The difference between success and failure comes down to how much you can sell. However, in the current economic climate, consumers need to be convinced more than ever before, that they need (or even want) what you’re selling.
In addition, you want them to fill their virtual shopping baskets as much as they can before heading to the checkout.
Given that you have little or no control over the way your customers spend their money, how can you improve your average basket size in your e-commerce shop?
Here are four tried and true ways to help increase your average basket size.
1. Shipping
The cost of shipping can be a great decider in how much someone is going to spend – but you need to display it clearly. Your homepage ought to be the place to communicate that information; it’s the first thing your potential clients will see, and it’s there that you need to start baiting the hook.
Work out just how much you need to sell to absorb the cost of delivery and then factor that into your sales pitch, along with the lines of ‘Free Delivery for orders over $xxxx.’ That figure will linger as the one that your clients have to reach in order to get what they’ll consider being a good deal (the idea of getting ‘something for nothing’ always sells!).
2. Where Do I Check Out?
Many e-commerce stores fail at the first post by not having their shopping basket in an obvious place. Your customer doesn’t want to spend ages looking for it; they want to pick that basket up and start shopping, so make sure it’s easy to see. Often, it’s as simple as increasing the size or color of the icon or putting it in a more obvious position.
3. How Much Have I Spent?
Following the ‘Free Delivery’ tip, it’s worth featuring an online calculator beneath your client’s basket. With each purchase, the calculator should display just how much more they need to spend to qualify for free shipping. Again, this keeps that valuable figure in their heads and makes them feel that they can, if they want, get something of a bargain thrown into the mix.
4. Cross-Selling
Cross-selling is one of the most effective methods of increasing sales and yet it’s not as widely used as it could be. Effectively, cross-selling works by recommending relevant and associated products, as the shopper browses or makes their choice. It’s a great way of encouraging the ‘oh, I didn’t think of that’ mentality that can mean the difference between a basic sale and your client adding a couple of extras to their basket.
This method of selling makes full use of your catalog, revealing products that your client might otherwise not see. Also, you get to choose which products are the best to recommend; in other words, you get to tell your customer what you think they need.
Conclusion
Increasing your average basket size isn’t rocket science; it just takes a little thought and some A/B testing to see what works and what doesn’t for your business.
What tips do you have for increasing your e-commerce basket size? Drop us a note below; we’d love to hear from you!
Carlo Pandian is a tutorial writer on small business accounting solutions by Intuit Australia. He is a keen observer of the start-up world focused on business models and customer acquisition and retention. Increasing the size of your basket is an important way of increasing your revenue. While your customer may be in another country entirely, you can still have some influence over their shopping habits.
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