How to boost online sales by increasing your Average Order Value?

Every startup knows for a fact that online sales are directly proportional to the number of visitors on a website.

The higher the number, the greater your chances are of converting those visitors into loyal customers.

Therefore, you see many businesses squandering a major chunk of their revenue in getting more traffic on the website. But even then, how can you ensure that the traffic arriving on the website constitutes loyal leads, and moreover if they would indeed increase the average order value?

The questions that now come to the surface are, how can we increase the traffic on a website? What strategies can you use to increase the average order value to a high margin? And finally, how can you compel users to buy from you?

In this blog post, I will be sharing 4 strategies which you can use to increase online sales by boosting the average order value:

1. Offer FREE Shipping – Conditions Apply!

When I started my first e-commerce store, the shipping cost gave me a run for my money. With some products, the shipping cost doesn’t even cover the cost of the product which most always meant me being at the losing end of the bargain. Shopping carts are often abandoned at the checkout when customers are dissuaded by an additional shipping charge.

Then one day my father, who owns a catering business, confided in me a stellar idea. ‘Why don’t you apply to ship for a limited amount and offer FREE shipping after a certain cost?’ The idea was brilliant, and it became an instant hit.

Meanwhile, you can use all the mediums like social media, email, and digital advertising to let people know that you offer FREE shipping after a certain amount. For instance, you can mention that shipping is free after £50 value purchase.

The important thing to note here is to let the customers know that they can avail free shipping after they have spent a certain amount. Many savvy shoppers will add additional items to their shopping cart to receive something for free, especially delivery!

2) Use the magic of Upsell & Cross-sell

Upsell and Cross-sell when done right can-do wonders for a brand. For instance, a camera might come with an offer of batteries, and a printer purchase might prompt the suggestion for ink. While a scanner suggestion when a printer is purchased or a conditioner suggestion when the shampoo is selected constitutes as cross-selling.

Read more: Clever CTA Examples for your Inspiration

When going for the upsell, the user is simply presented with an advanced version of the current product. For example, if a user purchase 1KG of Coffee, to upsell means giving the user an option to buy 2KG of Coffee. The key point to note here is that if 1KG of Coffee costs £8 and 2KG of Coffee cost £14 it will give the impression to the user that they’re saving £2, when in fact they are spending more.

3) Recommending a product

Social proof is something which most website owners look over or even take for granted. When in fact, it is an indispensable motivator which forces people to buy a product.

It is not necessary that people want to see their friends recommending the product if the product is recommended by many users, it automatically establishes credibility.  Especially when recommendations are accompanied by original product pictures, customers feel safe to buy the product.

Product recommendations are mostly seen on product pages or on the shopping cart page. While in Amazon, the recommendation is displayed right next to the product description. This increases the probability of users buying a product because someone else has bought it too.

4) Loyalty Programs

Once upon a time, the loyalty programs used to impact only the customer Lifecycle value, but if done correctly, they can affect the average order value too. You can inform the customers that if their order value exceeds a certain amount, they will be rewarded with a discount code.

With highly-advanced dynamics, it is now possible to detect the absence of a regular customer and shoot them a discount in the email to prompt them to visit the store and buy something.

When you focus on engaging and activating those who are already spending with you, you have fewer barriers to overcome. Instead of spinning your wheels on the acquisition, focus on creating a greater exchange of value—the customers who spend more, get more.

Summing it all up

It doesn’t matter how much traffic you’re able to generate on your website; if you’re not using it efficiently, what is the point of generating the traffic in the first place?

Implementing one of these strategies or even all of them, you’ll notice a drastic increase in online sales and average order value.