Buy one, get one free
Encyclopedia
"Buy one, get one free", or "Buy one, get one" is a common form of sales promotion
. While rarely presented to customers in acronym form, this marketing
technique is universally known in the marketing industry by the acronym BOGOF, and it is regarded as one of the most effective forms of special offers for goods.
It is a special case of "buy one, get one (with a discount)", also known as BOGO. It is common to see offers such as "buy one, get a second one for 50% off". These offers are usually marked as "BOGO 75% off", "BOGO half off", etc. The effective price per unit is a discount of half the discount on the second item. The ability to display a larger discount number on an item, e.g. 50% on a second item versus 25% on a single item, may be beneficial for the promotion.
Economist Alex Tabarrok
has argued that the success of this promotion lies in the fact that the price actually takes into account the fact that two items are being sold. The price of "one" is somewhat nominal and is typically raised when used as part of a buy one get one free deal. Whilst the cost per item is proportionately cheaper than if bought on its own, it is not actually half price.
Buy one get one free is a popular sales technique because it can be used legally at any time, unlike many other offers. For example a shop cannot claim an item is "on sale" or is discounted unless it has been available for sale at the previous, higher price for a certain period of time.
Sales promotion
Sales promotion is one of the four aspects of promotional mix. Media and non-media marketing communication are employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability...
. While rarely presented to customers in acronym form, this marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
technique is universally known in the marketing industry by the acronym BOGOF, and it is regarded as one of the most effective forms of special offers for goods.
It is a special case of "buy one, get one (with a discount)", also known as BOGO. It is common to see offers such as "buy one, get a second one for 50% off". These offers are usually marked as "BOGO 75% off", "BOGO half off", etc. The effective price per unit is a discount of half the discount on the second item. The ability to display a larger discount number on an item, e.g. 50% on a second item versus 25% on a single item, may be beneficial for the promotion.
Technique
Originally, "buy one get one free" was a sudden end-of-season or stock clearance method used by shops who were left with a large quantity of stock that they were looking to sell quickly. More recently it has become a popular, planned and considered marketing method.Economist Alex Tabarrok
Alex Tabarrok
Alexander Taghi Tabarrok is a Canadian-American economist and co-author, with Tyler Cowen, of the economics blog Marginal Revolution....
has argued that the success of this promotion lies in the fact that the price actually takes into account the fact that two items are being sold. The price of "one" is somewhat nominal and is typically raised when used as part of a buy one get one free deal. Whilst the cost per item is proportionately cheaper than if bought on its own, it is not actually half price.
Buy one get one free is a popular sales technique because it can be used legally at any time, unlike many other offers. For example a shop cannot claim an item is "on sale" or is discounted unless it has been available for sale at the previous, higher price for a certain period of time.
External links
- Cambridge Online Dictionary, Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary