What Are The Sales Promotion Examples?
- Free Shipping And Returns
- Flash Sales
- Buy One Get One (BOGO)
- Discounts
- Holiday Promotions
- Loyalty Programs
- Contests And Giveaways
- Special Promotions
1. Free Shipping And Returns
Companies looking to increase sales of a product or service may find that offering an incentive can encourage customers to make a purchase. 49% of consumers abandon their cart for unexpected extra costs like fees, shipping, and tax.
Free shipping can be a huge draw for online shoppers. It allows customers to order more products without adding to the cost of their order.
2. Flash Sales
Flash sales are when an e-commerce store offers a discount or promotion for a limited, very short period of time. In 2004, an online retailer Woot.com began using flash sales to create a sense of urgency among consumers. This pushes consumers to make a purchase decision quickly.
- Tells people when the sale starts and ends. It also tells them what days the sale takes place to eliminate confusion if they see it a day or two after it has started.
- CTA is crystal clear. Call-to-action is indicated well and clear to the recipient.
Use Popups to Attract More Customers:
There are a variety of reasons that you might want to have a popup on your website. Popups can bring in new customers, encourage repeat business from existing ones, and increase your brand recognition.
Popups are a great way to show sales promotions.
The key to a successful call-to-action button is to make it clear what you want your customers to do and to guide them toward the action.
Here is another example of a flash sale with a countdown timer for National Puppy Day.
Use Email Newsletters:
Email newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with your customers and encourage them to come back to your site.
A newsletter is a quick, easy way to inform your customers about the latest offers. If you have a store with daily deals or special discounts, you can use email newsletters for flash sales.
3. Buy One Get One (BOGO)
Buy one get one is a marketing strategy that the world's largest retailers use to boost sales. BOGO deals are commonly used by retailers to move inventory. This strategy is also called liquidation, and it can be a great way to clear out old stock at low prices.
Sephora made a special tab on their website for all sales and offers and listed their BOGO offer.
You can also add an exit-intent popup to prevent cart abandonment by offering BOGO.
4. Discounts
Lifestyle discounts:
Lifestyle discounts are incentives to boost the attractiveness of a particular lifestyle. Usually, these discounts are offered to veterans, seniors, teachers, or students.
They are also offered to people who have certain types of health conditions. For example, many fitness centers offer discounts for people who suffer from obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure.
Considering the value of word-of-mouth advertising, lifestyle discounts can be very beneficial to your business.
Tiered discounts:
Tiered discounts, also called Buy More Save More, can be a powerful tool to encourage customers to spend more money with your brand. The discounts can be tiered in a number of ways. For example, a business might offer 10%, 15%, and 20% off for spending over $50, $100, and $200.
Referral discounts:
Asking your loyal customers to spread the love for your brand, in exchange for a discount or reward, can make a big difference for your business. With their customer referral program, Dropbox grew their registered user base at 27.9% a month.
If you have the resources, consider expanding your referral program so it rewards not just the referrer but also the referee.
5.Holiday promotions
The holiday season is a busy time for most retailers, and a great time for consumers to shop.
That means that your business can benefit from increased revenues if you use this time effectively. Marketers may take advantage of the holiday season by introducing new products or highlighting existing ones that are related to the holiday.
Such as candies, pumpkins, spooky gadgets for Halloween!
6. Loyalty Programs
The probability of selling to an existing customer is 70% while selling to a new prospect is 20%. Loyal customers who feel appreciated and rewarded for their repeat business can be the difference between a company that succeeds and one that fails.
Assuming you have a coffee shop, you can use loyalty cards to offer 1 free drink after buying 9 as seen in above.
You can offer double loyalty points for a limited time as a sales promotion to your customers. For instance, an airline company can double loyalty points for the flights taken between February 1 to February 28.
Another example would be a retailer company may suggest 40% off of the next purchase in the same month from the first purchase with a discount code.
7. Contests And Giveaways
If you're looking to get more exposure for your business, consider using a contest or giveaway on one of the most popular social media sites or on your own website.
Make sure you have a dedicated landing page for the purpose of the contest or giveaway. This is where people will enter their information once they are interested in your offer.
You can offer a gift card with a popup to prevent the prospective buyer from leaving without a conversion and encourage them to keep in touch with your brand by entering their email address.
Your existing audience is your best resource when it comes to spreading the word about your giveaway.
The audience you've already built through your social media presence includes the people most likely to support your giveaway. So, it makes sense to use this resource as much as possible to encourage participation.
Contests are also sales promotion methods in which you offer a prize to the qualifying contestants. They are interactive ways of connecting with your audience. You can increase your leads and boost your online presence by simply conducting these contests.
Event-based contests are very popular among marketers since people are more likely to show interest in your brand if you offer them to win a gold necklace for Valentine's Day.
8. Special Promotions
Everyone wants to be treated like a VIP. Just because you're not a celebrity or wealthy doesn't mean you can't get the VIP treatment!
Limiting your offers to your prospects can make them feel like they are special.
- Offer your long-term subscribers special discounts to encourage them to buy. With most businesses, the most loyal customers are the ones who keep coming back.
With ecommerce, this is especially true; most online shoppers buy from the same few sites regularly. Since many people make purchases online, they tend to stick with the same shopping sites.
Summing up..
When trying to figure out what type of sales promotion you should use, it’s important to consider what your target audience wants.
Are they interested in a free trial? Do they want the product at a discount?
- No matter what you decide on, make sure that your promotion includes persuasion triggers such as scarcity and urgency.
