Your online store is doing well… but it could be doing GREAT. Today, we’re going to walk you through 6 simple ways you can increase your average order value without incurring additional ad spend. 

Customers love to get good deals, and they love to shop around: but they also like to keep a hold on their purse strings. Here are six ways you can get them to part with the cash with a smile on their face, and to get them to leave your store with more than they bargained for.‍

Free Shipping

The simplest and smartest way to increase AOV (average order value) is by offering free shipping over a certain purchase amount. For example, you may provide free shipping on all orders above $50.

If your average order value is $39, add a banner that shows free shipping for orders over $50. Your customers will decide that it’s worth the extra item to get free shipping, and will start to fill up their carts. More browsing time on your site = bigger checkout cart!

Industry experts from all over the world have suggested adding 30% to your current average order price to give you your free shipping threshold. This allows you the flexibility to afford free shipping, and the luxury to offer it to your customers!

Consider notifying your customers during the checkout process if they don't reach the free shipping threshold; this small step might just be the final boost they need to grab another item and make the most of your offer. ‍

Upsell or cross-sell complementary products

Cross-selling involves encouraging customers to buy products related to the ones they’re purchasing. Many companies adopted this strategy to increase their AOV; because it works! 

By encouraging customers to purchase relevant products, you save them time by avoiding having to search for such items or accessories (think mousepad when they buy a laptop, for example) and you get to show off the range of products you have on offer. Everyone wins!

Another strategy you can use is upselling. You can do this by encouraging buyers to consider purchasing more refined, and more expensive versions of the product they have in mind. 

Give Back to Your Buyers

Your customers are your business; and it feels good to give back to them. But there can also be something in it for you when you decide to give gifts or gift cards to your customers. 

Gift cards are a great way to increase AOV. You can offer them from anywhere between 5-250$ or even more, and they will incentivize your customers to buy from you over and over again; increasing your average customer’s lifetime value. 

The gift card is also a way to bring "free", organic traffic to your store. This is a great way to boost sales in difficult time periods, but be careful not to overdo it. You don’t want to cheapen your brand image by consistently giving away your products: choose the occasions wisely (your store’s birthday, special events etc.)‍

First Time Offers 

If you are a new or up-and-coming store, most of your traffic will be made up of first-time visitors. This is a great time to give customers good deals, as it will incentivize them to come back later on. You can offer different kinds of first-timer deals to first-time visitors and increase your average order value. These types of deals may include bundle deals or exclusive discounts for first-time customers. 

If your customer likes what they received from you in their first order, it'll be a lot easier for you to tempt them to buy again (don’t forget to get their email and keep them updated!).  ‍

Reward Loyalty...

Who doesn't like to be rewarded every now and then?! There are so many ways you can introduce loyalty programs for your customers to keep them coming back, so this is a great, versatile way to increase AOV.

The best thing about creating a loyalty program is that it gives customers a sense of importance; they feel noticed and valued as patrons of your company. When you consider that 40%-50% revenue of more prominent brands comes from repeat customers, it’s no surprise that repeat customers are made to feel special in booming businesses.  

It doesn’t have to cost you a lot of time or money to do this. You can invite customers to your store offers through emails or social media marketing; two things you should already have locked down as an eCommerce store. ‍

Give Limited Time Offers

Limited time offers are also an excellent way to increase the average order value; they put urgency and scarcity to use to give your customers the feeling that if they don’t jump on this offer… they’re going to miss out. You can offer your customers a surprise gift or a discount when someone orders a specific quantity from your site within the next 24 hours.

Please note, this method is not scalable. However, once in a while, such deals give a boost to your sales and increase your AOV. You can use this method in between holidays or other campaigns. You can promote such offers as flash sales on your social media.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you for taking the time to read this short blog post on ways you can increase your AOV, we hope it was super helpful and is going to lead to some stocked up carts for your customers.

As always, don’t hesitate to comment any feedback or questions you have.