If you’re active on any social media channels, you’ve likely seen members of those communities participating in an online contest.
Whether it’s people posting TikTok videos about a brand, sharing a Facebook post about a product, or commenting on a beautiful Instagram post, retail giveaways are everywhere online.
These giveaways are not only successful online but can also drive significant engagement in physical stores. By using an omnichannel strategy, you can amplify both online and in-store customer engagement, using tools like Shopify POS to create a seamless experience.
Ahead, you’ll learn how to run a successful giveaway for your retail brand with examples and tools to use.
What is a retail giveaway?
A retail giveaway is when a store or brand gives out free items to potential customers. It's a way to get people excited about their products and gain more business.
The retailer might give samples of a new product, offer a free item with purchase, or hold a contest where people can win bigger prizes. The goal is to create buzz, attract new customers, and make existing customers feel appreciated.
How does a retail giveaway work?
Here’s how a typical retail giveaway works:
- The brand decides what they want to give away. This could be product samples, full-size items, or even bigger prizes like gift cards or experiences.
- They set the rules for the giveaway, such as how to enter, who can participate, and when it starts and ends.
- The giveaway is advertised through social media, in-store signs, emails, or other marketing channels to let people know about it.
- Customers participate by following the rules. This might involve making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or entering a contest.
- The store gives free items to those who qualify or pick winners for bigger prizes.
Retailers can use their physical stores to promote online contests by using in-store retail signage, point-of-sale (POS)-integrated promotions, and even giving away printed QR codes for customers to scan and enter. This not only amplifies the contest's reach but also encourages in-store foot traffic while building an omnichannel experience.
After the giveaway, the store usually follows up with participants to turn their initial interest into long-term customers. The whole process is designed to create excitement and increase interest in the brand.
Why run a retail giveaway? Key benefits for your brand
Giveaways gained popularity with the rise of television in the 1950s and ‘60s. They became part of game shows and advertising campaigns to reach a wider audience.
Over the years, the internet has changed giveaways, making them easier to run and manage. Online contests, influencer giveaways, and app-based promotions have become common.
Here’s what a retail giveaway can do for your business:
- Drive direct sales: Chamberlain Coffee ran a retail sweepstakes where customers had to upload a store receipt to enter. The two-month campaign resulted in over 750 in-store transactions and captured nearly 9,000 email addresses.
- Build your SMS and email list: Giveaways are one of the fastest ways to gather first-party data. Cotswold Flour, for example, has a standalone form to collect first-party customer data—like their name and email adresss—in exchange for giveaway entries.
- Activate in-store visits: Giveaways can also connect your digital and physical channels. In 2024, Health-Ade’s Grocery Sweeps drove over 80,000 in-store QR code scans and resulted in 40,000 entries.
When is the best time to run a retail giveaway?
Running a retail giveaway can be a big undertaking. So, you want to launch one at the right time to maximize its impact, whether building brand awareness or making sales.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, there are strategic moments when a giveaway can be effective:
- Product launches: To create buzz around a new product or service
- Seasonal events: During holidays or special shopping seasons like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and back-to-school
- Slow periods: To boost sales during typically quiet times for the business
- Brand awareness campaigns: To increase visibility or reach new market segments
- Customer appreciation: Randomly throughout the year to reward loyal customers
- Inventory clearance: To move older stock and make room for new items
- Social media growth: To increase followers or engagement on social platforms
For retailers with both online and physical stores, syncing giveaways with in-store promotions through your POS system can be particularly effective. For example, use Shopify POS to track in-store purchases and automatically enter customers into the giveaway when they meet the purchase requirements.
10 creative retail giveaway ideas
Need inspiration for your giveaway? Here are 10 fun ideas you can use to grow your retail business.
- Social media contests
- In-store and omnichannel giveaways
- Giveaways to generate user content
- Partnership and influencer giveaways
Social media contests
1. Comment-to-win
Ask followers to enter by following your account, commenting on a post, and tagging a friend. It’s a simple and effective way to boost engagement and expand your reach.
Remember that you are responsible for legal compliance, not the platform. Always include the official rules and add a disclaimer like “This promotion is not sponsored by Instagram” in your caption.
