Hi Andrew,

I have an online shop in sports supplements market (protein powders, bars, energy drinks etc.). While I’m doing ok in terms of sales/revenue, I would like to ask for any tips on increasing average order value?

We use courier company for all deliveries, so it’s pretty expensive. At the moment we split shipping cost with the customer 50/50 (3 quid for each) which obviously lowers our margins.

Any tips, ideas on how to increase average order value so that we make more per each sale?

Best regards,
Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your question.

This is a huge topic so I won’t be able to cover everything in this post BUT here are 3 quick ideas on what you could do to increase your average order value and profit per  order:

* Try to offer FREE shipping on orders over £X. You want to make your calculations right here so that this level is high enough to cover 100% shipping fee + leaves you with more profit than current average order. In your niche, where margins are low, I believe £100 or so could be the right level to offer free shipping.

* Are you up-selling effectively? Your niche is very suitable for all kinds of up-selling/cross-selling strategies. Make sure you have links to related products on product pages, view cart & checkout pages. On checkout page you could feature/advertise one or 2-3 special products, limited offers with a discount.

* Try increasing prices! As simple as this sounds, more often than not, you can simply increase your prices by 5-10% and make more money at the end of the day! This should increase average order value but more importantly – your profit margin!

As with anything in e-commerce, TEST everything! If it doesn’t work, go back to the drawing board!

Thanks,
Andrew

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