8 Quick Ways to Increase your Average Order Value

24.07.2018

So, you’ve spent a fortune acquiring traffic to your site. You’ve increased awareness, got some backlinks and improved your rankings. It’s a noble effort, and you’ll definitely get some sales out of it.

If increasing your brand’s awareness is your main priority, this is a good place to start. But if you’re ready to start making more money, there are easier and cheaper ways to go about it.

One of the best ways to boost your revenue is by increasing your average order value. Same traffic, same customers, and more money in your pocket. Interested? We’re going to give you some insider tips on how to get started.

What is your average order value?

Put simply, your store’s average order value (AOV) is the average amount of money your customers spend in each transaction.

You can work out it out using this handy equation:

Total revenue / number of orders = average order value. Simple!

To increase your store’s average order value, you need to get your customers adding more products to their baskets. There are a host of quick, easy ways to do this.

Let’s get into some of the best ways to increase your average order value.

Set a free shipping threshold

People really, really hate paying for delivery.

Every ecommerce site should have a spend threshold for free delivery. If you don’t, you may as well be setting money on fire.

Think of all the times you’ve been on a website with £35 worth of goodies in your basket, only to be reminded at checkout that you’ll get free delivery if you spend an extra £5. The chances are, you’ll go back through the website and find some more things to buy.

In fact, a recent UPS study showed that at least 58% of customers will add items to their cart to qualify for free delivery. And if those items happen to another £30? Even better.

So, what should your threshold be? According to Facebook strategist Aaron Zakowski, it should be 30% higher than you’re current average order value. That means if you’re average order value is £50, you’re free shipping threshold should be £65. But this strategy won’t work for everyone.

The best way to work out your ideal threshold is to establish how big an order would have to be for you to comfortably offer free delivery. If giving customers free delivery means you won’t make a profit on their order, you’ll need to increase the threshold.

Remember, it’s all about margins!

Shout about your threshold

It’s not enough to have a free shipping threshold. You’ve got to advertise that gem.

There are loads of different ways you can do this, but some key areas to advertise it are your homepage, product pages and at the checkout.

Make sure you use a promotions bar or an icon on your homepage, so customers immediately know that free delivery is on the table. You can also include it on your homepage banners, switching up the design and copy to align with your other campaigns.

Include prompts wherever it feels natural on your site. If you’ve got an app, use push notifications to remind people about free shipping. This can be especially useful if you’ve got a sale on, or if you’re offering free one-day shipping for a limited time only.

Showcase related products

This is a really natural, unobtrusive way to start increasing your order value, and it can work for basically any ecommerce business.

Selling notebooks? Recommend stationary to go with their nice new journal. Got a customer who’s just bought a coat? Show them some other winter essentials, like gloves and hats.

If you’re a fashion retailer, there are tons of ways you can play around with related products. One effective way is having a ‘Complete the look’ section featuring other products worn by the model. Not only does this help you upsell items, it also gives your customers a better shopping experience.

Offer bundles

Let’s go back to the notebook example again. How about offering a bundle of a notebook and fancy pens, with a discount compared to buying them separately? The discount doesn’t have to be huge – similarly to the free shipping threshold, you should work out a discount that doesn’t harm your profit margins.

Bundles are handy for a variety of reasons. They can help reduce buyer’s remorse and eliminate any hesitation if a customer was considering buying the products anyway. They also discourage customers from shopping around. For example, if someone is buying a camera, there’s a good chance they’ll want a case to go with it. By offering a case in a bundle, you’re encouraging them to buy the case from you and not one of your competitors.

Personalised recommendations

As marketers get smarter and platforms get better, customers increasingly expect a personalised shopping experience. One of the easiest ways to do this is by offering product recommendations inspired by their browsing and buying habits.

Personalised product recommendations are a really handy tool in your arsenal. They can be whipped out for newsletters, on your homepage or used as push notifications on an app. For example, fashion brands might send out a notification saying “See these? They are SO you.”

These recommendations give customers another avenue to browse through. They may have only been looking for a pair of jeans, but now they’ll want to see what you think they might like. Not only does this increase your conversion rates, it also gives the customer a better shopping experience, and they’ll be more likely to add extra products to their basket.

Set up a loyalty programme

As you’ll probably already know, it costs more to acquire new customers than it does to sell to old ones. So, why not start rewarding them?

At their best, loyalty schemes keep customers coming back, increase average order value and provide a more personalised shopping experience. Eventually, they pay for themselves.

Loyalty programmes can come in all shapes and sizes. You can use a points system, giving customers a set number of points for every pound they spend. You could give them free gifts or discounts on special occasions, like their birthday or around payday. You could even set up a paid loyalty scheme, like Amazon Prime or ASOS Premier Delivery.

To get started with this step, browse your competitors and see how they’re keeping customers loyal. Unsure how to set up a loyalty scheme? We can help! Get in touch here

Offer introductory discounts…

…and capture email addresses in the process!

Introductory offers are a great way to convert potential customers. It gives them that extra incentive to buy from you and not your competitors.

A common introductory offer is to give 10% off when customers subscribe to your brand’s newsletter. If you go down this route, it’s a good idea to give a one-month time limit so they don’t forget about you.

The great thing about this method is that you’re capturing the email addresses of loads of potential new customers. These are leads that have agreed to be marketed to, so you’ll have an easier job warming them up and moving them along that oh-so-lucrative sales funnel.

Use buy now, pay later solutions

Ever avoided splurging on your shop because you didn’t have money in the bank? With pay-later checkout options like Klarna, you’re giving customers the option to add more products to their basket, even when they don’t have the funds.

Checkouts like Klarna give buyers 30 interest-free days to pay for their products. Not only does this help convert potential customers, it also increases your average order value. For example, if a customer sees a pair of shoes that’d go great with the jeans in their basket, Klarna gives them the freedom to splurge without checking their bank account.

Klarna also helps reduce buyer’s remorse. Customers get their products and (hopefully) fall in love with them before they’ve even had a chance to see their funds deplete. It’s a win-win.

Not sure where to start? We can help

You can use these steps to create an exceptional shopping experience that not only increases your average order value but also leaves you with happier customers. The best bit? We can do all the hard work for you.

Here at Juno, we specialise in growing businesses. Our team of marketing experts, developers and designers have the tools and the know-how to help you make more money. It’s the Juno effect

Interested in working with us?

Get in touch here