Smart Merchandising for BFCM and Beyond (Webinar Recap)

Holiday shoppers often show up with a budget and a list. The offers they see on your site can decide how much of that budget lands with you.

In our live session, Smart Merchandising for BFCM and Beyond, our Product Marketing team covered bundles, BXGY, and onsite upsells, built a free shipping upsell live, and shared what to run after BFCM. Watch the recording or skim the highlights below.

Watch the recording

Bundles meet gift shoppers at their budget

Gift shoppers often arrive with a number in mind, like $100, $150, or $200 per person. Bundles at each price point can meet them there. They also remove the "which one?" decision on the product page.

Idea to test: A three-bestseller gift set at 15% off for new visitors, against your current product page.

BXGY moves more units without marking everything down

Idea to test: Buy two stocking stuffers, get one free, against 20% off sitewide.

To build this test in Intelligems, ask Atlas: "Test buy two stocking stuffers, get one free, against 20% off sitewide." Atlas sets up the offer and the test groups, and you review it before it goes live. In our Labor Day 2026 recap, brands that gave back less than 2.5% saw revenue drop 2%, while those at 20% or more saw the biggest lift. If you discount, make it worth it.

For more offer types, see What can I offer for Black Friday instead of percent off?

Onsite upsells close the free shipping gap

Onsite upsells recommend products on the product page, in the cart drawer, or on the cart page. Our favorite use is the free shipping nudge. A shopper with $64 in their cart sees they're $11 away from free shipping at $75, plus a few small add-ons to get there. (Not sure where your threshold should sit? Start with What should my free shipping threshold be?)

The hard part used to be the endless if/then logic. With Product Recommendation Rules, it can be built in a few minutes:

1. In Rules, pick the free shipping template (or describe your own rule).

2. Answer Atlas's setup questions, like showing the cheapest products first and hiding the upsell once the cart qualifies.

3. Preview the rule against a cart that's short of free shipping.

4. In Merchandising, create an onsite upsell and prompt: "Using my reach free shipping rule, create an onsite upsell for my cart drawer and page that closes the free shipping gap."

Atlas added the upsell to the cart drawer and page, matching the site's style.

You can also give each step of the funnel its own rule, like similar styles on the product page, bestsellers in the cart, small add-ons at checkout, and more of the same collection post-purchase.

What to run after BFCM

• Clear leftover holiday stock with BXGY on seasonal SKUs, or test 20% vs. 25% off instead of a default deep markdown.

• Show new releases to repeat visitors instead of older or marked-down inventory.

• Hide sale messaging from new visitors to test whether first purchases can happen at full margin. More on this in Should my Black Friday discount be the same for new and returning customers?

Your next steps

1. Pick one offer for your product page and one for your cart.

2. Launch each as a test, or as a personalization for a targeted audience.

3. Watch profit per visitor next to AOV.

4. Roll out the winner, then plan what replaces it in January.

Next up, we're covering checkout on Thursday, October 29. Save your spot here.

Want to build a holiday offer strategy where every test teaches you something for next year? Join GEM Academy for free courses and a community of brands sharing what's working.