It is December, an order comes in, and the customer emails to ask: “Can you gift wrap this?” If your store has no answer, you have just added manual back-and-forth to every seasonal order — and left money on the table. Adding a gift wrap option in WooCommerce lets shoppers tick a box, add a message, and pay a wrapping fee you set, all at checkout.
Why WooCommerce has no gift wrap by default
WooCommerce keeps its core lean, and gift wrapping is treated as a store-specific add-on rather than a built-in feature. So there is no native checkbox for it — you add it yourself. There are two common ways.
Approach 1: A “gift wrap” product
Some stores create a small “Gift Wrapping” product and ask customers to add it to the cart. It needs no plugin, but it is clumsy: it clutters the shop, customers forget to add it, and there is nowhere to type a gift message. Use it only as a stopgap.
Approach 2: A proper checkout option (recommended)
A cleaner solution puts a real gift-wrap checkbox and message field where it belongs — at checkout. The free Gift Wrap for WooCommerce plugin does exactly that:
- Install and activate it.
- Set your wrapping fee — a flat amount per order, or per item.
- Optionally edit the label and enable a gift-message box.
At checkout, customers see a tidy “Add gift wrapping” option. The choice, the message and the fee are saved to the order, so your packing team sees exactly what to do.
Tips to earn more from gift wrapping
- Price it to feel worth it. A small, honest fee converts better than a suspiciously high one.
- Turn it on before the holidays. Gift-wrap demand spikes in November and December.
- Show the gift message on the packing slip so nothing gets missed.
- Mention it on product pages for giftable items, not only at checkout.
Give shoppers the option they expect
Gift buyers actively look for stores that make gifting easy. Adding a gift wrap option in WooCommerce is a small change that removes friction, lifts your average order value, and saves you the manual email dance every holiday season.