7 Highly Effective Ways to Increase Your Average Order Value

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4 min read

If you’re looking to grow your profit margin, your first instinct might be to get more customers in the door. But did you know that it is 68% more expensive to acquire $1 from a new customer than it is to upsell current customers?

Increasing average order value (AOV) is by far the most cost-effective way to grow your revenue. It doesn’t require additional ad spend or website traffic. Instead, it merely focuses on increasing sales by raising the amount your current customers spend with you.

Here are seven proven tactics to increase your customers’ basket size and your bottom line.

Boutique owner packaging up a free shipping order.

1. Give Free Shipping Incentives

Online shoppers dislike being charged extra for shipping when they’ve already paid for a product. Typically, they would rather purchase more to meet the free shipping threshold.

A free shipping threshold is an incentive that stores offer to drive more spending. When a customer checks out with a minimum dollar amount, they get rewarded with free shipping. It’s one of the most compelling incentives you can offer, with 58% of shoppers willing to add more to their cart to qualify for free shipping.

Smiling customer picks up her order from her favorite brick and mortar thanks to buy online pick up in store options.

2. Offer a Buy Online, Pick up in Store Option

Brick-and-mortar stores can also benefit if they are selling their products online. BOPIS, or Buy Online, Pick Up in Store, integrates e-commerce stores with their brick-and-mortar locations. Once customers do their online shopping, they can pick up their purchases at physical locations to save on delivery time and shipping costs.

It’s not only customers who get flexibility and perks from this popular fulfillment option. Brick and mortars armed with BOPIS can do what online-only stores cannot, which is to take advantage of the resulting foot traffic.

49% of BOPIS shoppers are willing to purchase additional items in-store when collecting their online orders. Retailers can take advantage of this with attractive displays, in-store sales, and using store associates to up-sell.

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3. Give the Option of Product Add-ons

Not only are customers willing to pay for your product, but they’re also willing to pay 20% more if it’s personalized. Monogramming and laser engraving have become popular product add-ons since they provide one-of-a-kind items.

If you’re not in the business of personalization, don’t forget gift wrapping. As simple as it may appear, this service is in high demand and a simple way to add extra cost.

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4. Increase Basket Size with Discount Offers

Offering discounts might seem counter-intuitive to increase your average order value, but it flat out works. What can we say? People love a good deal!

This method requires you to understand your current profit margin, markup, and breakeven point so you can turn a profit. Discounts are great for a boost when sales are seasonally lower. Additionally, they help move older inventory.

Some ecommerce platforms will even have the ability to automate personalized discounts. For instance, CommentSold displays intelligently chosen item suggestions with discounts once customers reach the check out screen. Set the parameters for your discount and how old your stock is, and automation will suggest an appealing item that goes well with it. 

5. Use Coupons to Drive Customer Behavior

Coupons are a powerful driver of consumer behavior. By cutting prices, they convince customers to make purchases they might not have made otherwise. Better yet, they can keep your customers coming back for more. 

The most effective way to deliver discounts is through email automation. Automation makes it possible to send highly personalized coupons and product recommendations based on past shopping behaviors right to their inbox. They’re also exceptionally good at luring online shoppers into repeat purchases.

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6. Offer Buy Now, Pay Later Options

55% of abandoned carts are due to a high total cost of purchase. “Buy Now, Pay Later” website payment solutions, such as Sezzle, have now made it easy for customers to pay in interest-free installments. 

Not only does this cut down on cart abandonment rates and drive conversion rates, but it also encourages an increase in spending. Customers feel more at ease making larger purchases when they are not under pressure to pay for expensive purchases in one lump sum.

Buy Now, Pay Later payments also to cater to the largest segment of the US population with disposable income, Millennials. Two-thirds of Millennials don’t own credit cards, but alternative payment solutions give them a way to buy similarly with payment installments.

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7. Upsell with Curated Looks

Cross-selling is a sales technique that encourages customers to buy products that are related to the items they already plan on purchasing. Many online businesses cross-sell by showcasing a curated, branded selection of complementary items on their websites, mobile apps, and social media accounts.

By far, social video is the easiest way to sell these hand-picked outfits. Over half of consumers say they engage with their favorite brands through this medium. Considering social media’s vital role in the customer journey, this is a trend that will only continue to grow.

Fit videos, Facebook and Instagram Stories, and Facebook Live Sales are all addictive, binge-worthy content customers enjoy. They’re not only fun, but they’re informative and convincing, giving them the confidence to buy more from you.

The Takeaway

You don’t have to do a complete overhaul on advertising or bring more customers through the door to boost your sales. Instead, you can use these methods to increase your current customers’ average order value. There is no other way to make more money per sale with much less work, cost, and hassle.

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