you want your customers to receive gifts from all the eligible funnels, you will hvae to enable the Combination setting on Step 2 of the funnel set up. Please refer to this article for more information.
The page refreshes because the setting "Automatically refresh the page once the gift is added/removed" is enabled. For instant cart refresh, you can add a cart listener to your theme. Please refer to this document for more details. If you have a developer who can add the same, kindly do so. If you want the Monk team to add the cart listener, please reach out to us via live chat/email support and we will get it added to your theme.
If you have any other questions or queries please reach out to us via chat support or write to us at support@monkcommerce.com
If you wish to also display a progress bar & banner in cart along with the auto added free gift, you can refer to this document.
How to set it up?
Funnel Creation
Eligibility and Display
Gift Products
Advanced Configuration
FAQ
Here is an example of what this funnel will look like live at the cart step -
Funnel Creation
Go to 'Create New Funnel' on the top right of the Funnel page in Monk > Create New Funnel > Go to Gifts and Shipping > Free gift (Without banner and progress bar) > Auto add > Set offer name
Eligibility and Display
On step 1 of the funnel setup, select the eligibility rule as per your convenience. Please refer to this document for a detailed guide on eligibility rules.
Please note, the Free Gift - Auto Add funnel can also be configured at checkout, however, this is only exclusive for stores on Shopify Plus. You can click here for a walkthough on how to set this up at checkout.
You can also schedule the funnel for a specific date range from Step 1 of the funnel set up, using this setting below -
Gift Products
On Step 2, select the product(s) that will be automatically added to customer's cart as free gift. You can also click on 'Add Product' button to add more products as free gifts.
To make sure the gifts are added, please go to your Shopify Product section --> Open the free gift product and ensure the following:
- The free gift product is in Stock
- The free gift product is in Active status
- The free gift product is available in the 'Online Store' sales channel
Advanced Configuration
Under Step 2 , you have the following settings with respect to auto adding the free gift to the customer's cart -
Gift Quantity
- Increase gifts with more purchases - When this setting is enabled, you can configure offers to repeat automatically when multiple quantities of the trigger products are added. This allows for flexible offer structures like 'Buy X, Get Y,' 'Buy 2X, Get 2Y,' 'Buy 3X, Get 3Y,' and more—all within a single eligibility rule. It integrates seamlessly with BOGO deals, such as 'Buy 2X, Get 2X,' etc.
This setting is available only when you've configured the Rule on Step 1 to trigger based on specific products/collections/tags/vendors.
Auto Remove and cart refresh
- Offer unviable - Remove gift from cart : When this setting is enabled, the gift will be automatically removed from the cart if the customer doesn’t meet the eligibility rules in Step 1. If disabled, the gift will remain in the cart at full price, and the customer can choose to remove it manually.
Additionally, enabling this setting prevents customers from purchasing the gift products separately in your store. This is particularly useful when selling sample products, as it ensures customers can’t buy them individually.
- Gift opt-out enabled : There may be instances where a customer does not wish to receive the free gift. If this setting is enabled, they will have the option to remove the gift item from their cart. Conversely, if this setting is disabled, the customer will not be able to remove the gift. In such cases, any attempts to remove the item will result in it being automatically re-added to their cart.
- Automatically refresh the page once the gift is added/removed - If this setting is enabled, the app will automatically refresh the entire page to show the updated cart when a gift is added or removed. However, if you do not want the entire page to refresh and still show the updated cart please check with your team/theme support whether your theme has a cart listener or not. Alternatively, you can contact us via live chat/email support and we will add it in for you. Once you have the cart listener, this setting can be disabled and the gift product will automatically appear in the cart without having to refresh the whole page. Please refer to this article for further details.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Can I use a discount code to add the free gift to cart?
Yes, a discount code can be configured with the app that automatically add the free gift to the cart upon usage. Please refer to this document on how to set it up. If you wish to set this up at Checkout, please click here (checkout features are exclusive for stores on Shopify Plus)
2) If a customer qualifies for multiple Free Gift - Auto Add funnels, how does the app choose which one to apply?
If multiple Free Gift - Auto Add funnels are configured and a customer qualifies for several of them at the same time, the offer from the funnel positioned higher on the Funnels dashboard will be applicable. Please refer to this article for details on how funnel priority is determined.
If you want your customers to receive gifts from all the eligible funnels, you will hvae to enable the Combination setting on Step 2 of the funnel set up. Please refer to this article for more information.
3) Why does the page refresh when gift is added or removed?
The page refreshes because the setting "Automatically refresh the page once the gift is added/removed" is enabled. For instant cart refresh, you can add a cart listener to your theme. Please refer to this document for more details. If you have a developer who can add the same, kindly do so. If you want the Monk team to add the cart listener, please reach out to us via live chat/email support and we will get it added to your theme.
If you have any other questions or queries please reach out to us via chat support or write to us at support@monkcommerce.com
Updated on: 29/04/2025