- Using persuasive triggers is a powerful way to increase your sales, but it's important to balance the amount of scarcity and urgency you use.
This will help you avoid scaring away visitors with too much pressure, while still providing enough incentive for them to take action on your offer.
- Choose the right options for your business. By choosing a holiday promotion or flash sale, you can give your brand a chance to shine while encouraging customers to take advantage of deals on your products.
We hope this article has been helpful! Which strategy will you choose?
Let us know what you think by simply dropping us a comment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three types of sales promotion?
Sales promotions are commonly grouped into three broad types: consumer promotions, trade promotions, and salesforce (or business-to-business) promotions. Consumer promotions are aimed directly at shoppers to spark immediate purchases or repeat buying, and include tactics like percentage-off discounts, coupons, BOGO deals, free shipping and returns, flash sales with countdown timers, gifts with purchase, samples, contests, and giveaways. Trade promotions target retailers, distributors, or wholesalers to earn shelf space, better placement, or higher order volumes, such as wholesale discounts, slotting allowances, co-op advertising funds, and limited-time incentives for stocking or featuring a product. Salesforce promotions motivate your internal sales team or channel partners to sell more, often through bonuses, spiffs, sales contests, tiered commissions, or rewards for hitting volume or revenue targets, and the best programs align the incentive with the behavior you want (e.g., moving a specific SKU, increasing average order value, or reactivating dormant accounts).
What are the 4 types of promotion?
The four main types of promotion typically refer to the promotional mix: advertising, sales promotion, public relations (PR), and personal selling (often taught alongside direct marketing/digital marketing depending on the framework). Advertising is paid, non-personal communication like search ads, social ads, display, radio, or TV that builds awareness and demand over time. Sales promotion is short-term, action-oriented incentives—such as flash sales, free shipping, coupons, BOGO, holiday promos, and loyalty point multipliers—designed to trigger quicker purchases or boost order size. PR focuses on credibility and reputation through earned media, press coverage, partnerships, events, and community initiatives. Personal selling is one-to-one persuasion via sales reps, demos, consultations, and follow-ups, especially important for high-consideration or B2B offers where questions, objections, and customization are common.
What are the 5 P's of promotion?
The “5 P’s of promotion” is most commonly used to mean key planning elements for running an effective promotional campaign: Purpose, Product, Place, People, and Promotion (or sometimes “Plan” in place of one of these, depending on the source). Purpose clarifies the goal—e.g., increase conversions, clear inventory, grow email subscribers, raise average order value, or win back lapsed customers. Product defines what exactly you’re promoting and the value proposition (for example, a best-seller, a new launch, or a bundle that pairs well). Place is where the promotion will be seen and redeemed—your website, checkout, email newsletter, social channels, marketplaces, or in-store—and it matters because tactics like popups and countdown timers work best on high-intent pages. People identifies the target audience segment (new vs returning customers, VIPs, price-sensitive shoppers, cart abandoners) and any personalization rules. Promotion is the incentive and messaging itself—discount structure, free shipping thresholds, BOGO terms, start/end dates, CTA clarity, and fine print—so customers instantly understand what they get and what to do next.
How to attract customers in sales?
To attract customers in sales, focus on reducing friction, increasing trust, and offering a clear reason to choose you now rather than later. Start by tightening your value proposition and making your website or storefront easy to navigate—fast load times, strong product pages, transparent pricing, and simple checkout matter because unexpected costs (like shipping and fees) often cause cart abandonment; offering free shipping or free returns can directly remove that barrier. Use targeted incentives strategically: new-customer discounts, limited-time flash sales, bundles, or BOGO offers can create urgency and lift conversion, especially when paired with clear CTAs, countdown timers, and email newsletters that announce the exact start and end times. Ask for referrals from happy customers and make it easy with a reward (store credit, points, or a small gift), and re-contact old customers with a win-back offer tailored to what they previously bought. Network where your buyers already are (industry groups, local events, partner businesses, online communities), and reinforce credibility with reviews, testimonials, guarantees, and responsive support. Finally, track what works—conversion rate, average order value, repeat purchase rate, and email/SMS performance—so you can double down on the channels and promotions that consistently bring in qualified buyers rather than one-time bargain hunters.
What do experts say about sales promotion examples?
Experts generally describe sales promotion examples as short-term, measurable incentives that accelerate purchasing decisions, increase order value, and encourage repeat buying when paired with clear messaging and smart targeting. Common high-performing examples include discounts (percentage-off, tiered discounts, coupons), BOGO offers that boost unit volume, and flash sales that create urgency with limited-time windows and countdown timers—often promoted through popups and email newsletters for maximum visibility. Loyalty programs are highlighted as a sustainable promotion because they reward repeat behavior with points, exclusive perks, early access, or member-only pricing, helping brands improve retention rather than relying solely on constant discounting. Freebies and “value-add” promotions—like free shipping and returns, free samples, gifts with purchase, or free upgrades—are frequently recommended because they reduce perceived risk and cart friction without always cutting price. Contests and giveaways can rapidly grow awareness and email lists, especially when the entry mechanic encourages sharing or user-generated content, but experts emphasize clear rules and aligning prizes with your ideal customer to avoid attracting only freebie seekers. Across these tactics, the consistent expert advice is to set a specific goal (conversion, inventory clearance, reactivation), define terms and timing clearly, segment the audience (new customers vs VIPs), and measure lift and profitability so promotions build long-term brand equity instead of training customers to wait for the next sale.