Fitness apparel brand Gymshark partnered with Oyinda Fitness for an Instagram giveaway, offering a prize bundle including a Hatch Restore Alarm Clock, a Five Minute Journal, and a £100 gift card.
To enter, followers had to follow both @oyinda_fitness and @gymshark on Instagram, like the announcement post, and tag a friend in the comments. It was a low-effort way for the brand to boost their follower count and drive engagement on Instagram.
2. Hashtag challenge
A hashtag challenge encourages fans to create their own videos featuring your products and using your branded hashtag.
To stay compliant, your instructions should require creators to use the platform’s branded content tool to disclose the commercial relationship. You should do the same on your own giveaway posts.
Fashion brand Princess Polly invited their TikTok followers to create a video showing off their PR package using items from the store's website. All fans had to do was follow the brand's account, use a special audio track for their video, and post it with the hashtags #ThanksItsPrincessPolly and #Competition.
Two winners were selected based on creativity and brand alignment, receiving a prize equivalent to $6,000 in gift cards over 12 months.
3. Collect-and-win game
Keep your audience engaged over several days with a collect-and-win contest. Users can get a daily entry through your app and unlock bonus plays by completing small tasks such as watching an Instagram Story or scanning a QR code.
Glossier ran a geo-gated, QR-poster treasure hunt with the Shop app to give fans early access to a product drop, an on-brand take on the scan-and-collect concept. Posters in NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago directed shoppers to Glossier’s storefront when scanned.
In-store and omnichannel giveaways
4. Scan-at-checkout entry
Connect your in-store shoppers to your digital loyalty program with a giveaway right at the checkout. Make entering as easy as scanning the app or typing in a phone number when they pay.
Texas grocery chain H-E-B did this perfectly with their 2025 Big Thanks Texas Giveaway. Shoppers were entered just by scanning their app at checkout, which was a brilliant way to get more people into the store and using the H-E-B app.
5. Buy to enter
Want a direct connection between your promotional giveaway and sales? A receipt-upload contest is a smart way to do it. The idea is relatively simple—customers buy one of your promotional products to get a chance to win.
For their OLI-Day Cheer Challenge, beverage brand Olipop tied purchases to their rewards and giveaway program. To enter for a chance to win weekly prizes such as a $100 gift card or the grand prize of a $1,000 gift card and a year's supply of Olipop, shoppers had to upload their purchase receipts. Every receipt served as a giveaway entry, earning the customer points they could redeem for exclusive merchandise.
6. Peel-and-reveal
Add an element of surprise by offering instant-win game pieces at your brick-and-mortar locations. Or, go digital and let customers scan a QR code for exclusive instant prizes.
Drake partnered with the Shop app to offer exclusive merchandise giveaways at his concert venues through shoppable QR codes.
Fans could scan the codes, download the Shop app, and claim free gifts from Drake's online store, Drake Related, for a unique blend of live concert experiences and online shopping. The campaign generated buzz on social media, rewarded dedicated fans, and allowed Drake to connect with his community while promoting his brand without writing any custom code.
📚 Read more: Drake Redefines Concert Experiences with Shop
Giveaways to generate user content (UGC)
7. Customer photo context
Ask customers to submit photos of themselves using your product in a real-world setting. You can feature the winning photo in your next ad campaign or on in-store displays. A user-generated content (UGC) campaign can help build buzz and social proof for your products.
Nina Shoes, for example, ran a traditional “like, comment, and repost” giveaway on Instagram. Followers could get an extra entry by posting a photo to show what they’re grateful for during the holiday season, tagging the brand, and using the hashtag #NinaThankfulSteps.
8. Recipe or style challenge
Get creative and launch a themed challenge. A fashion brand could do a summer looks contest, or a grocery store could run a best recipe competition. Host the entries in a gallery on a microsite and use QR codes on in-store signage to drive participation.
To celebrate the launch of a new cookbook, Crossword Bookstores launched a retail giveaway on Instagram. Followers were asked to share their favorite recipe and tag two foodie friends in the comments.
Partnership and influencer giveaways
9. Creator-led sweepstakes
Collaborate with an influencer to promote a giveaway that requires an in-store purchase. The creator can explain the rules and walk their audience through the process, from buying the product to uploading the receipt.
