PlayAbly Podcast 48: How Buckle Me Baby Coats Drove 40% Higher AOV with no Discounts in December

In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we break down one of the most memorable holiday campaigns we've ever run — the White Christmas Gamified Rebate for Buckle Me Baby Coats.

This wasn't your average discount offer. Instead of slashing prices, the brand invited customers to root for snow on Christmas Day — with the chance to earn 100% cashback if it snowed at least 3 inches in NYC. The result?

✅ 23% increase in sales
✅ 40% higher AOV for campaign participants
✅ No margin sacrifice

We dive into why this ecommerce gamification strategy worked so well, how it aligned with Buckle Me’s mission-driven brand, and what made it operationally turnkey with PlayAbly. If you’re a DTC founder, retention marketer, or agency leader looking to escape the discount trap and boost holiday performance, this episode is a must-listen.

You'll learn:

• How outcome-based promotions outperform traditional discounting
• Why shoppable games are driving real revenue impact
• How to launch your own gamified rebate in under 3 days
• The secret to increasing AOV while protecting your margins

Ready to replace discounts with delight? Learn more about Shopify gamification and book your demo at PlayAbly.ai today.

Want to see what PlayAbly can do for you? From cool custom games to PlayAbly Gamified Rebates, we (probably) have a solution for your ecommerce shop woes. Book a meeting with the great and powerful John here.

Transcript

Welcome back to the PlayAbly Podcast - Alright, today we’re breaking down one of my favorite holiday campaigns we’ve ever run at PlayAbly — the Buckle Me Baby Coats White Christmas Gamified Rebate. Because this one completely flips the script on discounting.

Yeah, and what I love about this case is that it’s not just a fun idea — it actually drove real revenue impact. Higher sales, higher AOV, and no margin sacrifice. Which almost sounds too good to be true.

So let’s start with the brand itself. Buckle Me Baby Coats is a parent-founded, mission-driven DTC brand created by Dahlia Rizk. She’s a seasoned entrepreneur and a mom who spotted a real safety issue with traditional winter coats and car seats.

Right — kids can’t safely wear bulky winter coats in car seats, and Dahlia patented a solution that actually solves that problem. She even took the brand to Shark Tank, and since then it’s grown into a really trusted name among safety-conscious parents.

Which is important context, because this is not a brand that wants to train customers to wait for discounts. Their product is premium, purpose-driven, and built around trust.

Exactly. But like a lot of DTC brands during the holidays, they were running a sitewide promotion. It works short term, but it comes with tradeoffs — margin pressure, brand dilution, and customers anchoring to lower prices.

Then Dahlia sees our White Christmas Gamified Rebate concept on social media. And instead of another guaranteed discount, she asks a really interesting question: “Can we turn this into something exciting instead of transactional?”

And that’s where the idea clicked. The promotion was simple but powerful: if it snowed at least three inches in New York City on Christmas Day, customers would receive 100% cash back on their purchase — excluding tax and shipping.

So instead of “buy now, get 20% off,” it became “buy now, root for a White Christmas.” There’s anticipation. There’s emotion. There’s a story.

And critically, customers were still paying full price upfront. No discount at checkout. That’s a huge psychological and financial shift.

The goals were very clear: create a memorable holiday promotion, avoid heavy discounting, and give customers confidence to purchase at full price.

From the execution side, this is where turnkey really matters. Because gamified rebates sound complex, but PlayAbly handles everything — the promotion mechanics, legal and compliance, customer communications, reminders, and integrations.

Which meant Buckle Me Baby Coats could actually turn off their sitewide discount and replace it with this campaign — without adding operational headaches for their team.

And the speed mattered too. From concept to live, the entire promotion launched in under three days.

Now let’s talk results, because this is where it gets really interesting. As soon as the campaign launched, Buckle Me Baby Coats saw an immediate 23% increase in sales.

That alone is impressive, but the bigger story is AOV. Customers who participated in the gamified rebate had a 40% higher average order value compared to shoppers the week prior.

Forty percent. That’s the proof point a lot of brands need — customers will pay full price, and even spend more, if the offer is novel and emotionally engaging.

And here’s the kicker: by turning off the sitewide discount entirely, overall AOV increased by 16% versus the prior period. So revenue went up, margin stayed intact, and discount dependence went down.

Which is basically the holy grail for eCommerce brands.

Dahlia summed it up perfectly. She said, “Turning off discounting actually increased my sales and revenue — a total win-win.”

And she also said, “It was the perfect Christmas game, and I look forward to running it again next year.” That’s when you know it worked — when the founder wants to repeat it.

So why did this campaign actually work? First, it was seasonal and memorable. Customers weren’t just buying a coat — they were rooting for snow on Christmas morning.

Second, it wasn’t discount-focused. The brand value stayed intact, and the reward felt earned, not guaranteed.

And third, execution was completely turnkey. This wasn’t a six-week build or a risky experiment. It launched in days and fit seamlessly into existing flows.

The big takeaway here is that gamification isn’t about gimmicks. It’s about replacing predictable discounts with outcome-based rewards that create excitement and urgency.

The Buckle Me Baby Coats White Christmas campaign proves that when done right, gamification can increase AOV, preserve margin, and create promotions customers actually remember.

And honestly, that’s the future of promotions — not racing to the bottom on price, but giving customers something to root for.

Exactly. More play, less discounting — and better results for everyone.

Now I have to ask - I know it didn't snow Christmas morning but what if it did? Would the brand owe all that money to everyone that bought?

Nope- PlayAbly ensures all the refunds so PlayAbly would pay all the customers out and Buckle Me pays PlayAbly the same regardless of the outcome. 

Want to see what a gamified rebate can do for your company? Book your demo today on the PlayAbly dot AI website today!