{"id":84410,"date":"2022-01-13T13:23:33","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T21:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegood.com\/?post_type=insights&p=84410"},"modified":"2024-05-29T09:17:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T16:17:26","slug":"increase-ecommerce-sales-without-discounting","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/insights\/increase-ecommerce-sales-without-discounting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top Ecommerce Sales Strategies (Including How To Increase Sales Without Discounting)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ask any group of marketers for their top ecommerce sale strategies and the first suggestion you\u2019ll hear is \u201chold a sale.\u201d In fact, no matter where you look for information on how to increase ecommerce sales, discounting strategies are the most common promotional ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoppers love sales. Any reason you can come up with to hold one \u2013 be it Black Friday, Memorial Day, or your ecommerce birthday \u2013 is sure to get more orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s just one problem with the idea. \u201cOn Sale\u201d means a discounted price, and a discounted price means less profit. Yes, a properly orchestrated sales strategy can make up for the slimmer margin by pumping up the volume, but what if you could increase ecommerce sales<\/a> without discounting prices?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019re going to share the best ecommerce sales strategies that we\u2019ve found to get more conversions without lowering your prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Wrong with Discounting in Ecommerce? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, offering discounts seems like a perfectly fine idea. Many successful online companies have been using discounting strategies for decades, and it appears to be working for them, right? There\u2019s an entire economy built around helping customers find the lowest prices. A discount-finding tool, was recently purchased by PayPal<\/a> for a staggering $4 billion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why are they such a problem? Three reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Discounting leads customers to think that you\u2019re a discount brand.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Instead of being known for quality products or outstanding service, customers associate your company with the lowest price. You become the ecommerce version of Dollar General, attracting those searching for bargains. When a customer receives a discount on their first purchase, you can be pretty confident that they\u2019re going to try to get the same discount with every subsequent purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you really want to join other discount brands in a race to the bottom? Probably not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You can\u2019t build a business by targeting deal-hunters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to turn a profit, shoppers with a \u201cno discount, no purchase\u201d mentality are likely not your ideal customers<\/a>. Discounts cannibalize your profits, leaving you with razor thin margins. If you want a healthy bottom line, you probably don\u2019t want your primary customers to be bargain hunters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Discounting is a short-term solution to a larger problem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, you need to figure out why your sales are slumping, or why they aren\u2019t increasing organically. In other words, where are the holes in your sales funnel? Is your website confusing? Are your landing pages or Google Ads ineffective? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaning on discounting to help your business make it through a tough time is like putting a bucket under a leaky pipe instead of taking the time to repair the pipe. Clearly, you need strategies for increasing ecommerce sales without discounting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

23 Promotional Ideas for Your Brand (That Aren\u2019t Discounting) <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to know how to increase ecommerce sales without discounting, you\u2019ll need to use one or a variety of tactics. The following ecommerce sales strategies will enable you to boost sales without eroding your profits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Buy one\/get one<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have excess inventory, BOGO (free or half-off) is an effective way to increase customer engagement and generate sales. You can even stack the offer so that they get more when they buy more, like Beloved Shirts does:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"BOGO<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Buy one\/give one<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A buy one\/give one promotion is when you give something away each time a customer places an order (or for each product purchased). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This promotional idea has been around for a long time, but it was popularized when shoe brand Toms launched in 2006<\/a> and pledged to give away a free pair of shoes for every pair sold. Other brands like Warby Parker and State Bags are built on this model as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"buy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Free gift with purchase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Offering a free gift with purchase can be a powerful incentive, giving customers the nudge they need to buy. And if the gift is a sample of one of your products, it gives customers yet another reason to buy from you in the future. Sephora knows this and often includes product samples for free with orders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"free<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Free shipping <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Free shipping belongs on every<\/em> list of ecommerce sales strategies. Customers demand it<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ecommerce conversion rates are always higher when free shipping is included. No surprise there. There\u2019s a reason it\u2019s the cornerstone of the Amazon Prime program. If you want to see your ecommerce sales increase, give free shipping to customers, just like Bonobos does for customers in the United States:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"free<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Free returns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Offering free returns sets customers minds at ease and incentivises them to purchase. They know that they can easily return products if they have any issues. Yes, it will probably increase your return rate, but it will also increase customer loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zappos is known for their generous return policy<\/a>, which is important to shoe buyers who might not get the right size on the first order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"zappos<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Threshold free shipping \/ free gift<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Offering some form of benefit for orders over a threshold amount can motivate shoppers to add more items to their cart, increasing key metrics like Average Order Value (AOV) and Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Athleta offers free shipping on all orders over $50:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"minimum<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7. Loyalty programs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A loyalty program allows you to reward customers who are particularly faithful to your brand. Whether through special discounts on high-demand items or exclusive access to particular products, loyalty programs keep customers coming back again and again. Keenly aware of this reality, Amazon offers all sorts of perks to Prime members:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"prime<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

8. Display \u201climited quantity\u201d messaging<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Showing that you have a limited number of something in stock can create a sense of urgency in customers. They don\u2019t want to miss out on the opportunity to buy. Etsy does a great job of increasing urgency on their product pages by showing how many items are in stock, as well as alerting customers if an item is already in someone\u2019s cart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"limited<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. Show sold out items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Highlighting sold out items shows how popular they are, which can cause even more people to want them. Just be sure to give customers the option of being notified when the product is back in stock. Otherwise they may forget about it. Snow Peak uses this technique with out of stock items and has stellar results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"snow<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

10. Money back guarantees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The greatest fear of most online shoppers is buying something, not liking it, and not being able to easily get a refund. Offering a rock-solid money-back guarantee can ease this fear and compel the customer to purchase. Fly-fishing company Orvis offers what they call a \u201cGreat Catch Guarantee\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"customer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

11. Service guarantee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even broader than a money-back guarantee, a service guarantee assures your customers that you will do whatever is necessary to assure their satisfaction. Companies who offer outstanding customer service create customers for life, reducing churn rate and increasing Customer Lifetime Value. Bombas offers a happiness guarantee that gives customers every reason to purchase from them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"happpiness<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

12. Product bundling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Product bundling is the practice of grouping two or more items together and selling them as a single unit, usually at a lower price than if they were sold individually. While this is technically<\/em> a discount, it also increases the customers\u2019 order value, so you\u2019re still bringing in more money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n