The pandemic has dramatically impacted many businesses, with online retailers especially seeing booming growth. Ecommerce site traffic has soared from 16.07 billion visits to 22 billion within 2020. Experts predict that online retail visits will remain high in 2021 and beyond.
However, as any ecommerce retailer knows, high site traffic doesn’t always equal high sales. Increasing your average order value (AOV) is a key way to maximize your revenue on each transaction.
Here are 4 strategies you can implement this year to boost the AOV of your ecommerce sales.
1. Offer free shipping at a set price threshold
75% of customers now simply expect free shipping. With prominent retailers frequently offering free shipping options, customers are a lot more likely to abandon carts once they see a shipping cost. However, customers are also likely to pay a higher total amount than the purchase cost with shipping if it means they will score the free shipping perk.
It’s not the extra cost of shipping that makes customers balk, but the feeling that what they paid for with shipping doesn’t have a tangible, returnable value. Customers who go to checkout and see that spending just $15 more will qualify them for free shipping are a lot more likely to go find another item to fill their cart.
Here are some ways retailers can make this easy:
- Display the order minimum for free shipping right when a customer enters the site.
- Keep a visible indicator as customers add items that notifies them of the amount they have left to spend to qualify.
- Offer easy add-on items at prices that will help them reach their total.
2. Make relevant suggestions
Customers value a personalized experience. Your site can act as a personal shopper to make recommendations for them that are helpful and relevant additions to their current purchase. This can be a great way to make it easy for customers to add value to their order while feeling that they’re getting personalized help.
In order to be effective, it’s critical that these purchases are both highly relevant to the item they added and are at a comfortable “add-on” price. Relevance helps the customer feel that the offer is helpful, rather than simply an upsell. A comfortable add-on price has to be a reasonable percentage of the previous item’s cost. If a customer makes a $40 purchase, they’re a lot more likely to accept a suggestion of an $8 item than one that is worth $30.
Here are a few ways your site can use this:
- Provide a suggestion based on the added items when a customer is viewing the cart.
- Include a note after each cart addition that lists what other customers who bought the item also purchased.
3. Provide responsive customer support
Shoppers love ecommerce options for their convenience. But some items are more difficult to assess without seeing them in person. If a customer feels unsure about a purchase, they’re more likely to abandon it. Responsive and easy customer support options can help customers get answers to their product questions quickly so that they don’t leave the page.
Customers who can get access to quality information quickly will feel better about buying, especially with certain types of products. For example, a study found that 44% of customers prefer an expert review before making an electronics purchase. By offering well-informed customer support, customers can feel like they’re talking to a product expert and feel good about going through with the purchase.
Here are some easy ways to apply this:
- Have a chatbot option that is easily visible so customers don’t need to search it out.
- Include a timed pop-up that will ask customers if they need help after they spend a certain amount of time on a page or on the site.
4. Offer extended warranties
If customers have hesitations on an expensive item, an offer for an extended product warranty can be a great cross-sell opportunity. In addition to providing immediate value-add to the order, customers are more likely to complete the order and add additional items. A study found that 32.7 % of customers are likely to buy more when offered a warranty option.
By providing the assurance through a warranty option that the product will last, you can give customers the confidence to make the purchase. This provides a “satisfaction guarantee” that shows the customer you stand by the products you offer—and that builds their trust in your company as well.
Here are a few simple ways to incorporate this:
- Surface the extended warranty option both on the product page as well as in the cart and checkout process.
- Partner with extended warranty specialists like Mulberry who can simplify the integration process and ongoing management of your program, leveraging product protection best practices throughout.
