💬 As a marketer/eCommerce founder, there's no doubt that one of the main areas that you're wanting to constantly tweak/improve is increasing your average order value (AOV).
Having worked in the world of eCommerce for 6+ years, seeing AOV trend in the right direction does lead to faster compound growth.
So, if you're looking for some inspiration for ideas/tests to run/optimise, then you'll enjoy this checklist.
💬 Below are areas of AOV initiatives that are worth trying (if you haven't already), with some software app vendor suggestions that can make the implementation process easier.
I really like pre-purchase upsells a lot with key product recommendations that make sense for that item.
The key thing to remember here is to ensure that it's not intrusive or annoying for users - that's where you do need a good UX to get it right (it's a balance).
Most importantly, in relation to UX, it needs to be frictionless and done in 1-click (particularly for mobile).
Related to pre-purchase upsells, also implementing post-purchase upsells after a customer has made a purchase can really help increase AOV - and I've seen this work effectively many times for brands.
A key factor here is ensuring there's personalised offers which makes sense to the customers on the thank you page.
The good news is that normally this would take quite a bit of custom work to get done, but there are some awesome software vendors out there that can help with this.
A big thing when it comes to any offer is to try get customers/visitors to make faster decisions - and that's where time-based offers (which is a FOMO/scarcity tactic) can help increase uptake.
Bundles are a great initiative to help increase average order value, and when it's done well and firing, it can really catapult. Ultimately for this point, review the various types of bundle offers that other brands do within your industry - and if you don't find much, check out brands in the beauty, fashion, and drink/beverages space, as they usually do an amazing when it comes to bundles.
One of my favourite tactics for higher cart value from customers is adding a free shipping threshold.
We all know that shipping costs play a role when it comes to cart abandonment and conversion rates, and I can say from helping a few eCommerce brands, that this has been a key driver for improved AOV.
Normally this custom cart work can be complex, but there are some awesome apps out there (which are also cost-effective) which make this process super easy/seamless.
As a general note here, offers play a big role when it comes to persuading add more to carts.
More of a question for yourself - what offers is your brand giving as incentives to drive higher cart value? What bonuses/incentives are competitors doing (if they are)?
I'd be creating a mini-example image file and a sheet for notes, and observe/take notes on what competitors are doing, and also what some of your favourite brands are doing.
Dynamic product recommendations are awesome as a cross-selling initiative for both new and existing customers.
You can implement 'custom' pricing and items based on the behaviours of visitors/customers - including past purchase history, what's added to cart, product pages they've visited, and many other factors.
For larger stores, you can add some robust tech to make this happen. For smaller stores on a limited-budget, there are some cost-effective apps out there.
Typically, I just recommend highlighting your top performing products, and add 'stars/reviews' (or proof of popularity) to help increase chances it will be added. For either larger or small stores, there are great software solutions available.
A great way to increase urgency is to highlight/promote limited time offers - both across the site and through key product pages. I say product pages, pending on traffic acquisition sources.
However, UX and ensuring any promotion isn't annoying or affects conversion paths.
Consider adding banners and countdown banners (lots of tools which make this easy to add).
BNPL payment options does help with providing options for customers to easily checkout.
Plus, it certainly helps for brands selling higher-value items, or simply for customers who want to purchase a higher cart amount.
If there's something to look into investing for brands, it's good UX when it comes to customers adding items to cart.
I've spoken about loyalty and rewards programs in other checklists, and whilst it's more focused on LTV, you can also have these initiatives help with AOV.
For example, you can incentive customers/members by offering extra bonus points/perks based on certain items they purchase - i.e. add extra incentives to product(s) that lead to higher cart value.
So something I've seen a brands do as an incentive type to help encourage more being added to the cart, is by offering 'free samples' when a customer spends X amount.
A tactic utilised by many brands now are UGC video embeds on key product pages. As a simple optimisation, focus on videos that highlight higher-valued items. Small task, but it can be effective. :)
I find some of these tools for pop-up notifications can be a little annoying from time to time (more so when they're overused), but when done right and using good targeting/segmentation, it can help with CRO and encouraging customers to purchase certain items.
Utilising this tactic can help with items you're wanting to push - and then combining with offers can support encouragement.
This is more of a general initiative to audit/optimise on your end - setup advanced dynamic segments with triggers in place to send personalised offers.
No need to dive into deep detail on this one, and good chance you know what this is all about.
Main takeaway here is to review your email flows and segments, and setting up personalised ads with offers/creatives - all of this with the aim of running automatically.
If you use Klaviyo, there's a Meta integration available (where you can sync audiences).
Social proof is an area I really ensure brands double down on - and it's the case for pretty much every channel.
Incorporate elements like images, videos and embeds across all key channels - you can never have enough social proof.
This very much needs to be up to the discretionary of the business - and you certainly need to check with legals.
Guarantees, when adopted by brands, can help with consumer confidence for customers to make a commitment - especially if you have higher-priced items.
My main recommendation here is to review what other competitor brands are doing, as well as other industry top brands.
Particularly review their terms, how they communicate, etc.
Don't just limit your USPs to be just on the homepage - implement key USPs as icons on all key product pages (better yet, all of them).
Ideally, you should be including custom USPs with icons/images based on the specific product item.
This can really help with customers with understanding the value prop faster, which can help with decision-making and confidence to add more to their cart.
The same principle above with USPs also applies to making sure shipping and return policies are clear, as this can be a contributing factor to purchasing decisions.
This is a very basic initiative, but surprisingly many brands don't always do the best job of this.
In some cases for brands it may be intentional, but if you're conversion rate is down or you focus on selling higher-valued items, then consider adding live chat and/or a phone number for visitors/customers to directly contact customer service.