A creator-led campaign works for brands across any vertical. When US consumers were surveyed about the most popular influencer genres, food and cooking (37%), health and fitness (24%), and music (38%) were among the top 10.
Check out how sunglasses brand Blenders Eyewear set up a sweepstakes with country singer Alana Springsteen. The prizes were a perfect mix of both brands—tickets to see Alana Springsteen in concert, plus free Blenders sunglasses and gift cards.
Haircare brand Gisou also teamed up with influencer Linda to launch a creator-led giveaway. Entrants had to follow the creator and tag a friend in the comments.
10. Team up for a giveaway
You don't have to go it alone. Partner with other brands your customers love to create a giveaway with a much bigger, more exciting prize package. Anastasia Beverly Hills created an exciting back-to-school giveaway offering trendy items like backpacks, clothing, and makeup.
The brand cleverly timed this to the back-to-school season, getting followers enthusiastic about stylish school supplies. By partnering with other brands and asking people to engage on social media, Anastasia Beverly Hills spreads awareness and grows their audience, especially on platforms like TikTok where students are active.
How to set up your retail giveaway
Want to run your first giveaway? Here are the steps to follow:
- Define your goal
- Choose a prize that attracts the right audience
- Establish clear rules and legal guidelines
- Launch and promote the giveaway
- Keep the momentum going
- Announce the winner
- Reflect on your campaign
1. Define your goal
What’s the goal for your giveaway? While you might launch a giveaway for many reasons, your objective might look like one of these options:
- Grow your email newsletter subscription list
- Increase awareness amongst your target audience
- Publicize a new product launch
- Drive customers to your website or brick-and-mortar store
- Gain valuable data from existing and future customers
- Increase social media followers
- Get rid of excess inventory
Whether you intend to increase website traffic, grow your social presence, or supercharge sales, you must define the goal from the beginning of the campaign.
2. Choose a prize that attracts the right audience
Identify the prize or prizes you’ll be giving away. This is an integral component of any online contest, as better prizes can help further boost engagement and shares. But avoid offering generic prizes—instead, ensure your giveaways are relevant to your brand or products.
The easiest way to do this is to offer your own products as prizes. This can help you attract an audience that’s interested in your brand and—bonus!—clear excess inventory.
Consider offering in-store-exclusive prizes as part of the contest to incentivize customers to visit your physical store. For example, they might pick up their prize in-store, or a special promotion could be tied to in-store purchases.
💡 Get more fun giveaway ideas.
3. Establish clear rules and legal guidelines
Make it easy for customers to enter your giveaway.
Asking for too much personal information or requiring entrants to complete a lengthy form causes many people to abandon the entry process. Remember your goal and ask people for the minimum information needed to meet it.
There are also regulations you must follow to launch a giveaway, which can vary by state. Be sure to check local laws before launching.
State your official rules
Your official rules are your contract with participants. They must be easy to find from every social post, QR code, or signup page. At a minimum, they need to include:
- Eligibility requirements, such as age or location
- Entry procedures
- A full description of each prize and its approximate retail value (ARV)
- How and when the winner will be selected and notified
- Platform-specific disclaimers (e.g., stating that your giveaway is not sponsored by Instagram or TikTok)
- Any other terms and conditions
👉Legal note: Understand the “no purchase necessary” law. If your giveaway is a game of chance (like a random drawing), you can't require a purchase to enter. Doing so can turn your promotion into an illegal private lottery. To avoid this, provide a free alternate method of entry, such as a mail-in postcard or online form.
Handling customer data
- For SMS/email: If you ask for a phone number, you must obtain clear, separate consent to send marketing messages. Be sure to follow the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act for emails and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for texts and calls.
- For kids: If your giveaway is open to kids under 13, you must comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which has strict parental consent rules. The easiest way to avoid these guidelines is to clearly state in your rules that entrants must be 13 or older.
- For influencer and UGC campaigns: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises brands and influencers to disclose when they promote products they received for free. Your rules should require participants and any influencer partners to use hashtags like #ad or #contest in their posts.
4. Launch and promote the giveaway
Now that you're up and running, it's time to market your giveaway. First, inform your existing customers through your email newsletter, social media accounts, influencer partnerships, and in-store signage.
