How to increase the order value of your online store?

Every retailer wishes to generate higher revenue for his online store. It is simple math that more the web traffic to an online store, the higher will be the revenue. Apart from attracting more traffic, there is another way (often overlooked) to increase revenues, and that is to increase the orders from the web traffic which you are already receiving on your online store. So, how does an online retailer achieve this? A seller can certainly find innovative ways to induce customers to add more products to their cart within an ongoing transaction. This will certainly lead to an increase in the Average Order Value (AOV) and the cash flow for any e-commerce store. To calculate AOV, simply divide total revenue by number of orders.

Average Order Value= Total Revenue / Number of orders

StoreHippo has compiled the list of top strategies to induce customers to buy more products in a single transaction & increase the order value for online stores:
 
Upselling of products

Upselling products is a tactic which the sellers can use to encourage the customers to spend more than they had actually planned for. This is usually accomplished by suggesting higher priced version of the same product. Say, a person is contemplating purchasing a Mobile Phone of which costs Rs 20,000. If the site displays at that moment another mobile which costs say, Rs 21,000 but has additional & better features, a customer is likely be tempted to buy this somewhat higher priced product as it offers more benefits at only a marginally higher cost. Upselling is sure shot way which translates into more order value for your online store. Retailers can suggest product recommendations on the checkout or product page itself. See below the example of slight variation of cost on purchase of two laptops.



Cross Sell Complementary products

A cross-sell is when online sellers recommend a customer to buy a product that compliments their existing purchase, but is from some other category (or for that matter, another vendor). For e.g. recommend a power bank along with purchase of a mobile phone, a camera stand with purchase of a camera, a printer with a computer, a matching necklace with a pair of earrings and so on. The situation is akin to your visit to a fast food restaurant. When you order a coke, the seller asks you, “Would you like some chips too?”

A point to remember is that a recommended purchase should be related to the product a customer is planning to purchase. It does not make sense to recommend unrelated products. Do you think a customer who is originally buying a TV is likely to add a power bank in his cart or a DVD player?
This can be promoted by the sellers under such a label- ‘customers who viewed this product, also viewed’ or as ‘frequently brought together’.



Free Shipping on minimum purchase

Online shoppers are most happy when they get Free Shipping of products. Retailers can use this to their advantage and offer free shipping, applicable only on purchase of a specified minimum amount of transaction. This will increase the average order value. For e.g. retailers can offer free shipping only on orders above Rs 400. Also, keep in mind that shipping charges should be only slightly more than your AOV. If you start charging higher shipping costs for lesser priced articles, people might abandon carts and the total number of transactions can decrease. Keep a close watch on your revenues and abandoned carts.

Club products

Another easy way to increase average order value is to create product bundles. This means that when purchased separately the two products costs more but cost less if two products are purchased together. Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Sellers can wisely club together those products which have not been sold for a while. See this example-


Free gift/coupon/discount/ add-ons as incentives

Online retailers can choose to offer discount on a specified amount of purchase. For the inventory which hasn’t moved off the shelf since long, retailers can offer free gifts or a cash back scheme. Another tactic to lure customers to buy products is to offer a discount coupon valid on next purchase. Give discounts on bulk sales or consider ‘Buy One, Get One’ offer. Sellers can also offer add-on benefits like warranties/ guarantees on electronics, installation help or guide with devices/equipment, tech-support, product training, free trial, etc. All such small steps ensure repeat customers, wins customer loyalty and above all ensures a continuous stream of web traffic to a seller’s store. Remember to highlight these schemes on the home page to catch the eye of the people.

Give limited period offers

When you offer a discount or a freebie, keep the offer valid for a limited period only. There has to be reason to act, and act quickly. If a retailer offers a sale for a month and another offer of a flash sale, limited to a day-which one would spur more action?

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs go a long way to make the customers spend more and keep coming back to your store. Add loyalty points in the customer’s account on every purchase. Send them e-mailers / notifications to keep on reminding them of the points accumulated in their loyalty account. It creates a bond between your brand and the customer, thus wins customer’s loyalty as well.
 
Track customer’s Browsing History

It is very important to track a customer’s browsing history. Send them mailers and notifications to display ‘recently viewed’ items and past browsing history.  A customer may have been interested to buy these products but couldn’t complete the purchase due to some reason or the other. So, it is vital to keep send them reminders.



Conclusion

Online sellers need to strategize carefully to increase the order value of their stores in order to get higher revenues. Be careful not to implement all the ideas all at once. Remember to balance your profit margins and the discounts given. Analyze what works best for your store. Strategically plan your offers to increase product purchases from your existing web traffic.

We have shared with you some examples to increase the average order value of tour store. Do you have more ideas? Please share with us in the comments below!