If you run your contest on social media, consider requiring entrants to tag a certain number of people to qualify, as this will increase your organic reach. If everyone needs to share the link with five others to qualify, that's a quick and easy way to ensure you're reaching many people organically.
And don’t forget in-person channels in your promotions. With Shopify POS, you can display contest information on receipts and offer instant-entry incentives for in-store purchases.
💡 PRO TIP: Want to create beautifully branded emails to promote your next giveaway? Use Shopify Email to create, send, and track campaigns, all from within Shopify—no coding experience required.
5. Keep the momentum going
Your customers are busy, so make it easy for them to remember your contest. Here are some techniques for keeping the momentum alive:
- Cap daily entries: Limit entries to one per day to turn participation into a daily habit.
- Use your store as a reminder: Tie entries to the checkout process by letting shoppers scan their app to enter with every purchase.
- Send timely email and SMS reminders: A simple “You’ve got a play waiting” or “Last chance to enter” message can bring people back, but be mindful not to spam their inboxes.
- Be omnichannel: Your giveaway should appear consistently across your store, website, social media, and app. In every single communication, make the rules and deadlines crystal clear so people know exactly how to come back and participate.
6. Announce the winner
Once you’ve chosen a winner in accordance with your outlined rules and regulations, you must announce them publicly. By advertising the winner through your marketing channels, you build excitement for your next online contest, legitimize it, and give the campaign a face.
7. Analyze your results
Once you've finished the giveaway and sent prizes to your winner, it's time to reflect on the efficacy of your contest while the experience is still fresh.
What worked, and what didn’t? Did you see a lift in engagement but not an increase in conversions? Were the rules clear enough for entrants, or did you encounter any obstacles?
Examine the key metrics directly correlated with your business objectives. If your contest was successful, reflect on how you can replicate that success for other giveaway ideas.
Top giveaway apps for Shopify merchants
Running a campaign on your own requires a lot of effort and skillsets—from coding to marketing, analytics, and contest mechanics.
Luckily, there are plenty of platforms that make it simple to run your campaign from start to finish:
ViralSweep
ViralSweep is an app that runs giveaways and contests in Shopify stores. It offers features like custom promotion pages, social media incentives, and analytics to help manage promotions.
With pricing starting at $49/month and positive user reviews praising its ease of use and customer support, ViralSweep is a popular choice for businesses looking to run viral marketing campaigns.
Giveaway Ninja
Giveaway Ninja is a Shopify app that manages giveaways and contests to increase customer engagement and sales. It provides features such as custom landing pages, purchase-based entries, and referral programs. The app integrates with email marketing platforms and starts at $49/month with a 14-day free trial.
Social Boost Giveaways
Social Boost is a giveaway app for creating and managing various promotional campaigns, like exclusive giveaways, contests, and referral programs.
It offers multiple entry methods, such as social sharing and following, and integrates with email marketing platforms. The app has a free plan for up to 50 users, with paid plans starting at $49.95/month for more users and features.
Run your first giveaway today
Online giveaways are a great way to reward loyal customers, increase engagement from existing customers, increase brand awareness online, and attract new customers. There's an infinite number of unique giveaway ideas to try, so give your first one a go today.
Retail giveaways FAQ
What is the difference between a giveaway, a sweepstake, and a contest?
Many people use these three terms interchangeably. But knowing the difference will help you keep things fair and legal:
- Giveaway: A casual, catch-all term for any kind of event where you're giving something away. It could be a sweepstake, or it could be a contest.
- Sweepstake: All about the luck of the draw. The winner is chosen at random from all eligible entries.
- Contest: Requires some skill or effort. Participants submit something (like a photo, video, or story) and a winner is chosen.
Are retail giveaways legal?
Retail giveaways are perfectly legal. The most important rule is that you can't force people to buy something to enter a game of chance, as that would be considered an illegal lottery.
As long as your sweepstake is free to enter, you're generally in the clear, but it's always a smart move to check your local rules just to be safe.
What are the best prizes for a giveaway?
The best prizes delight your target audience and relate to your brand.
How do you pick a winner for a giveaway fairly?
Running a fair giveaway means being transparent. If you’re running a skills-based contest, announce the judging criteria upfront so everyone knows how you'll choose the best entry.
If you're running a sweepstake where the winner is chosen by luck, consider using an app or a random number generator to do the picking for you.
